Pulwama, Srinagar: The trailer of Ajay Devgn’s upcoming Bollywood action film, Chauhan, has rekindled painful memories for thousands of Kashmiri pellet survivors whose lives were permanently altered by pellet injuries during the years of unrest in the valley.

For viewers unfamiliar with Kashmir’s recent past, the trailer’s “pellet guns, limited damage” line may appear unremarkable.

But for pellet victims, it has come as a denial of a lived reality that left thousands maimed and hundreds partially or completely blind.

The criticism surrounding the trailer focuses on how one of the most painful chapters of Kashmir’s recent history is remembered and represented by Bollywood to its audiences across India and the world.

According to official figures, 10,000 people in Jammu and Kashmir got injured due to pellets between 2010 and 2016.

The highest number of such injuries were recorded during the 2016 unrest when more than 6,000 people, including protesters, were hit by pellets following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.

Also read: Centre Plans to Introduce Plastic Bullets in Kashmir. Are They Really ‘Non-Lethal’?

Government data shows that at least 782 people suffered eye injuries, with many losing one or both eyes. Hospitals across the Valley treated patients with ruptured eyeballs, retinal injuries and permanent blindness.

In 2016, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association petitioned the High Court seeking a ban on pellet guns. In March 2020, the court dismissed the plea, observing that “so long as there is violence by unruly mobs, use of force is inevitable.”

‘The injury never ended’

Mohd Ashraf, who lost vision in his right eye after he was hit by pellets, says the resulting trauma has become a part of his life.

“We were running an organisation demanding rehabilitation for pellet victims, but because of constant intimidation we had to shut it down in 2024. During our last interaction with the media, we demanded a complete ban on pellet guns not only in Kashmir but across the world. We know this pain in a way that few others can understand,” Ashraf told The Wire.

“I was once hit by a bullet, but that wound healed and I eventually forgot about it. The pellet injury, however, has left a wound that will heal only after I enter my grave,” Ashraf, who depends on his family, said.

Thirty-three-year-old Jehangir Ahmad still remembers the sound before he remembers the pain.

He had stepped out of his poultry farm to return home in Payar area of Pulwama after the Valley shut down following Burhan Wani’s killing.

While travelling through Tahab village, he found himself caught between security forces and stone-throwing protesters. “As I tried to........

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