[Part 4 in a series by guest author San’aa Sultan]
Any place where occupation and tyranny are the norm, living becomes an act of resistance. For many, resistance amounts to the act of throwing a stone. 
In Kashmir, resistance takes many forms besides pelting stones.
In early March 2013, young Kashmiris took to the streets early in the morning to paint the roads red and to raise their red ribbons and flags in protest to demand the return of the mortal remains of Afzal Guru.
Later in the day Indian forces washed away the red from the streets of Srinagar and other parts of the valley, but the Kashmiris had made their point.
We will not forget, nor will we give up.
Actions like these are not only innovative but also capture the attention of onlookers globally. Young, active Kashmiris recognize the need for the world to be aware of their plight. Bloggers, poets, musicians, and rappers are rising from Kashmir to tell the story of their torn youth and to advocate the cause of their people.
In Kashmir, resistance has become a way of life for generation after generation of people who have learned to rise from beneath the jackboots of foreign troops in new and creative ways. In the words of one young Kashmiri blogger, Abdul Wajid: “Writing; it was not my cup of tea; never.
“But then a blood-splattered summer arrived and my darling vale started bleeding with my people trampled under the anonymous jackboots.
“As a part of reprisal, some brethren picked up guns while other took stones but the blood bullets left no one breathing. So I picked up a pen.”
San’aa Sultan
