‘We condemn yatri killings, why don’t you condemn Kashmiri killings?’

In a development of profound symbolic significance, a small gathering of civil society groups gathered at a park in Lal Chowk, Srinagar to condemn the killings of seven Amarnath yatris at Khanabal in South Kashmir on Monday.

The participants, comprising members of business, cultural and civil liberties groups, wanted to put three messages across. One, they were aggrieved by the killings of yatris. Second, they wanted an impartial probe into the incident, preferably by the United Nations Human Rights Council, to reveal the identity of the perpetrators. And third, they wanted to send a message to the people across the country that while they were condemning the massacre of yatris, why was Indian civil society silent over the civilian killings and blindings in Kashmir?

The placards rubbed this message in:  “Kashmiris condemn the killings of yatris. Do Indians condemn killings of Kashmiris?”

Or that “all lives are valuable”. “Killings are neither Hindu nor Muslim”. “Silence is criminal”.

Slideshow: Kashmiris protest the killing of Amarnath pilgrims.