The mountains of Kashmir do not just hold snow; they hold secrets. They stand as silent sentinels over a valley that has seen beauty and bloodshed in equal measure. As we mark the anniversary of the tragic terrorist attack in Pahalgam, the question hangs heavy in the crisp mountain air, echoing in the hearts of millions: Is Kashmir safe?

It is a question that cuts deeper than statistics or security advisories. It touches the very soul of a region that has, for centuries, defined the meaning of warmth and welcome. On April 22nd, the calendar marks a date that has etched itself into the collective memory of the valley as a day of infamy. It was on this day that the serenity of the meadows was shattered by the brutal act of terror. Twenty innocent tourists, all men, separated from the women folk in a cruel prelude to execution were gunned down. They had come seeking the paradise promised in travel brochures; they found instead the cold brutality of a senseless ideology.

The immediate aftermath of the Pahalgam massacre was not just about security protocols and investigations; it was about a profound, suffocating silence that descended upon the valley. It was the silence of a mother who loses a child, the silence of a host who failed to protect a guest. In that silence, the people of Kashmir gathered not in angry protests, but in sombre candlelight marches. There were no chants of division, only the flickering flames of grief visible on every Kashmiri face. It was a moment of reckoning. The tragedy was not viewed as a political point to be scored, but as a personal loss. The local ethos of Kashmiriyat, the syncretic culture of tolerance and hospitality had been assaulted, and the Kashmiri people mourned the violation of their sacred tradition of Mehmaan-Nawazi (hospitality).

To understand the weight of this tragedy, one must understand what Kashmir stands to lose. For decades, the region has bled, but the recent years had brought a glimmer of hope. The Kashmiri had begun to trust the list of trust, the burgeoning business, the return of tourists, the vibrant markets of Srinagar, and the shikaras gliding peacefully on Dal........

© Greater Kashmir