A rock and a hard place
A Srinagar youth readies his slingshot during protests in May
Abid Baig is a salesman in a dried-fruits shop in Lal Chowk, the central shopping district of Srinagar, Indian Kashmir's capital. But Baig's real calling is as a stone thrower. A familiar figure at protests for azadi , or freedom, that regularly clog Srinagar's streets, 21-year-old Baig is angry, blaming the pervasive Indian security presence for choking off his chance at a decent life. His parents pulled him out of school when he was just in 10th grade because they worried that their only child would be picked up by police trolling for militants. Baig speaks intensely and deliberately, looking...
