Srinagar, March 30 -- There is a strange contradiction playing out in Kashmir today - so visible, so loud, and yet so rarely questioned. It has been so, say most grandfathers and grandmothers, always like that. The Valley that struggles daily with its own decay suddenly finds its voice when the crisis is thousands of miles away.

Streets fill up, slogans rise, donations flow, and leaders compete in expressions of solidarity. Recent events have shown exactly this - rallies, aid collections, and even disruptions inside the Jammu & Kashmir Assembly over developments in Iran.

Delegations meet foreign envoys, condolences are offered, and emotional alignment is displayed with remarkable urgency. For a moment, Kashmir appears united, mobilized,...