were hunting for the credit where there was none, people continued to die. Who is to blame for these gory deaths? And, who should be held responsible if there is any further loss of life, particularly when people from all over the valley will try to throng Jamia Masjid today. Irrespective of Pakistani ruling elite’s oblivious behavior, and complete black-out of the issue by PTV, sentiment of Azadi has hit the people of Kashmir with new found vigor. It has hit the critical mass once again; an avalanche of emotions is for everybody to see. One wishes one could have Salman Ali of Junoon here once again and show him the real Junoon for Azadi. Srinagar ki betiyan— daughters of Srinagar, full of passion— ready to die to protect their honour and honour of Kashmir as well. For New Delhi and Islamabad, the massage is loud and clear, the events of last week may be precursor of an indigenous and non-violent movement to follow. And the Indian media (with very few exceptions) is busy spreading canards, trying to label the peaceful assertion as ‘Islamists protestors.” In the days of so called “war on terror” ‘Islamists’ is a slur, a western jargon to describe the ilk of Osama bin Laden and Alzahawari. But people of Kashmir, in spite of the worst kind of suppression, have not lost their moorings. On the contrary, even when their identity is under siege, not a single Yatri had been obstructed to fulfill his or her religious obligations. When entire Kashmir has come to a grinding halt onl
