Tears cloud Peace

Thousands of Kashmiri youths crossed "The Line of Control" in 1989 and underwent armed training in Muzaffarabad, the capital city of the Pakistan administrated Kashmir 'to free their land from Indian occupation'. After returning they carried out many attacks on Indian forces. Since then the conflict in Kashmir has claimed more than 80,000 lives.

The Michael village of border district KUPWARA, just a few miles from "The Line of Control" is one of the artillery shelling prone areas of strife torn Jammu and Kashmir. Heavy gun battle between Islamic militants and Indian forces as well as kidnapping and disappearances are frequent. There are hundreds of such villages in the state, facing the consequences of their unknown faults on both sides of the 440 Km long line dividing Kashmir into two zones. India and Pakistan have fought three wars. These two neighboring countries have never lived in peace, and understandably the brunt of this conflict and border tension has been faced by the people living in these countries, particularly by poor people living in "The Line of Control".

It is the same story for people living on the other side of the line. They are undergoing the same pain and suffering which their counterparts in India face every day. The only difference is that one group of people suffers from Indian bullets and other from Pakistani bullets on "The line of Fire".