Photo Essay: Kashmir Intifada, by Shome Basu

IPA Photography, PROJECTS 10 Comments



Rollover images for slideshow controls

Kashmir Intifada

In the last two decades, a sense of fear and ferocity has taken over the land. My journey to the valley started a decade back and this photo story of mine is a compilation of my reportage revealing the many shades of everyday life there.

With over 7,00,000 army, police and paramilitary personnel on guard, Kashmir today has the highest concentration of soldiers in the world compared to other such conflict zones like Afghanistan, Iraq and Burma. My Kashmir reportage has been mainly on the issue of how the daily lives of innocent citizens there get disrupted amidst curfews and protests. Innocent lives are lost daily at the hands of paramilitary forces.

I have been a window for many people in Kashmir who cannot be heard. The pictures are of what I witnessed – be it an eerie curfew day, a dreadful silent night, raging protests, an innocent death or children playing cricket. Many a times I went to the valley with lot of thoughts and notions about the place. My pictures reveal the reflections in my mind. The daily strikes, stone pelting, blasts, deaths and fear in the eyes of the people living there and of the men in uniform on guard. All are living in a noose of fear.

My pictures are not about the place but of those unfortunate daily events that have taken the peace away and have made it a conflict zone amidst deft serenity. Through this exhibition I put forward a simple question to all … Can we let the paradise decay or is it time to really act?

Photographer: Shome Basu
Website: shomebasu.photoshelter.com

All photographs/art are the property of the credited photographer and creator with all rights reserved.

Share

Comments 10

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.