In 2014, amid the General Elections in India, I visited Kashmir for a summer internship with an NGO in Srinagar. I had the first glimpses of the uneasiness of life in the Valley while travelling from the Srinagar bus station towards the city centre. It was the fourth consecutive day of a shutdown called by the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, an alliance of social, political and religious organisations pressing for the cause of Kashmir’s separation from India. The shutdown call was in response to the alleged killing of a young man by security forces during a protest march. Meanwhile, the state government clamped a curfew in downtown Srinagar. The main street and its arteries, adorned by Chinar trees on both sides, were empty except for a couple of pedestrians and cyclists. Carrying AK-47s and self-loading rifles, security personnel were patrolling all major junctions on the way to our place of stay...
