The pictures were clicked in March 2012 while on a seven day visit to Jammu. This included Nagrota, Chanderkot, Dharmund, Arnora, Doda, Bhagwah, Bhaderwah, Jaighati, Ramgarh, Udhampur and Kud.
As an Indian Army initiative, the visit gave 16 students of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi an opportunity to research, explore and videograph various themes relevant to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. And, culminate the process with a 10-15 minute documentary which documents the theme successfully.
My attempt, called Maqsad, is a 10 minute documentary exploring the ’cause’ associated with militancy. It explores the common perceptions, as constructed primarily by the media; personal accounts of currently surrendered and apprehended militants affiliated to the Hizbul Mujahideen and the Lashkar-e-Taiba (which has been legally operating as Jamaat-ud-Dawa since 2007, renamed further as Tehreek-e-Hurmat-e-Rasool) and their families. This is complemented by a segment which attempts to consolidate the ’cause’, as directed by their respective Tanzeems.
Its debatable to say that these were rebels without a cause. And lived experiences paint a new picture which has fewer hues of red and black.
Posted by Aditi Malhotra 
Butterfly Spotting 