17 years ago, during a visit to my native village, Sogam Lolab, as an excited 8-year-old, my life changed forever.

We were visiting after a long time. From Srinagar, we had traveled to north Kashmir’s Kupwara to reach the village.

Upon arrival, my mother decided to visit my uncle’s house and spend the night. She insisted that I stay with her but I didn’t listen. I went to another uncle’s place to have fun, as I hadn’t met them in a long time. Little did I know, it was going to be the last time I would speak to my mother.

To my surprise, at around 6 PM that day, all the neighbouring houses in the village switched off their lights. I asked my cousin about it, and he said, “Militants make routine visits to the houses in the village, and people offer them food and other things. Nobody has the guts to say anything to them. Whatever they say, everyone follows.”