Srinagar, December 17: The elderly Kashmiri farmer had never enjoyed the best of health. But when his teenage son was shot dead by troops who suspected him of being a militant, things took a sharp turn for the worse. Mohammed Parray’s epilepsy attacks became more frequent and his moods turned increasingly aggressive. Even now, seven years later, he still snarls whenever soldiers pass.
“He has no reason, no insight,” sighed his wife, Taja, as Mr Parray sat quietly, brushing tears from his mottled face. “I do not speak up, I do not blame him. I know this is something that he has internalised. If I don’t understand him, who will?”
Across Kashmir, it sometimes feels as if everyone is on the brink of tears. A two-decade-old separatist insurgency combined with an overwhelming response from the government that has transformed the valley into one of the most militarised locations on earth, has also left it one of the most traumatised. In 1989, when the insurgency started to gather pace, around 1,500 people annually sought help for mental health issues. Today the figure is closer to 75,000.
–Agencies