Saturday was filled with rumours in Srinagar. Supplies are disappearing from shops as residents stock up on essential commodities, petrol pumps have emptied, the government has cancelled medical leave, and 100 companies of security forces, including the Border Security Force (BSF), have been the deployed; there is an atmosphere of siege. Topping the rumours is talk of war between India and Pakistan being around the corner. Credible or not, the Kashmiris are frightened, as they will bear the brunt of the fighting and destruction. The next rumour is that the Supreme Court will decide today on a petition by a right-wing group challenging Article 35A of the Constitution, which allows the J&K legislature to decide who is a "permanent resident" in the state — so that they may acquire property and jobs, etc.

The Kashmiri fears any change in their state's special Constitutional status will eventually lead to a demographic change in the Valley, and they will become a minority. Though the matter is not listed for Monday or Tuesday, it may come up later in the week, and though nothing is likely to be decided, the separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference has sent a huge team of 30 lawyers for the hearing. Others include the bizarre rumour that separatist leader Shabir Shah was murdered in Tihar Jail. He is very much alive. (Perhaps this rumour was triggered by the murder of a Pakistani prisoner by fellow inmates in Jaipur central jail last week.) There was a rumour that 150 Jamaat-e-Islami activists had been picked up by the authorities. There were possibly other rumours.