Author: Safwat Zargar

“Internet hai toh job hai [If there is internet, there is a job],” said 32-year-old Shahid Wani, who lives in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district.

The last time he was able to access the internet was on August 4. Wani worked with Cenedex India Limited, a private software company with a branch in Srinagar.

On July 17, when 65-year-old Ghulam Mohammad Bhat received summons from a local police post in Chogal, part of North Kashmir’s Handwara area, he did something unusual. After evening prayers at the local mosque, he stood up and addressed the group of worshippers.