On Monday morning, Abrar* convinced his friends to come out of their homes – despite continuous snowfall since the night before – to watch a movie in Srinagar’s recently opened cinema hall. That was the lure, his friends said, to bring them to the Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium where Rahul Gandhi was addressing the final event of the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
This was the first time this group of friends, all residents of the nearby Maisuma area, participated in a political rally by any mainstream party. An environment of repression in Kashmir and the overall mainstreaming of hatred against Muslims across the country had compelled them to hear out the alternative vision for the future offered by Gandhi.
