The Banksy of Kashmir.
The 2008 protests that brought out to the streets Kashmiris in their hundreds of thousands gave rise to a new slogan—‘I Protest.’ The words were depicted on an image of a crowd, an image that spread like wildfire, particularly on social networking sites. It became so famous that it inspired other artists as well, such as MC Kash, who came out with his hugely popular rap song I Protest. But the person behind the original image still wants to remain undercover. He is a Kashmiri graffiti artist and a painter. This isn’t the first time he created such a poster. He is also used Howard Zinn’s famous quote ‘There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of KILLING innocent people’ for a poster that also went viral in Kashmir. All his work remains inspired by, and dedicated to the ‘cause’ of Kashmir.
The “Banksy of Kashmir” was born in 1986 near Lal Chowk. He grew up in an area that was always a hotspot for grenades, IED explosions, encounters, bloodshed, lathi charge and more. Children usually enjoy street cricket in Kashmir, but for the generation of mid 1980s and 1990s, their childhood remained indoors. These children of conflict grew up under unusual circumstances, as did this artist. And that played a significant role in how he chose to express himself.
“I have witnessed conflict long before I gained my conscience, my childhood passed with the different stages of conflict- massacres, fake encounters, attacks, protests and slogans. As a kid I didn’t know why troopers enter into our homes and take our men and women out, be it during daylight or in the middle of the night,” says the artist. He recalls how he drew his first painting during his sixth grade, which was provoked by the Indian armed forces. more
The 2008 protests that brought out to the streets Kashmiris in their hundreds of thousands gave rise to a new slogan—‘I Protest.’ The words were depicted on an image of a crowd, an image that spread like wildfire, particularly on social networking sites. It became so famous that it inspired other artists as well, such as MC Kash, who came out with his hugely popular rap song I Protest. But the person behind the original image still wants to remain undercover. He is a Kashmiri graffiti artist and a painter. This isn’t the first time he created such a poster. He is also used Howard Zinn’s famous quote ‘There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of KILLING innocent people’ for a poster that also went viral in Kashmir. All his work remains inspired by, and dedicated to the ‘cause’ of Kashmir.The “Banksy of Kashmir” was born in 1986 near Lal Chowk. He grew up in an area that was always a hotspot for grenades, IED explosions, encounters, bloodshed, lathi charge and more. Children usually enjoy street cricket in Kashmir, but for the generation of mid 1980s and 1990s, their childhood remained indoors. These children of conflict grew up under unusual circumstances, as did this artist. And that played a significant role in how he chose to express himself.
“I have witnessed conflict long before I gained my conscience, my childhood passed with the different stages of conflict- massacres, fake encounters, attacks, protests and slogans. As a kid I didn’t know why troopers enter into our homes and take our men and women out, be it during daylight or in the middle of the night,” says the artist. He recalls how he drew his first painting during his sixth grade, which was provoked by the Indian armed forces. more
