“I realised jihad is the wrong way to set right the issues Kashmir faces”

“OUR YOUTH HAVE REALISED THAT WHAT THEY WERE DOING IN TERMS OF MILITANCY WAS WRONG AND THAT IT WAS GETTING THEM NOWHERE”

His WhatsApp status says it all: ‘Don’t judge my past. I don’t live there anymore.’ The 21-year-old Danish Dar lives in Shopian district, once a hotbed of militancy in Kashmir. Just three years ago, like many other young, impressionable teenagers, Danish, too, had wanted to wage jihad against the Indian State. His idol, as was the case for many others, was local hero Burhan Wani, the young Hizbul commander who was killed in an encounter with security forces in July 2016. Influenced by a cousin who lives in Pakistan, Danish went out and bought himself camouflage gear. Then, with a muffler covering his face, he announced via a video circulated on WhatsApp that he was joining the ranks of militants and to watch out for his strikes. He believed his actions would win the admiration of his community and the hearts of the young girls around him.