Coffee with an ex-terrorist in Kashmir
Vivek Sinha He gave furtive glances as he walked in and shook hands with me. I asked if he was okay as he seemed a bit uneasy. “I am fine, but I have to be cautious,” he replied as he stressed upon the word ‘cautious’. He was an ex-terrorist. Let’s call him Salim. This is not his real name, he did give me his real name but requested not to reveal it else his family might get in grave danger. Salim met me at an upmarket coffee shop in the heart of Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu Kashmir. “I am done with guns and my infatuation with all this Azadi stuff is over. Now, I only aspire to lead a normal life, take care of my wife, kids…” Salim spoke in a soft voice. But why on earth did you ever pick up a gun? I asked cutting him short. Salim had said that he held a masters in commerce and was an expert on cyber security. By his own admission he could have easily secured a decent job. “I was trapped,” Salim said without batting his eyelids. He added that one of his friends introduced him...