In brief
Last week's horrific terrorist attack has compounded decades of local resentment in Kashmir, where an aggressive hunt for those responsible may be perceived as collective punishment amid ongoing tensions.
Kashmir is many things. It is a disputed borderland that India and Pakistan have fought over for more than three-quarters of a century, making it one of the world’s most strife-torn and militarized zones. It is a Bollywood cinematographer’s alpine dream, its fabled beauty and trauma providing grist for tales of love, longing, and war. Since 2019, when the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India tightened its grip on the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir, promising security and economic development, it has become a tourist hotspot drawing millions of visitors each year. In the government’s narrative of progress, Kashmir is a shining success. The region’s people, however, tell a different story — one of festering alienation, as magnified by last week’s horrific terrorist attack in Kashmir, following years of living under the watchful eyes of security forces while being deprived of many democratic rights.Indian troops have launched an aggressive, widespread hunt for the killers, a move that feels like collective punishment to many in the Muslim-majority region. Authorities have detained thousands of Kashmiris for questioning and have demolished the homes of at least 10 people accused in the attack, leaving many local residents feeling even more vulnerable.This latest tragedy only serves to underscore the complexities of Kashmir — a place that often finds itself at the center of narratives filled with beauty and horror, love and violence.
