The 2008 climax of a Kashmiri summer of protest was the Iedgha march. Pro independence Kashmiri's came from every corner of the state, three to a scooter, 60 to an overloaded minibus, on foot, by bicycle, truck, rickshaw and horse-pulled tonga. There were 350,000 of them, many said it was the largest march in the history of modern Kashmir. Aged 8 to 68, men and women, boys and girls, waving placards and posters, hoisting banners and waving flags, miles-long convoys coursed through the...
more »The 2008 climax of a Kashmiri summer of protest was the Iedgha march. Pro independence Kashmiri's came from every corner of the state, three to a scooter, 60 to an overloaded minibus, on foot, by bicycle, truck, rickshaw and horse-pulled tonga. There were 350,000 of them, many said it was the largest march in the history of modern Kashmir. Aged 8 to 68, men and women, boys and girls, waving placards and posters, hoisting banners and waving flags, miles-long convoys coursed through the streets of Srinagar as hundreds of thousands of pro independence Kashmiri's descended on Idgah, a large communal ground on 22nd August 2008 for the most exuberant display of their favorite new pastime, the protest party.
The demonstration was called by leading separatist politicians but you could tell it was a celebration of unity because of the smiling faces, the sense of brotherhood, the confident glow of the righteous. The protesters were exuberant, unchained, shouting anti-India slogans and pro-freedom chants. It was a rare day for kashmiri protests, no one was killed and a day many will remember.
By: david lepeska
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