We thank her for the observation, since the sentence reads as if forces in the Kashmir killed 35,000 people, rather than that being the figure for deaths inflicted by both sides in the conflict.

There are numerous political groups in Kashmir spanning a wide spectrum of views. Some have focused their demands on the Indian government to implement the long-denied referendum of the overwhelmingly Muslim Kashmiri people to decide whether they want to join Pakistan instead of being forcibly united with India. Others are directly backed by Pakistan's military government. These often wrap themselves in Muslim religious garb to justify communalist assaults on people who are Hindu and those they accuse of spying for Indian intelligence. This only plays into the hands of Hindu communalists who, with the tacit support of the Indian regime, carry out similar attacks on Muslims.

The Militant has used several terms to describe the various groups in Kashmir, including "Muslim." Use of the word "Muslim" does not in and of itself mean a group is reactionary or progressive. The Indian rulers have treated Kashmiris as second-class citizens, giving fuel to Hindu communalists based on the fact that the people of Kashmir are Muslim. As a result, many groups consider their Muslim identity to be a source of pride.  
 
What is WIC?
Women, Infants, and Children, known as WIC, is a government program for people the government considers "low-income" and nutritionally at risk. It provides counseling and certain foods to pregnant women and mothers with infants up to one year old. It also serves children up to their fifth birthday.

The government uses other programs such as Food Stamps, which gives low-income families a quota of food coupons each month to purchase food at grocery stores. Somebody who is unemployed can be cut off from the program if a government official decides that person is not trying hard enough to find work.

All these programs are designed to circumvent the government paying out cash relief at a livable income, but instead to try to degrade and demoralize people who find themselves in financial straits.  
 
 
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