“India has bowed down before the people of Kashmir and we are celebrating this. This is a mini-independence for us,” says one Muslim Kashmiri, celebrating the renunciation of plans to transfer a few hectares of land to a Hindu committee responsible for organizing pilgramiges. The recent unrest offers proof that ethnic animosity is still simmering in the Indian-ruled region.

In Shrinigar's Great Mosque, the ring-leader of the unrest, Ali Geelani, has rallied anger around him. He succeeded in convincing fellow worshipers that the organization of Hindu pilgrimages is a pretext to attract a non-Muslim population to Kashmir, in what amounts to a colonization drive.

The clashes involved the worst scenes of violence in the past two decades. While the unrest has eased, it could likely prove to be merely a truce, as human rights violations rise on a par with the number of Indian military personnel. One thing is sure. By fighting the separatist movement, the Indian army has turned the Muslim population against it.