If you have been following events in the Kashmir Valley, you would have heard of massive crowds turning up at the funerals for the mourning. Hundreds of violent, passionate protestors get killed, thousands of mourners get injured after the funerals. But, not all mourners are sympathizers, many of them are actually informers of the Indian security forces, just like Koshur.

The more interesting question is why these funerals are allowed by New Delhi? The security forces and the J&K government are well aware of what is happening in the Valley i.e. glorifying the militants and attracting more youngsters to pick the guns, but why are such funerals allowed?

In the complicated jumble that is Kashmir in, funerals are the best place to get information from a variety of sources, whether through technical means or via humans who could be the police informers like Koshur.

But for an informer to be effective he has to be a trusted local. Somebody the militants don’t suspect someone who is seen as sympathetic to the militancy. Therefore one of the first things that a mukhbir must do on the killing of a militant is to mourn the death. He must be at the funeral with his eyes, and ears open so that proper intelligence can be gathered and shared with the security agencies.