For Kashmir, 2016 was a long year of discontent

Hizbul militant Burhan Wani’s death in an encounter triggered widespread protests in the Valley, a curfew that lasted over 50 days and deaths by pellet guns.

The Kashmir Valley was savouring Eid after the month-long Ramazan fast when news of a shootout trickled in with the evening summer breeze on July 8.

For years, the Valley had not witnessed the kind of protests that erupted in Kashmir after militant Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter.(AFP)

More news poured in soon after. Burhan Wani, the 22-year-old Hizbul Mujahideen poster boy and face of a resurgent local militancy after nearly two decades, was shot dead. What was dismissed as rumour minutes earlier shook the Valley — and aftershocks are continuing to shake the troubled region.

Summer rain drenched Kashmir days on end, but failed to calm the anger as tens of thousands of people poured into the streets and took the first available transport to Tral — Wani’s native, restive town in south Kashmir.

More than half-a-million people gathered for the militant’s funeral, according to independent estimates. Much more than the funeral of chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) patriarch Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, whose death on January 7 shoved the state into three months of political uncertainty.

The young militant’s namaz-e-janaza, or funeral prayer, was offered 40 times to accommodate people. The burial scheduled for the morning happened late in the afternoon. Kashmir has not recorded such public reaction for years. Former chief minister Omar Abdullah was quick to react that “a dead Burhan could be more lethal” because “Kashmir’s disaffected got a new icon”.

The Valley plunged into violence; angry mobs threw stones and tried to torch police stations and official buildings. Anti-India slogans filled the air.

The authorities panicked — telephone and internet services were snapped. The curfew followed; the longest spell of 51 days without relaxation. The next casualties in the following days and months were thousands of men, women and children. Security forces fired bullets and pellets; the official non-lethal ammunition for mob control. Around 91 people were killed and more than 12,000 wounded as the cycle of death went on for months.

Pellet guns became the brutal, diabolical face of street battles. The non-deadly weapon killed and maimed. About 1,100 people lost sight in one eye or both; some will struggle to live with permanent disabilities. Even homes were not safe. Bursts of pellets pierced through windows, doors and wood walls, taking down children.

The unrest gave relevance to the separatists, who called strikes and shutdowns almost every day. The muezzin’s call to prayer followed a hate-filled rant in mosques. The authorities pandered the tirade as an excuse to tighten their clampdown — and fire more pellets at people swelling the protests. Trade came to a standstill, shops were shut; schools opened only on weekends when separatists announced a “normal” day. The state education department announced mass promotion for students from class 1 to 8.

Watch | An interview with Burhan Wani’s father

South Kashmir, famous for its apple orchards, was the worst hit as it was the turf of homegrown militants such as Wani. Kashmir’s sweetest and crunchiest gift didn’t reach fellow countrymen because of the shutdown this apple season.

Wani’s death was perhaps the tipping point. But the anger was a reflection of the people’s growing cynicism against the PDP when it joined hands with the BJP to rule the state together after a fractured verdict in the 2014 elections. It was perceived as a “betrayal”, a rallying point for those harbouring separatist sentiments.

The anger was evident as the Valley didn’t shut down for a day when chief minister Sayeed died.

“The Centre never addressed the anti-India sentiment. It simply tried to shut up the people by force … a first-aid kind of approach.”

The Valley was surcharged over the government’s announcement of making a military campus and a separate colony for rehabilitation of migrant Pandits. A high court bench in Srinagar upheld that the state flag must be unfurled next to the national flag on government buildings, while another bench insisted on enforcing a beef ban. People felt the PDP was helping the BJP to do away with Article 370, the constitutional provision that accords special status to the state.

Kashmir is boiling this winter over alleged reports of government issuing domicile certificates to West Pakistani Refugees, families who migrated during Partition. They remain refugees with no right to vote. But any attempt to change their status is viewed as an affront towards Article 370. The Valley is a dormant volcano. “The Centre never addressed the anti-India sentiment. It simply tried to shut up the people by force … a first-aid kind of approach,” said Shiekh Mushtaq, senior journalist.

For more of HT’s coverage of the past year, visit http://www.hindustantimes.com/year-ender-2016