Attending a Funeral Became the Cause of His Own Death

Amir Hameed Lone, a 21-year-old student, was an aspiring doctor, a coffee lover, and son of a Pashmina weaver.

Amir’s cousin displaying his photograph clicked by his sister in their kitchen.

(Photo Courtesy: Bilal Ahmad)

Amir Hameed Lone, a 21-year-old BSc student and a resident of Chattergul Kangan, Jammu and Kashmir, was an aspiring doctor, a coffee lover, and son of a Pashmina weaver.

Lone was seriously injured in the clashes which erupted on 3 April following the killing of a local youth, Gowhar Ahmad Rather. After battling deteriorating health for 12 days, Amir breathed his last on 15 April.

The elder sister of Amir Hameed Lone sitting by his bedding inside his room.

Relatives holding and consoling the sobbing mother of Amir Hameed Lone.

Relatives consoling Amir Hameed Lone’s younger sister and offering her water as she mourns his death.

Lone was going to attend the funeral procession of Gowhar, who was killed during the April protests. These protests are being termed as ‘The Bloody Sunday.’

Relatives consoling the elder sister of Amir Hameed Lone.

Thirteen militants, four civilians and three paramilitary forces lost their lives as a result of two separate gunfights, both carried out in Shopian district of south Kashmir. What followed were protests on a massive scale across the Valley, in which students participated aggressively, resulting in hundreds being injured due to pellet guns.

Photograpgh of Amir Hameed Lone when he was on ventilator for 12 days at Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS).

Amir Hameed Lone was admitted to Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences where he was kept on life-support for 12 days. Lone’s family members weren’t the only ones mourning; the whole town participated in his last rites.

Faiqa displaying the soap used to bathe Amir Hameed Lone one final time.

The cries of locals echoed loud, resonating with pain.

Relatives sitting tormented during Amir Hameed Lone’s funeral.

However, their screams weren’t enough to wake the Indian government from its deep slumber.

A collection of books and some personal items of Amir Hameed Lone.

Lone’s death left behind few things that will haunt his family for the rest of their lives.

Every morning, Amir Hameed Lone used to stand in front of this embedded mirror and dress for the day, says Faiqa, a younger niece of Lone.

And his niece seems to miss him more. Lone would make coffee for her after dinner and would weave a world full of magic and fairies.

Faiqa stands perplexed peeping through the door.

His medical reports, coffee mug, the embedded mirror in the wall of his room, bond with his little niece and his smiling face will keep him alive in the hearts of those who loved him.

(Bilal Ahmad is a Kashmir-based freelance photojournalist)

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