 The year 2018 has been the bloodiest year in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in a decade. According to the most recent report released by Jammu-Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society, there were a total of 586 killings in the state this year. It was the first time since 2008 that the number of deaths crossed 500. The number of clashes between militants, security personnel as well as civilians has been steadily increasing since 2016 after the militant commander Burhan Muzzafarwani was shot down by armed forces in an encounter. Consequently, so is the number of casualties. For the first time, the United Nations also commented on the state of affairs in the valley. In a 49-page report released in June 2018, the UN documented human rights violations in Kashmir in the last 30 years. They stated that the government of India has been using excessive force, which does not adhere to the applicable national and international standards on the use of force. The BJP government at the center resorted to a hardline approach to combat the unrest that began in the aftermath of Burhan Wani's death. This is not any different from how most previous governments have chosen to respond to the unrest in the valley. Right after Wani's death, the Indian Army launched the operation Calm Down to Restore Order in the State. Additional troops were also deployed, but they were instructed to use minimal force. This approach changed in mid-2017 when the Indian Army launched Operation All Out, with the stated motive of flushing out all militants and terrorists in the state until there is complete peace. Under the operation, suppression by the military has significantly increased, but is this approach working? It doesn't seem so as violence from both sides only seems to be going up. According to an analysis of Jammu and Kashmir Police data by India Spend, the number of encounters between militants and armed personnel went up by 53% in the three years after March 2015 as compared to the three years before March 2015. It is interesting to note that the BJP and the PDP came together to form a coalition government in March 2015 promising peace to the valley. In May 2018, a ceasefire was announced on Ramzan. The ceasefire mostly remained on paper and failed to translate into any success on the ground. During this period, encounters continued unabated. Some of the most gruesome incidents this year include, on December 15, security forces killed seven civilians during a militant encounter. On June 15, Vikas Ahmed Radhar, a 12-year-old boy, was allegedly shot and killed by the Indian army. On 26th November, 20-month-old Hiba Jaan became the youngest Kashmiri to be blinded by a pellet gun. On October 19, a six-month pregnant woman died when she was caught in the crossfire between terrorists and the security forces. This hard-line approach is also not reducing the number of militants in the valley. The number of militants being killed by the armed forces may be going up, but at the same time, more and more young Kashmiris are picking up guns. The total number of militants has actually increased despite the encounters. There are around 300 active militants in the valley today, which is the highest in a decade and most of these militants are Kashmiri locals, not foreign terrorists. Even bright, young Kashmiris holding higher education degrees are giving up on their futures to become militants. 27-year-old Manan Vani had left the PhD he was pursuing from Aligarh Muslim University to join the militancy. He was killed in an encounter a few months after joining Hisbul Mujahideen. Anger and resentment among civilians is also rising. Incidents of civilians coming out and gathering at cordon and search operation sites in defense of the militants and to protest against the presence of the army have become more frequent. Many civilians end up losing their lives at such protests because security forces have been reportedly firing into the crowds without making any distinction between armed combatants and unarmed protesters. This year, of the 160 civilians killed, 71 died at the hands of the armed forces according to the data compiled by the JKCCS. Because of all this violence, Kashmiris today are not left with any avenues where they can peacefully protest or express themselves and be heard. Funerals for militants are the only times when Kashmiris get a chance to voice their discontent now. The violence for militants is also taking a more gruesome turn. In November 2018, two teenagers were abducted and shot dead by militants. After their bodies were found, Hisbul Mujahideen released a video claiming responsibility for the killings and saying that the two were Mukhbeer or informers working for the army. The number of tit for tat kidnappings of the relatives of police officers by militants is another disturbing development in the valley. In late August, 11 people were abducted by the militants because they were relatives of the police officers. They were released unharmed less than 24 hours later. An audio recording of Hisbul Mujahideen commander Riaz Naiku came out the same day warning police officers to stop harassing the kin of militants. One killing which remains unsolved was the murder of Shraddha Bukhari, a renowned journalist and the editor of the daily newspaper Rising Kashmir. With no attempt to engage in a dialogue with the Kashmiri people and no political process in sight, what does the BJP government hope to achieve? This central government, much like most other governments before it, does not seem to be thinking beyond military suppression as a solution for the crisis. This approach has not worked with the past governments and certainly does not seem to be any more effective under the current regime. Even the idea of autonomy for the state of Jammu and Kashmir has become an anti-national thought. A number of generals from the Indian army have been warning that the military alone cannot resolve the crisis in the absence of any kind of political intervention. But now, some army officers seem to believe a military solution is possible. However, as we can clearly see, excessive military force is only furthering the resolve of Kashmiris to revolt, which is escalating the violence in the valley.