Personal Testament

There was a boy in Kashmir who befriended me. He followed me about, offering to show me the sights, find me a houseboat, take me shopping. Irritated, I asked for a militant. It was worth a shot. In the old days, the "boys"Kashmiri freedom fighterswould seek out journalists. All you had to do was spread the word that you were around. The militants in the early 1990s were idealistic and nationalistic. They wanted you to believe they were peaceful people who had been forced into violence because of injustices they had faced from India. But those boys are now gone: surrendered,...