The election to the Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly will be crucial for defining the region’s political future.

Editor’s Note: Amit was in Srinagar from August 31 to September 4, almost 25 days after Delhi declared Jammu and Kashmir as a Union Territory, and there was total communication lockdown. In a context where Indian journalists were not really welcome due to the open bias displayed in several TV channels, it was a challenging and difficult assignment. Here are his notes from Srinagar.

With an adverse international media coverage on mass human rights violations, the UN security council taking up Kashmir for the first time in 70 years, and the big powers openly meddling, despite the posturing, the Indian government is clearly on the defensive.

The trauma of Kashmir in the larger context of the fight for democracy and human rights.