Kashmir, a distant dream now

A fading memory: The contrast could not be more different from when the writer visited Srinagar back in 1983, and as captured in many travel books like the Lonely Planet guide on the Himalayan region.

THE West Bank. Gaza. Xinjiang. Modern-day concentration camps. Is the 12.5 million strong, majority Muslim, northern Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) next?

At the time of writing, the state is under curfew: its telecommunications have been silenced and its mainstream political leaders detained. Approximately half a million troops are already stationed in Kashmir, making it one of the most militarized areas in the world.