Srinagar, May 12 -- In the fanatic fall of 1947, as the subcontinent bled from its borders, Mahatma Gandhi stood before a restless Delhi and pointed quietly northward, and said: "I see a ray of hope in Kashmir."

The country had been torn apart by communal riots. Trains arrived full of corpses, and refugee camps swelled with sorrow.

But Kashmir, largely untouched by the fury, offered a different image. Not of perfect peace, but of people still holding each other's hands.

Back then, in the valley's lanes and fields, Kashmiri Muslims and Pandits lived as families, rather than as neighbours. They borrowed salt from one another, celebrated weddings together, and mourned under shared roofs.

Faith did not sit on anyone's sleeve. It sat quiet...