Since 21 June, more than 50 people, including the top separatist leader Sheikh Abdul Aziz, have died and hundreds more have been injured in the ongoing turmoil that has gripped Kashmir. In turn, the deaths, largely due to direct firing on unarmed protestors by the local police and India's Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), have triggered overwhelming anger, mostly among the youth population. Teenagers, in particular, have taken to public agitation, sometimes uncontrollable, staging frenzied demonstrations against India and Indian forces. The sight of a resurrected public mobilisation against Indian rule in Kashmir, and the subsequent use of state power to suppress the protests, has stirred a group of four teenagers – Rahil, Adnan, Sohaib and Rahul – to the extent that they have recently composed a song, "Azadi", in which they lament this latest ordeal of the people of Kashmir. They have named their band Blood Rocks. When asked what inspired this title, lead singer Rahil responded, "My blood rocked when I saw people being killed mercilessly."
The current turmoil broke out in mid-June over 99 acres of forestland that the state government had allotted to a Hindu trust for the annual pilgrimage to the holy Amarnath cave, in south Kashmir (see Himal July 2008, "Renewed Kashmiri tinderbox"). Since 1 July, both Kashmir and Jammu have erupted in violence over government decisions regarding the land dispute. When the allotment evoked protests in Srinagar, the order was revoked, which triggered anti-Kashmir demonstrations in Jammu. Following these, the decision was again withdrawn during a pact with representatives from Jammu. A four-member state-government panel held a series of talks with the Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti, which spearheaded a violent agitation, and both agreed to give the Shrine Board "exclusive" rights to use the piece of land in question. It was also agreed that the Board would use the land temporarily for the yatra period, and would erect makeshift structures to facilitate the pilgrimage.
In recent weeks, however, this pact has provided fresh impetus to agitations in Kashmir, with separatists keen to transform the popular anger on the streets into a full-blown campaign. This has been made easier by the repressive measures taken by the J & K government, which is looking not only to stifle the uprising, but also to pre-empt the future possibility of one. As such, random arrests, torture and other methods of suppression have become the order of the day. Recently, a CRPF contingent, accompanied by the local police, broke into a revered Muslim shrine – the Dastageer Sahib, which houses relics of an 11th-century Sufi saint from Central Asia, who the Kashmiris revere as 'The Benevolent'. This set off spontaneous protests and an instant shutdown. People in many parts of Kashmir have stepped up demonstrations against CRPF activities, such as barging into their homes, ransacking the interiors, thrashing residents and abusing women.
Given the pattern of law enforcement that has been displayed by security agencies, many fear more protests in upcoming days. "Jammu remained restive for 65 days," says Yaseen Malik, a separatist leader. "But there the police and security forces appear to be in a friendly match with the protesters. [Here,] the state is behaving like a political party. They are practicing ideology, not principle." According to Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Kashmir's chief cleric, while the 99 acres of land is important, he stresses that anger against any issue in Kashmir has always been rooted in the long-pending demand for the right to self-determination. "India is frustrated over the non-violent character of this movement," Mirwaiz told a congregation at the Jamia Masjid on 5 September. "It has always been maligning us through accusations of 'terrorism'. Boys are being killed one by one. But this is strengthening our resolve to continue till our goal of freedom is achieved."