In your book you mention, had the protests been peaceful, the problem could have been solved through dialogue.
I said had violence not been used against the protestors and the protests were allowed to take a peaceful direction, there might have been a chance.
But again, this time the response has been similar, but the people have had a lot of time to think about what's happening and have learnt that non-violent politics and unarmed protests might help Kashmir get more than what a few hundred people with guns can.
What do you think is the motivation for the youngsters now? Is it again something historic that they have inherited?
The motivation comes from a feeling of injustice. When you live in an extremely militarised society, the daily humiliations are reason enough to motivate people to come out in the streets. And then there is the larger historic long pending desire to gain independence.
It is also hearing stories of what has happened in Kashmir. A teenager in Kashmir doesn't have the life that a teenager in Lahore, Delhi or Bombay has, but he has the same aspirations.
When he goes out to school he has to look 15 soldiers in the eye. When you have to raise your hands and show your ID, that teaches you a lot about things. It is a lived experience. You don't need anyone to tell you that.
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Image: Indian security personnel frisk the bags of school children in Srinagar in July 2006 before the arrival of then President A P J Abdul Kalam in Kashmir. Photograph: Sajjad Hussain/AFP/Getty Images
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