Srinagar-born rapper Ahmer Javed has a suggestion for the Indian politicians who oversaw the abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir. He wants them to visit his hometown, ditch their security personnel, and take a casual stroll in one of the areas that have been worst-affected by the lock-down that's still in place. "That's when they will understand how Kashmiris actually feel. They will sense the burning frustration," Javed says, his voice dripping with cynicism over the phone from Delhi, since his obvious allusion is that the locals would hang the ruling party's leaders out to dry.

But ahead of a gig he will play in Mumbai as part of his maiden India tour, the musician also adds that this feeling of helplessness isn't new in the Valley. Removing Article 370 is only the latest in a string of what he calls injustices. Javed would know. His uncle, Aijaz Ahmed Dar, was one of the first separatists to be killed in Kashmir in the 1980s, which was the catalyst for the tumultuous era of militant insurgency there in the '90s. Javed wasn't born then. But the episode still rankles him to such an extent that he poured his heart out in a track titled Uncle, dedicated to his relative.