On Tuesday, terrorists opened fire on a group of tourists in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam area. The attack, which is considered to be the deadliest since the 2019 Pulwama strike, has resulted in the deaths of 26 people.
The militant attack has prompted a strong and silent response in Kashmir. For the first time in 35 years, the entire region has been shut down in solidarity with the victims of the brutal massacre.
READ | Terror Has No Religion
In Outlook's 2024 issue 'The Silence Of Kashmir,' Sanjay Tickoo, a member of the Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti Kashmiri Pandit, talks to Outlook Editor Chinki Sinha about how today's terrorism is more dangerous than it was 35 years ago.
"We've endured the peak of militancy, but today's terrorism is different바카라”it's invisible. No one knows who the enemy is. We might be four or five people in a room, and I can바카라™t tell who might have a pistol, ready to shoot. That바카라™s the truth. I can't even trust the person next to me, and they can바카라™t trust me either. The trust deficit after August 5, 2019, is stark. From the outside, it looks like everything is fine바카라”people are hugging, sharing meals. But the reality is, we no longer talk openly," said Tickoo.
"Back then, the guns were out in the open. Today, the guns are hidden바카라”they could belong to anyone. Because we바카라™re recording, I can바카라™t say whose guns they are, but I know. The guns were already there, and we joined the conflict," he adds.
"Without any warning. Internet and phone lines were suspended. Silence descended on the Valley. People still wrap the silence around themselves. Everyone has their own reason and version of this silence," writes Outlook's Editor Chinki Sinha on how the silence was forced upon Kashmir with the abrogation of Article 370.
In Outlook's October 2024 issue - Future Past Tense Present, Outlook's team went to the ground to cover the first-ever assembly elections post 370.
Mohammad Tabish writes how Kashmir was fueled by the need for solutions for its everyday struggles when it went to the polls.
"The more profound truth is that knowingly or unknowingly, the people are turning to the ballot not just as a form of protest, but also as a means to seek answers to their everyday problems," he writes.
With the Pahalgam attack, a Hindu-Muslim narrative has been pushed across our television screens. From purported eyewitness accounts to "We Want Revenge" topping X's trends, the militant attack has once again fueled the raging fires of Islamophobia across India.
In Outlook's 2023 issue - Islamophobia - Sharmita Kar writes how language has been heavily politicised to stoke communal passions.
"Hijab, azaan, jihadi, anti-national, terrorist, mullah, miya바카라”the meaning of these terms are blurred on purpose by many political leaders and Right-wing groups. They use it as a strategy to serve their own agendas, target religious minorities and stoke communal passions."
Over the years, we have covered Kashmir extensively, but with a different lens. A lens that looks at the resilient silence of Kashmir, especially after the abrogation of Article 370. From our very first issue to the next one, we will continue to unravel Kashmir바카라™s truth.
