KASHMIR’S STORY IS, for me, a personal history of unresolved pain and grief. Once called a paradise on earth, Kashmir is my wounded homeland, a much-contested geography torn between India and Pakistan.

Growing up in Kashmir during the 1990s meant living in a state of war, staring at the prospect of death that could arrive anytime. We, the children of conflict, were deprived of many freedoms enjoyed by children elsewhere as battles between militants, the Indian army, Border Security Forces and counter-insurgents erupted around us. Our world was filled with the sound of gunshots, the roar of military convoys, the sight of frightening crackdowns, dead bodies, tortured youth, disappearances and grieving mothers.