Uneasy silence, what’s next?

Affan Yesvi

At the wedding of my cousin, there is joy and desperation. The merriment is marked by anxiety. The wazwan is delicious as ever. Wedding songs are being sung, but fear is the elephant amidst us. For the past few days, everyone I know has been stocking up fuel and other essentials. Baby food went out of stock in shops in Srinagar. Fortunately, it was replenished soon.

After the wedding, it is nearing the time to get the bride home. It’s late. My cousin’s driver tells me, ‘I’ve been on the move all day and there was no time to get the vehicle refuelled. There was so much rush at the petrol station. Waiting time was about three hours. I’ll rush and get the tank filled.’

After the bride leaves with the groom, all baratis — instead of heading home, make a dash for the nearest petrol station. I do too. It is late night. There are about 12 vehicles ahead of me in the queue. 

How are other cities and towns in Kashmir faring? Are they facing shortages there? We don’t know. Fear is so high, nobody is going out much. Where do we go anyway? Most cafes and restaurants are low on staff and have few visitors. Their workers from other parts of India, who had been working there for years, have been told to go home. Tourists have been shunted out in thousands. A group of bikers going to Ladakh via Srinagar was stopped at Jawahar Tunnel and told to go back. 

At the barbershop I visit, the owner was inconsolable when I met him two days ago. He is from Bihar and had been advised to pack his bags and leave. He’s been here for 18 years. Tailors from outside who had set shop here and were doing brisk business have been herded out on a free transportation and dropped off in Delhi or Pathankot. Masons, carpenters, labourers and vendors who sold bhelpuri, fruits, candy floss — all hailing from outside — have been taken out of Kashmir. There are videos of them, crying that they don’t want to leave. Kashmir wasn’t just their bread and butter. It was home. 

Entrepreneurs are looking at dismal returns during tourist season. Shortage of skilled labour will hit us hard. Business has gone kaput at hotels. 

No one knows what is happening. India has spoken about threats to Amarnath Yatra and other militant activity. Pakistan has expressed fears about an imminent war. 

At the Bone and Joint Hospital in Kashmir, orders have been issued that no staff shall leave the hospital premises without prior permission of a senior authority. Additional forces of CRPF are rolling into the Valley. 

The Chief Executive Officer of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Kargil, has directed that all district officers, SDMs, tehsildars and sectoral officers shall not leave their respective stations. 

Does President Trump’s offer of mediation reveal more than we cared to see? As Kashmir looks at an impending crisis — yet again — many questions are dominating the talk at Lal Chowk and elsewhere in the Valley.