Unground Lives of Kashmir's Teenage Stone Throwers

The long conflict between India and Pakistan over Kashmir entered a new phase in 2010 when young stone-throwing teenagers began protesting, angered by the death of a 17-year-old student, Tufail Mattoo, who was killed by a tear-gas shell that shattered his skull. The teen became an instant martyr. In the last several years, the Indian government has fought back forcefully against the protesters. And although gunfights between Indian soldiers and suspected militants are not rare, the stone-throwing young men have become the most prominent face of anti-India resistance in Kashmir. I began documenting these young men, hiding out in abandoned homes and other deserted places out of fear of being arrested and tortured by government forces. In many cases he has concealed their faces in partial shadow to protect their identities. Night raids have made them and their families restless. Some of the boys refuse to go to school because of worries they will be arrested and mistreated. Those who have already spent months in jails have become more disgruntled and rebellious. In the absence of safety, many have moved closer towards alienation and isolation.