The weekend break in Kashmir brought some cheer – but the unrest is far from over

Shops opened their shutters and vehicular traffic on the streets picked up and quickly turned into snarls and bottlenecks as separatists suspended the indefinite shutdown in Kashmir for the weekend. Normal life seemed to have finally returned to the Valley after 132 long days of curfews and unrest, following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani by security forces on July 8. Ushering in the weekend, mobile internet services on postpaid connections were restored for the first time in this period late on Friday.

While markets have been open in past weeks during relaxation hours announced by the separatists, it was for the first time on Saturday that public transport plied on the streets in such volume, bringing back the familiar sight of mini-buses blocking traffic and fare collectors calling out to customers.

The availability of public transport and the lack of restrictions made it possible for many to socialise and catch up with friends. Seerat*, a student of Kashmir University, and Zehra*, who attends the SSM (Srinagar School of Management) College of Engineering, said they were meeting for the first time since June.

Seerat said she owned a scooter but her friend was dependent on public transport, and the lifting of the strike had made it possible for them to meet. “Our mobility was already less (compared to boys) and the hartal further reduced it,” she said.

Zehra said that though there had been relaxations earlier that allowed her to move out of her house, “it wasn’t possible to meet friends” in the absence of public transport and given the limited time. She said she had accompanied her parents on shopping trips a few times but “never got time for myself”. Until Saturday.

Rush hour

In downtown Srinagar, residents savoured the rush of traffic and of people getting back to routine activities. “There were always CRPF [Central Reserve Police Force] personnel and an armoured vehicle deployed every day,” Adil Lateef said of the scene that had greeted him from his window every day for the past four months. “But today, there were passenger vehicles parked there and shops were open. The CRPF is nowhere today.”

Many transporters – who bore the brunt of the unrest and suffered massive losses – complained of vehicle engines not starting up after lying idle for months. Some said their batteries were giving them trouble because of lack of use and the cold weather.

A driver from downtown Srinagar, who did not want to be identified, said he was getting back to work for the first time since the unrest began and was happy about it. But he added with concern, “How long will this last? One or two days of earning will not compensate for four months.”

Manzoor, who collects fares from passengers on a public bus, said that though he wished to get back to his routine, working after a long time felt odd. “We became jobless overnight,” he said. “But the situation was such. We can’t blame anybody for it.”

For shopkeepers, the situation has been comparatively better with relaxation hours giving them a chance to conduct business in recent weeks. However, many of them pointed out that there was no compensation for the losses they had incurred on seasonal stock.

Junaid Handoo, who owns a fabric shop in the Lal Chowk area, said that even with the lifting of curbs for short periods of time, the loss to his business could not be recovered. “We cannot sell the old stock now,” he said. “The entire lot of fabric, worth Rs 40 lakhs, is dead stock.” He added that these outdated designs would now be disposed of “in lot sales, for a meagre Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh, and would then be sold at cheap rates by street vendors”.

Too early to rejoice

Many schools also opened on Saturday, despite it being a weekend. The Class 10 and Class 12 board examinations are currently underway in the state. But is was unclear whether the schools would stay open in the coming days too, with many pointing out that the lifting of restrictions was only temporary.

Wasim Ahmad, a resident of Srinagar, said that while many believed the relaxation was a sign that the unrest was finally over, the situation in Kashmir remained as unpredictable as ever. “I can only think of a common saying: there is no way to predict the weather or the situation in Kashmir,” he said.

Handoo agreed, pointing to a widening rift in society. “People of the city say villages are seeing the tehreek (movement) for the first time, villages say people of the city are traitors now… there is chaos,” he said. With thousands of people affected by the unrest in one way or the other, the situation would not get better anytime soon, he added.

“The irony is that now, more than concern for those who died, people are celebrating a full day of relaxation (in the shutdown),” he said.

*Names changed to protect the identities on request