The Ministry Of Utmost Happiness

The narrative once again backtracks, introducing Musa’s daughter Jebeen, who always insisted on being called “Miss.” She was not quite 3 years old when she died, struck by a bullet that also killed her mother. The pair had been watching a funeral procession for a moderate Kashmiri separatist who had been shot by a Muslim extremist, when the Indian soldiers stationed nearby heard an explosion and began shooting into the crowd, killing 17 people in total:

Later it was established that the explosion had been caused by a car driving over an empty carton of Mango Frooti on the next street. Who was to blame? Who had left the packet of Mango Frooti (Fresh ’n’ Juicy) on the street? India or Kashmir? Or Pakistan? Who had driven over it? The facts were never established. Nobody was blamed. This was Kashmir. It was Kashmir’s fault (330).

Together with the other victims of the massacre, Miss Jebeen and her mother were buried in a cemetery known as Martyrs’ Graveyard.

Although the rebellion in Kashmir had been steadily escalating for years, Musa himself wasn’t initially involved in the insurgency. Nevertheless, his quietness during the funeral attracted the attention of the authorities, and he was brought to see

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