The violence in Kashmir has hit the post-Ramadan wedding season, with newspapers carrying notifications announcing the cancellation of feasts and invites.
This started on Sunday (July 10th) , when editions of most of the newspapers carried classified advertisements on the cancellation of wedding invitations. The ads announced the weddings would take place with utmost simplicity, a PTI report said.
Bilal Ahmad, a resident of Lal Bazar, said a big feast had been planned for his cousin’s wedding on July 11 but he was forced to cancel invites because of the prevailing condition. Like many others, he too let people know through advertisements in newspapers.
The decision to cancel feasts was mostly a practical one, With curfew imposed and mass protests raging. A majority of these cancellations come from Srinagar, a city that has been under heavy curfew since protests erupted over the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani.
“How can people move and attend marriage functions when there is curfew and violence around,” said Tanveer Ahmad, whose sister is getting married.
The Tuesday edition (July 12th) of English daily ‘Greater Kashmir’, featured a bunch of cancelled wedding invites on Page 2. A screengrab of the newspaper was posted on the India section of the social news website Reddit by user ‘ravihanda’.
At least 30 people have been killed and hundreds injured so far in clashes with security forces after Wani was killed.
This is not the first time Kashmir has seen cancellations of wedding feast and other festivities. It also happened during the outbreak of violence in 2010, and in 2014 when devastating floods hit the state.
(With inputs from PTI)
