Games in Kashmir Valley
Vivek Sinha Simmering undercurrents, if left unaddressed, quite often leads to sudden and disastrous outbursts. A case in point is the ongoing conflict at the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Srinagar. In what could have been a minor scuffle among students over India’s loss in the T20 cricket tourney, has now been turned into a battleground by secessionist forces at the engineering college in capital town of Jammu & Kashmir. The trigger came in on March 31st, when West Indies batsman Lendl Simmons lofted a six in the last over to beat India in the semi-finals of a nail-biting cricket match. Across the world Indian fans felt dejected. Ditto at the NIT campus where students appeared crestfallen at India’s loss and mood at the institute turned gloomy. At the same time, NIT campus also echoed with slogans of “Pakistan Zindabad”, “Hindustan Murdabad” and "Azadi". Very soon crackers started bursting. So, if the hosteliers were morose, the local Kashmiri Sunni students ...