Kashmir

June 28, 2008 | Pulitzer Center

Tahirih Rather, a rights activist whose husband disappeared six years ago, makes clothing to support herself and three children.

SM Sahai, inspector general of the Kashmir police, says that Indian forces will be scaled down if stability holds.

Indian soldier outside of downtown bunker, Srinagar.

Indian forces on patrol, downtown Srinagar.

Kashmiri youth walk past Indian military bunker, Srinagar.

Street markets are buzzing again on Lal Chowk, downtown Srinagar.

Kashmiri Muslims head to mosque for evening prayer, Srinagar.

Hazratbal mosque, Srinagar.

Poster of Yasin Malik, chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front.

Pedestrians walk by the Hotel Greenview, scene of a gun battle several years ago between Indian security forces and Kashmiri militants, downtown Srinagar.

Fruit-seller glides past wooden houseboats on Dal Lake, Srinagar.

Indian police officer stands guard on Lal Chowk, one of Srinagar’s main commercial arteries that used to be the scene of near-daily attacks.

Kashmiri man is frisked at entrance to political rally, Srinagar.

JKLF chairman Yasin Malik reads newspaper with supporters, most of them former militants, at his party headquarters in Srinagar.

Kashmiri bus drivers protest against the government for wages they say have gone unpaid, Srinagar.

Headstones at the Martyrs’ Graveyard, where hundreds of militants are buried, Srinagar.

Cracked headstone at Martyrs’ Graveyard, Srinagar.

Kashmiri fisherman, Srinagar.

Srinagar at dusk.

Kashmir man drudges Dal Lake, Srinagar.

Zareef Zareef, Kashmiri poet and activist, outside his Srinagar home.

Elderly Kashmiri sled driver waits for a customer, Gulmarg.

Caught between India, Pakistan and a homegrown desire for independence, Kashmir has been hostage to conflict for more than fifty years. Today violence is in decline, a trend that is attributed to fatigue, a bilateral peace process with traction, and Pakistan's preoccupation with radical Islamic militants in the tribal areas along its Western border.

Still, India's military presence remains heavy, to the frustration of young Kashmiris who would prefer to press their cause through politics instead of guns. Some fear that if the present stability is not matched by quality of life improvements, the fighting that was once an inescapable reality might one day return.