SRINAGAR, Jammu-Kashmir— Several recent deadly attacks on Hindu migrant workers in Kashmir — as militants fight to separate the region from India — are prompting many to flee the Muslim-majority Himalayan valley.

On Oct. 17 in South Kashmir’s Kulgam district, Kashmiri militants killed two Hindu migrant workers from the Indian state of Bihar and injured another person. The attack came just a day after militants shot and killed two migrant workers, a Hindu man from Bihar and a Muslim man from Uttar Pradesh. The series of attacks in Kashmir began Oct. 5, when militants killed a Hindu street vendor from Bihar.

On Oct. 18, a group of migrant workers gathered at the Srinagar Railway Station to board trains back home to their native states.

Dinesh Mandal, 60, from Bhagalpur in Bihar, was among scores of people leaving Kashmir. For the last 40 years, Mandal has been coming to Kashmir every summer to sell ice cream. But he said after the killing of migrants, he is scared.

"The situation is bad,” he said. “Nonlocals are being targeted. Vendors and laborers are being fired upon by militants. We cannot live in Kashmir in such conditions.”

Satish Kumar, another ice cream seller in his 40s, voiced similar views. He said the situation is alarming, leaving poeple with no choice but to leave Kashmir.

"Everybody is scared,” Kumar said. “Earlier, vendors were targeted on the roads, but now people are being attacked in their rooms. We have decided to leave after two nonlocal persons were killed in Kulgam.”

Migrant workers told ReligionUnplugged.com that their families back home are scared after hearing the news of attacks on non-natives in Kashmir and are urging them to return. Those heading home said they are unsure whether they would come back to Kashmir in the future.

The Himalayan region of Kashmir acceded to India at the time of India’s independence in 1947, after which tribals from a mostly Muslim Pakistan invaded and gained control of parts of Kashmir. Nearly 7 million people live in the Kashmir Valley, 97% of them Muslims — making it India’s only Muslim-majority region. About 50,000 people have been killed in conflict in the last three decades, mainly between Indian security forces and Kashmiri militant separatists, according to Indian government figures.

After the revocation of Article 370 on Aug. 5, 2019, which had granted semi-autonomy to Kashmir within the Indian union, a massive security clampdown and internet and phone ban were imposed in Kashmir. Kashmir’s economy suffered a major blow, with millions of dollars lost to a prolonged shutdown, compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.

After the change in the law, there were fears in Kashmir that the Hindu-first Indian government run by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party had opened the gates for outsiders to settle in Kashmir, which would change the unique Muslim culture of the region. Article 370 had barred outsiders from buying land and in some cases securing jobs in Kashmir.

Migrant workers have participated in Kashmir's economy for decades, working mostly as construction workers and street vendors. Some of them have set up stalls selling tea, food and daily provisions across Kashmir. An estimated 50,000 migrant workers live seasonally in the region.

After the series of attacks on migrant workers, police helped shift hundreds to safer locations in the region. But the majority of migrants workers have fled Kashmir instead. The targeted killings of migrant workers has dented the Bharatiya Janata Party’s narrative of having restored normalcy in Kashmir.

Still, not everyone has shut their shops yet, even though many migrants have said they want to wind down their businesses soon and move out. Among those are a group of 20 vendors from Bihar selling hazelnuts in Srinagar.

Deepak Kumar — unrelated to Satish — who said he earns $8 a day selling hazelnuts, came to Kashmir three months ago. He and his colleagues have decided to return to Bihar after the latest killings.

“There is a lot of fear in Kashmir,” he said. “I want to sell the remaining hazelnuts and go back to Bihar.”

Another street vendor, Udit Kumar — urelated to Deepak or Satish — came to Kashmir from Bihar 10 days ago but said he will return to Bihar on Nov. 1. Kumar said saving his life despite not earning a livelihood is his priority right now. The government can’t provide security for all, he said, and that’s another reason that people like him have decided to move out.

“After the spiraling violence in Kashmir, I want to go back home,” he said. “Although general security arrangements have been made by the government, every migrant worker can’t be provided security.”

Babloo Kumar Yadav was without work during the COVID-19 lockdown at his home in Bihar. The street vendor came to Kashmir two months back. But after the killing of migrant workers, his family members back home have been constantly calling him and asking him to return. Yadav has been coming to Kashmir for the last four years but has never been as fearful as right now.

“Everybody is worried after the killings — anybody can be targeted,” he said. “Our families back home are telling us to return soon. They watch the happenings on TV. We have never seen non-natives being targeted, this is happening for the first time.”

But some with deeper roots in the region are determined to stay. Pawan Paswan’s brother Virendra was killed by militants, but the street vendor said he has no plans to leave Kashmir. He has lived and worked with his family there for the last 27 years.

“If I leave due to fear and stop working, how will I feed my family?” he asked. “Local people are very good. I have spent most of my life in Kashmir. My beard has turned grey now. Leaving Kashmir is not an option.”

Zaffar Iqbal is a journalist based in Kashmir, India. He has reported for 18 years on armed encounters, environmental issues, crime, politics, culture and human rights. He’s formerly the bureau chief of Jammu and Kashmir for NDTV.