During the last three months a widely popular agitation has seen almost all of Kashmir either on the streets protesting and demanding Azadi or sequestered in their homes due to curfews and so called curfew like restrictions imposed by the government. The wide scale protests held almost everywhere in Kashmir valley have seen participation of young, old, men, women, children and housewives. The images captured by the media have caught the imagination, of various different people outside Kashmir and in the wider world, and brought out their reaction too mainly in the form of reports and opinion.
Many writers and television debates have tried to explain, or in some cases malign, the popular agitation. Many journalists and analysts have written about the present Kashmir unrest. As Kashmir has been under constant curfews and restrictions, many of these write ups could not reach the people in Kashmir. Kashmir life brought out two special issues wherein these write ups were reproduced for the benefit of people, so that they understand how the world was viewing the present situation in Kashmir. Having attributed two issues to the outside view, we decided to invite people from different walks of life in Kashmir to write about their perception of the present uprising. We deemed it necessary to give space to people, who are suffering, the chance to express, how they view the situation. After all it is the Kashmiris who are the primary stake holders.
Therefore, this issue comprises mainly of the opinions of our guest writers, who belong to different walks of life in Kashmir. Due to the restrictions that have now become more of a routine in the Valley, not all of those who wished to contribute were able to.
We thank our learned guests, who despite their professional commitments, found time to write their views.
The opinions expressed in the write ups are entirely their own.
Kashmir Life does not necessarily subscribe to the opinions or views expressed by them.
Some articles that appeared in publications outside have also been included.
