Stone pelters in the Indian state of Kashmir  hide their faces, mostly by a piece of cloth. They are vigilantes, fighting for the greater good of Kashmiri people, for freedom... However, in hindsight, stone pelting is what you would ideally want to stay away from. 

The sentiment is shared by a former stone pelter too, who under the condition of anonymity, was quoted by Huffington Post as saying, "I regret it because I have seen so much violence and death in Kashmir, and feel that violence serves no purpose."

I feel strongly against violence also because most of those who pelt stones, most who lose limbs and eyes and lives, are from poor families. Not well educated, they are easily brainwashed, driven by the collective passion of society around them. They become emotional too quickly, thinking they will get Azadi by pelting stones," the stone pelter adds.

Stone pelting has been so deeply imbibed in the minds of Kashmiri youths that they seldom pay heed to those who advise against it, even if these people are from their own community.

In the month of August, a Kashmiri NCC woman cadet was mercilessly trolled on Facebook after her post asking young Kashmiri people to stay away from stone pelting went viral.

The soft spoken cadet had asked the Kashmiri youths to give up the brutal activity and enjoy the existing freedom, a right that these pelters are fighting for.

"I want to tell the youth that the real azadi (freedom) is here. If you want azadi, it is here," the cadet's message reportedly read.

"Please don't go towards bad things like protests, stone pelting or getting involved in sloganeering for azadi. Azadi is nothing. If you want azaadi, it is here," she added.

Thereafter, she was asked to 'join the Indian dogs' by most, while some came to her rescue.

According to a stone pelter, who wants peace in the valley, joining the militancy is the best option, which to an extent is a bit of a paradox, given that militancy and peace are the best of companions.

The anonymous 23-year old pelter was quoted by Firstpost as saying, "If I get a weapon, I am ready to join the militancy - but for the time being, the stone is our weapon. My father is in the police, posted in Srinagar. He used to tell me to join the police, but now he does not insist."

When asked about the same, a policeman said that it is tough to be a cop in Kashmir as their own family members at times take to the streets with stone in their hands.

"I joined the police as I had no job. Being part of the police force is very difficult for me under these circumstances but I have no choice. Even our own children and relatives take part in these protest," he said.

April was abuzz with news of an Army man tying a pelter to an army jeep to avoid pelting.

As the news slowly broke out, it spread like wildfire, providing fooder for many TV channels to debate upon...and while some lauded the man in question, most people questioned his tactics.

Defending himself almost a month later, Major Leetul Gogoi, who hailed from the north-eastern Indian state of Assam, said he deliberately avoided using his gun as that would have led to greater loss of lives.

His tactics to pacify the stone pelters was bizarre, but it was effective nonetheless.

"Seeing what I had done, the stone pelting stopped. Then I got a safe window to come out. I did it to save the local people. If I had not done it, 12 people would have died," Gogoi was quoted in the local media as saying. 

Several human rights watchdogs, including Amnesty International have come down hard on the Indian government for allowing the army to use pellet guns to take on pelters in Kashmir.

In September, Amnesty International India urged the government to ban the use of pellet guns, citing that the same causes loss of sight among people, both attackers and bystanders alike.

In Its report, the organisation said that the victims faced serious physical and mental health issues, including symptoms of psychological trauma.

In his Independence Day speech, the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi had said that the Kashmir issue cannot be solved by guns and abuses, and reacting to his statement, Amnesty executive director Aakar Patel said, "If the government truly means this, it must end the use of pellet-firing shotguns, which have caused immense suffering in Kashmir."

A Bharatiya Janata Party leader too was quoted in the media as saying that there cannot be any discussion with stone in the hand, while referring to the Kashmir issue, thereby, giving out hints that the Indian government may not end this any time soon.

Experts feel that the pro Pakistan sentiment prevailing in Kashmir is also impeding coordination between the centre and the state, as the BJP ruled central government is seen as going ballistic on protesters challening the sovereignty of India.

Pellet guns may not be the ideal thing to tackle an issues like stone pelting or masked protests, but similarly the latter too isn't desirable.

(Writing by Sudipto Maity)