BY ASHOKA MUKPO
\nIn the exquisite Kashmiri city of Srinagar, Himalayan snow peaks tower over glacial lakes, and at night the Islamic call to prayer drifts lazily through luxurious gardens cultivated by Mughal emperors. It is not hyperbole to suggest that it may be one of the most beautiful places on earth. Unfortunately, its stunning beauty is matched equally by the tragedy of the persistent violence that plagues the Kashmir valley. Beneath the imposing mountain, Indian troops zooming by in camouflage-painted military vehicles and stand tensely on street corners, cradling automatic rifles and nervously shifting their feet. Despite its serene beauty, Kashmir is at war.
\nIn the past year, frustrations over Indian rule have boiled over, with protesting Kashmiris accusing Indian troops of committing atrocities and demanding a referendum on independence. Demonstrations that were sparked by the killing of a 17-year-old boy last summer led to the deaths of over 100 people, and the Kashmir valley has remained tense through the winter. The protests have featured a strong contingent of youth, who have employed the internet and social media to connect with one another and plan actions. These young Kashmiris compare the unrest to that in Egypt and the wider Muslim world, saying they are frustrated and angry at the prevailing political order.
\nMohsin Din, a graduate student at Columbia University, vividly recalls an encounter he had with Indian troops when he was a child in Srinagar. \u201cI was sitting in a car, driving home with my mother and my uncle, and a hundred yards away from us someone blew themselves up outside a military camp,\u201d Din remembers. Responding to the blast, the soldiers opened fire and a man in the car in front of his was shot and killed. When the firing stopped, Din\u2019s car slowly drove past the camp and he caught a glimpse of one of the Indian soldiers. \u201cHe must have been about eighteen, and he looked terrified,\u201d he recalls.
\nSuch experiences are common for youth growing up in Kashmir and, indeed, they cause much of the anger that is felt by the valley\u2019s residents toward Indian policy in the region. Muzzammil Thakur, a 26-year-old student who was forced to leave Kashmir after a \u201cshoot-on-sight\u201d order was issued against his father, says, \u201cI have many friends who have been arrested or killed,\u201d describing a neighbor of his who died after being struck by a tear gas canister during a protest. \u201cThey\u2019re called security forces but really it\u2019s them the people need security from,\u201d he says, referring to the thousands of Indian soldiers stationed in Kashmir. Good writing here.
\nIndian security forces in Kashmir operate under the Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act (AFSPA), a law passed in 1990 by the Indian parliament that grants the military a wide leeway in fighting what New Delhi portrays as a Pakistan-backed guerilla war. The AFSPA allows for warrantless searches and random arrests, and it grants security forces the freedom to fire on Kashmiris who congregate in large groups even when there are no weapons present. The Act has been forcefully criticized by human rights groups and average Kashmiris alike, who claim it has enabled soldiers to abuse civilians without fear of repercussion.
\nAamir Bashir, a 26-year-old student who left Srinagar to study in New Delhi, said soldiers operating under the AFSPA rules operate with impunity. \u201cWe had these crackdowns happening in Srinagar,\u201d he said, \u201cand one day they came to search my house. A soldier grabbed me and said, \u2018now show me who\u2019s hiding in the house.\u2019 I knew there wasn\u2019t anyone there but I had this irrational fear they\u2019d find someone and I\u2019d be shot.\u201d He says that although he lives in Delhi, he still feels compelled to bring his identification card with him wherever he goes due to his experiences being repeatedly stopped and harassed by soldiers in Srinagar.
\nFor Bashir\u2019s generation of Kashmiris, frustrating and dangerous run-ins with Indian troops are part of life in the valley, and they fuel the simmering anger towards India. Din believes that last summer\u2019s demonstrations were a watershed event for Kashmir, saying, \u201c[It] was one of the largest, most historic protests in Kashmiri history. The youth were mobilized in a way we\u2019d never seen in Kashmir. It was very similar to what you\u2019re seeing in Egypt and Tunisia.\u201d As in Egypt, the Internet has been a tool used by tech-savvy young activists, and groups such as the World Kashmiri Students Association maintain Facebook pages that send out updates on demonstrations and gatherings. This can, however, be risky, and Thakur tells of \u201cspecial task forces that check IP addresses and arrest the people who run those pages.\u201d
\nA common sentiment among young Kashmiris is that there is a global double standard regarding the conflict. While the West is quick to point out and condemn the oppressive policies of regimes in Iran and China, in Kashmir similar tactics are met with silence. Thakur is angry at this hypocrisy, saying, \u201cWhere has the world been in terms of listening to what the Kashmiris are demanding? They support the people of Egypt and Iran, but not Kashmir. Why not? What\u2019s wrong with Kashmir?\u201d He describes the international community as \u201cindifferent\u201d to the abuses that occur in the region and expresses frustration at Western media outlets that he feels either ignore Kashmir or provide shallow coverage of the conflict.
\nDin, Thakur, and Bashir all share a cynical view on India\u2019s ability to repair its ties with Kashmiris, and they expect that protests will resume in the spring. \u201cThe anger level is so high, with so many people killed recently. There\u2019s no trust anymore,\u201d Din says. There is, however, a sense that ordinary Kashmiris are unwilling to accept Indian policies in the region, and Thakur says he is inspired by the \u201ccourageous element that I\u2019ve seen recently, where people aren\u2019t scared any more about the consequences of speaking out.\u201d Bashir agrees, \u201cKashmiris do not want to be suppressed anymore. People are going mad.\u201d
\nMuch of the world watched the popular uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia with a sense of inspiration and hope, but it remains to be seen whether the success of those uprisings can be duplicated elsewhere. In Kashmir, protestors face a difficult battle. India continues to view the conflict through its historic rivalry with Pakistan, and security forces have shown that they are willing to use extreme violence to control unrest. Kashmiris, however, have proven to be resilient, and if the past few years are any predictor of what will happen next, New Delhi can expect intense, passionate protests in the region again this summer.
\nWhen asked what young Kashmiris hope to gain from participating in these dangerous protests, where death or long stays in jail are frequent, Thakur says, \u201cThe common demand is freedom. I have friends in Kashmir who are my age, and when you ask them how old they are they say that they are twelve. If you ask them, \u2018How did you calculate that,\u2019 they will explain to you that they have spent over half their lives inside under the curfew, unable to be free in their own land. We want the same rights that the people of the UK, France, and America have.\u201d<\/p>\n