The Fingertip Kalashnikov

Wasbir Hussain, Zafar Meraj May 10, 2004 00:00 IST The Fingertip Kalashnikov -0001-11-30T00:00:00+05:53

This time they voted. Queues at the polling booths in the Valley were packed with young people who braved separatist calls for boycott and militant threats. Overall voter turnout was low but Kashmiri youth returned to the electoral process. In most urban centres like Srinagar, the young comprised almost 90 per cent of the voters.

"I’ve been unemployed despite a first class post-graduate degree in science," said Muhammad Hanief as he lined up at a polling station in central Badgam district. "There are no local industries that can absorb people like me. At least electing the right person might help." For the first time, youth wings have emerged both in the ruling People’s Democratic Party and rival National Conference. Other parties too have focussed on the youth.

Yes, the youth want the Kashmir dispute to be resolved, but they also want a better life. The anger is writ large on Sajad Ahmad’s face. He is a burden to his aging father even several years after earning an engineering degree. Ahmad is just one of the thousands who are looking for odd jobs to keep the...