Young stone-throwers – the ones who pelted Indian troops last summer after they fired on crowds – insist the dispute is nationalist, not religious.
"This is not a religious fight. It is a fight for land," says a 20-year-old businessman. "Though the majority are Muslims, it doesn't mean we want an Islamic state," says a 29-year-old computer professional. The state should be governed by democracy, with sharia law a personal matter, says a 31-year-old businessman.
Traditionally, Kashmiris have practiced Sufi Islam and lived alongside a sizable Hindu population. During the 1990s, most of the Hindus fled the Kashmir Valley after attacks from militants. Kashmiri Muslims often lament the exodus, claiming it was not their doing, while the Hindu exiles insist they were the victims of intolerant, militant Islam.
The two main separatist leaders mix religion and politics. Syed Ali Shah Geelani has been a member of Jamaat-e Islami, a Pakistan-based religious party that calls for sharia. He wants Kashmir to be part of an Islamic state, one where there would be no discrimination based on religion and girls would be educated, separately.
The other leader, Umar Farooq, holds the religious title of Mirwaiz, or spiritual leader of Kashmir's Muslims. He preaches separatism after Friday prayers from his seat in Kashmir's most important mosque. However, Farooq has been making his case to Indians and the wider world with the language of secular democracy.
