<![CDATA[100 days after Modi's Kashmir clampdown, locals see bleak future]>

Jammu and Kashmir on November 12 marked 100 days since India revoked the autonomy of the Muslim-majority region.

Since then, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist government has moved to bring the region under direct rule, cut telecommunications, and detained thousands of people, including pro-India politicians, to quell any unrest. Shops and businesses have remained shut to protest against the controversial decision, children have not been going to school, and streets are deserted.

Many Kashmiris say Modi's lockdown is a direct attack on their identity as a minority community. As the locals struggle to adapt to a new normal, some shared their thoughts on how the revocation has affected their current lives, three months on.

SEHAR MUNEER, 30, HOME-MAKER

Everybody has been suffering. We are all adjusting to a new reality. So much has happened in Kashmir in the past decade. I lost my father in 1998 in a shooting incident; he was just a civilian. We have become used to all this, but I feel bad for our children, who have been sitting idle at home for months.

As a woman, a housewife, a mother, I don't want to stay here considering the uncertainty " every year, something new happens here. Everyone is suffering mentally, from the older generation to our children. If we rent out our homes, we are sure native Kashmiri owners will be thrown out.

How many years it has been like this? Nobody will let the situation get better. The Indian media has turned Kashmiris into terrorists. If we listen to India, we will die; if we listen to someone else, we will die " in every way it is civilians who suffer. But what can we do? If Allah has written this in our destiny, we have to live it.

  ZEESHAN BASHIR, 21, BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION STUDENT

Zeeshan Bashir says he feels 'like a bird that has been caged'. Photo: Fahad Shah

Days before August 5, gas stations in Kashmir were crowded and people were discussing if Article 370 would be revoked. The next day, we woke up to a curfew. I watched the news on television and felt terrible. It was our special status and now it is gone. In this clampdown, I feel like a bird that has been caged. If you go out, the government forces will ask foolish questions such as: "Where are you going and why?".

I am feeling mentally depressed; I cannot concentrate on my studies either. It has been 100 days of shutdown and we don't even know what is coming ahead. On normal days, we could share our pain but now we can't even do that. Kashmir's future is dark. India says that there will be an "employment generation" " but they are taking steps against Kashmiris. What employment will we have?

FAROOQ AHMAD HAKEEM, 67, PRINTING PRESS MANAGER

Farooq Ahmad Hakeem says: 'Kashmiris had our own identity and it is gone now.' Photo: Fahad Shah

For the last 30 years, I have been seeing the same conflict here. Life has changed for everyone. Kashmiris had our own identity and it is gone now.

The past 100 days have been awful; our business is finished. I don't have a car, so I have to walk for miles to reach work. In the first two months after the revocation, there was no work at all. When things were better, we had good work. It is all gone now. We don't even have much to pay our employees.

The government is talking of development but in my experience, there won't be much change. Industries like the fruit trade have been the worst hit. We have lost so much and the future seems bleak. But I am more worried about my children and their children. They are most affected and will continue to be.

KARAN KUMAR SINGH, 20, COMMERCE STUDENT

Karan Singh pictured at his family's grocery store. Photo: Fahad Shah

For a student, living here is painful. Poor students can't afford to study outside the state.

Every day, the government's ads talk about the importance of education and I laugh at them. When will they let us have that education? With the internet shutdown, we can't even download anything to study. The Amar Singh College in Srinagar has not held our exams. Now they are telling us two semesters will be combined. A college degree of five years will now be completed in six.

The last 100 days have been a waste of our time. Business is bad. My family has a grocery store and we open it in the mornings and evenings only. The media does nothing to highlight our problems. The only things we can see on the news are updates about Modi going out and about.

FAIZAN AHMAD KHAN, 22, SHOPKEEPER

Faizan Ahmad Khan says: 'Only if India leaves Kashmir can we move ahead.' Photo: Fahad Shah

India's decision is absolutely wrong. Kashmir belongs to Kashmiris and not anyone else. If we went to India and occupied their land, how would they feel?

I have been sitting idle for three months now. I have nothing to do at home. Our relatives have helped my family as we have not earned anything in our shop. When we go out, the paramilitary forces would stop us. If there were no forces, we would be free. We want that freedom.

Only if India leaves Kashmir can we move ahead. I have been hearing about development plans for the last 15 years. My own friends have completed college education but are unemployed. One of my friends has finished college, but now he sells shoes on a footpath. What development has India ever given us? India should let us think of our own future. We will build our own Kashmir and its future " they should leave us.

ARHAN SHEIKH, 25, FRUIT SELLER

My life was good before, but this decision has changed it. Tourists, our main customers, are scared to come here. The week the government told tourists to leave Kashmir was the day our season of business ended. I've had to throw out most of our fruits as waste. We used to earn about 3 million to 4 million rupees (US$41,800 to US$55,700) per year, but it's all about the losses now.

I was at home on August 5, and by noon I found out they abrogated our special status. We felt it was wrong but we were helpless. I had hoped the situation would improve, but it doesn't seem likely. The situation is not conducive for any business. The government is making strict rules for Kashmiris, such as banning beef.

Modi's government shouldn't have done this. Now they are also building a Hindu temple at the Babri Masjid site. It will take years for Kashmir to get back to somewhere.

Additional reporting by AFP

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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