The signs of killing disappear quickly in Kashmir. In the Muslim tradition, the dead are buried within hours. When suspected militants are shot by Indian security forces, the process is even hastier: the bodies are buried before their numbers are verified and recorded. The Himalayan isolation, the shifting political crosshairs, the chill breeze of oppression: all conspire against tracing what happened or where the victims lie. Nobody knows exactly how many people have died in the fighting between Indian forces and Kashmiri separatistsnot to mention Pakistani and Afghan mercenariessince the valley erupted in violence 11 1/2 years ago. (India says 35,000...
