Summary: The dispute between India and Pakistan over Kashmir has been a flashpoint on the sub-continent for more than six decades. It is a heavily militarised zone, with more than half a million troops stationed there. Despite the ongoing conflict, it receives little or no media attention. The climate for local journalists is poor: they work under strict curfews, internet access is sporadic and text messaging services are regularly cut off. But anti-Indian protests in 2010 sparked a change in the media landscape. For the first time, a host of new voices were heard and since then Kashmiri bloggers, filmmakers and authors have taken their stories to India, Pakistan and beyond. In this week's feature, the Listening Post's Meenakshi Ravi looks at the rise of Kashmir's alternative media voices.
