 "Chill wind in the Valley")
The irony is that till the precipitate evacuation of pilgrims and tourists that prefaced the “integration” of Jammu & Kashmir by parliamentary vote, the Valley was having its best summer season since the killing of terrorist-turned-martyr Burhan Wani in July 2016.
The hotels and houseboats of Srinagar were packed, hardly a spare room available in Gulmarg and Pahalgam, and the bazaars buzzed with shoppers and holidaymakers. Friends and colleagues returning from vacation reported that (despite the paramilitary presence) a mood of relative calm prevailed. No major protests or encounters took place and travel to the Mughal gardens and monuments in provincial
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