NEW DELHI -- This year, there was an added significance in the sighting of the Ramadan moon, the new moon that marks the start of the holiest month on the Islamic calendar.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government had offered a monthlong unilateral ceasefire in Kashmir to coincide with the fasting and festivity that Muslims all over the world observe.
For the average Kashmiri, the ceasefire, now in force, seems almost like manna from heaven, given the 12 years of hostility between the Indian security forces and Kashmiri militants -- supported clandestinely at first by Islamabad, and later openly -- fighting for the state's merger with Pakistan. The conflict has turned the beautiful valley, often described as "paradise on Earth," into a smoldering wreck.