For long years, the people of the Valley were afraid to condemn the militants. Quite often, the relatives could not even claim the body of the murdered person. They remained mute even after the militants moved beyond the symbols of the state, killing unarmed non-combatants. They were silent when the bodies of poet Sarwanand Koul and his son were found, their eyes gouged out and limbs broken. When Jindu Kashmiris or pandits were targeted, thousand of them had to be relocated in camps near Delhi. Although some city dwellers at times assisted fleeing militants willingly, many of the people in the countryside, who wanted to be left alone, had to provide food and shelter in exchange of security. Even some officials had to buy their peace with militants. The militants tortured or executed some individuals or grounds of mere suspicion that they were mukhbirs (informants). In some instances, the entire families were wiped out, including minors and babies.

Despite India’s generally good past record in managing its minorities, some security personnel also resorted to unnecessary force and even brutality. The latter, however, should not be compared to what occurred in Bosnia or in Chechnya. But there are instances of personnel in uniform beating men with rifle butts, looting houses, stealing gold and jewellery, torching the dwellings in the poorer Muslim localities, indiscriminately firing from their positions, applying electric shock to the genitals of the interrogated person and inserting a rod into his rectum. Some of these personnel were severely reprimanded, but in some cases, nothing was done. Not all senior officers were like Lieut. Gen. M.A. Zaki, who did not tolerate any excesses. For some time, neither the kashmiri officials, nor the Indian Government paid serious attention to the problems of the neglected security force, whose small-scale bunkers generally had no lighting or heating.