POLITICS

It never came up in conversation. Ever. Which I am happy about because the news on TV is scary. It's all about border tensions: The Chinese are stupidly making incursions in the northeast; in the west the Punjab news is all about militants; a supremacist has won the Gujarat elections; up north in Nepal Maoists ended the monarchy and there is agitation for splitting the nation in two. Bombs, train derailings, and other violence fill Delhi TV. But even though Srinagar is located within striking distance of Afghanistan, China, and Pakistan, it is peaceful. The local paper has its share of petty crimes, but no militants, no bombs, no anything that all those troops weren't handling.

UPDATE: 24 December 2007 - Five Civilians Taken Hostage
UPDATE: 24 December 2007 - Police End Kashmir Mosque Siege
SPECIAL REPORT: Kashmir Flashpoint

Like I said, politics never come up. I just wanted to get this picture in somehow.