A few years ago, I was in Kashmir researching a story. I was staying at Ahdoos on Residency Road. Every evening, I would walk the length of the strip—from the vintage Mahatta and Co photo studio to the Tyndale Biscoe School. On one of these walks I decided to grab a bite at a local bakery. As I entered the establishment a man in formal clothes exited it. He had, around him, the unmistakable air of an Indian civil servant. The air of a man whose every need was taken care of by a retinue of eager attendants. A man who was aware of the power he wielded and the responsibility put forth on his shoulders by the state. A policeman opened the car door for him. He got in and was whisked away, probably to a dusty room from where he controlled an area the size of a small European nation.
Inside the bakery I asked for a chicken patty. It was handed to me on a paper plate with a ketchup sachet. I stood in the bakery making small talk with the owner’s son—a young overweight man in his twenties. During our conversation, I casually asked him who the gentleman exiting the bakery was.
The boy completely blanked me. He moved to another part of the store and pretended to look for something that clearly did not exist. I was puzzled by his evasion. On my walk back I wondered, why had the boy acted that way?
The next evening, as I walked past the bakery, I saw the same car parked outside. It dawned on me that what had seemed like an innocuous question could have been interpreted as an attempt to garner information. Kashmiris are acutely aware of such nuances. The boy could have simply said, “Oh! That guy? He’s the magistrate.” But instead of revealing the civil servant’s identity, the boy had, quite deliberately, chosen silence.
Silence is a decision people in Kashmir make every day. A wrong word, a slip of the tongue, an inadvertent disclosure of information can have serious consequences.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة June 11, 2024 من Outlook.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة June 11, 2024 من Outlook.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
No Singular Self
Sudarshan Shetty's work questions the singularity of identity
Mass Killing
Genocide or not, stop the massacre of Palestinians
Passing on the Gavel
The higher judiciary must locate its own charter in the Constitution. There should not be any ambiguity
India Reads Korea
Books, comics and webtoons by Korean writers and creators-Indian enthusiasts welcome them all
The K-kraze
A chronology of how the Korean cultural wave(s) managed to sweep global audiences
Tapping Everyday Intimacies
Korean filmmaker Hong Sang-soo departs from his outsized national cinema with low-budget, chatty dramedies
Tooth and Nail
The influence of Korean cinema on Bollywood aesthetics isn't matched by engagement with its deeper themes as scene after scene of seemingly vacuous violence testify, shorn of their original context
Beyond Enemy Lines
The recent crop of films on North-South Korea relations reflects a deep-seated yearning for the reunification of Korea
Ramyeon Mogole?
How the Korean aesthetic took over the Indian market and mindspace
Old Ties, Modern Dreams
K-culture in Tamil Nadu is a very serious pursuit for many