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Opinion | Reporting on the silence of siege in Kashmir
- Kashmir feels like it’s at risk of exploding at any time, after India announced the revocation of its special status on August 5
- A feeling of vulnerability, fear and hopelessness is overpowering the journalists of Kashmir
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I have witnessed multiple clampdowns in my 10 years as a journalist in Kashmir, but this year has been the worst. Life was turned upside down, for everyone. The silence of a caged and disempowered people is a silence of simmering rage.
It started in early August, with rumours – of war, the revocation of Kashmir’s special status or an attack – yet nobody could confirm what was coming. People had fears, given India’s long-standing dispute with Pakistan over the Himalayan territory, stretching back to the partition of British India in 1947.
The rumours turned into reality on August 5, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi revoked the partial autonomy of Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir. Eight million people suddenly had their rights snatched away and started life under a clampdown.
All communication channels were blocked. A silence spread over the Kashmir Valley and the struggle to tell the story began.
Without telling my parents, I left home at about 2am on August 5 and headed for my office in downtown Srinagar. Two of my colleagues and I browsed the internet, monitoring Kashmir’s busy social media space. We published a few stories until 6am and then slept at the office. Hours later we woke in a different Kashmir.
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