Click to play videoJammu: When protests broke out in Srinagar last week, hundreds of pilgrims returning from Amarnath were stranded and it was left to locals like Mushtaq Ahmed to offer food and shelter to the yatris.
"We arranged for food and lodging for the pilgrims. Land allotment is a religious issue for which we are on strike but this is a human issue," says he.
Ahmed takes pride in what he calls his Kashmiriyat - a cultural tradition of tolerance, warmth and hospitality. Even as protests were on, Kashmiriyat ensured that pilgrims were never at risk.
A pilgrim, who was looked after very well by Kashmiris, says, "The arrangement is very good. This leads to brotherhood. But the government should not bring politics into this."
But perhaps one of the best examples of Kashmiriyat has to do with the yatra itself, at the tiny village of Batekote near Pahalgram - which is named after Buta Malik, the man who discovered the Amarnath Shrine, and became its first keeper.
Like his forefather, Mohammed Jabbar Malik spent most of his life working at the Shrine, until the Shrine Board took over.
"We used to give all the support and advice for organising a peaceful yatra. Earlier, we used to get one-third of the entire earning of the shrine donations," he recalls.
The Maliks continue to enjoy the support of the yatris even today, many of whom call him their friend.
But in curfew-bound Jammu, there is little sign of Kashmiriyat. Communally charged protestors, wearing religion on their sleeves, shouting slogans against their neighbours from the Valley, rule the streets. Some want to believe these were paid protestors, but this is not true any more.
An SMS - a call for an uprising by Hindus - has been doing the rounds in Jammu. The SMS was sent by 38-year-old businessman, Ashu Goel. Rich and affluent, Ashu is mobilising forces.
"Enough is enough. This appeasement has gone on long enough. They are raising the Pakistani flag in Srinagar and the government is not doing any thing," says he.
Some of the most affluent people in Jammu meet in Ashu's house to discuss how to counter the so-called appeasement policy of the government. These are angry people and they don't mince words.
One of Ashu's ranks, Payal Saraf who is an interior designer says, "We have been living here for eight years and I think its high time we did some thing. Muslims are good people but politicians have made them different."
In many parts of Jammu, there is no place any more for Kashmiriyat. In the Valley, Kashmiri Muslims have been radicalised by what they see as a crude attempt to take away their land. The crisis facing this state is the same facing the country - how can wounds be healed, how can bridges be mended? Unless those answers can be found, this could remain a state, and a country, divided.
(With inputs from Pawan Bali, Mufti Islah, Aasim Khan and Nilanjana Bose)
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