Nobody seems to recall the Valley observing a hartal during the violent nineties at the call of a mainstream national party. Nobody recalls any Bharat bandh evoking a response in Kashmir. Even the Srinagar-based employees of Civil Secretariat can't coordinate with their Jammu-based colleagues during their agitations. Instead, the issues on which the frequent strikes take place in the Valley remains uniquely `Kashmiri'. The February 5 hartal was, for instance, part of the annual protest day observed by Pakistan in support of the separatist campaign. And the February 11 strike marked the15th anniversary of the hanging of secessionist leader Maqbool Bhat, often described here as the `First Martyr'.

The strikes usually lead to a near-complete shutdown of shops and establishments here. At least in Srinagar, the price rise strike appeared to be as successful as the ones called in the name of azadi.

This has baffled some, while others are hailing it as an indication that the Valley is heading back into the national mainstream.

But one argument that remains is that of the strike being a mistake. The traders were not sure who had called it and simply did not want to take any chances. The APHC, which calls many of the `routine' hartals, seems to agree in part, with this. According to Hurriyat spokesman Abdul Gani Bhat, the hartal took place in `confusion'. He trashed the Left effort saying it was not a `success' compared to Hurriyat achievements.

The APHC leader said traders downed shutters because they feared their shops would be stoned. Bhat, however, disagreed that the fear of the gunmight have been similarly responsible for the success of pro-azadi strikes. They were more `spontaneous' events, he felt.

The Hurriyat hartals, he suggested, related more to the `sentiments' and the `wishes' of the people for a dignified future. "The call given by the CPM was concerned more with the stomach," he suggested.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) is, however, making no apologies about making an appeal to the `stomach'.

Local party leader M Y Tarigami called the price rise hartal a positive development. "Certainly, it reflects the new mood of the people," he told The Indian Express.

He said the strike was a success though the state unit of the CPI(M) had just a few days to prepare for it. The traders downed shutters in deference to the mood of the people who, he insisted, were fully aware about what the hartal was about.

The party, it appears, was cashing on resentment brewing in urban Kashmir over the recent revision of electricity tariffs in the rise in the price of cookinggas.

On the day of the hartal, Congress also took out a protest march in Srinagar. It was a smaller affair than the CPI(M)'s own march, in which a few hundreds took part. But the Congress protest was over a cocktail of issues - price rise, human rights violations and corruption. Though the Congress clarified that it was separate protest, many took it that the party was supporting the CPI(M) call.

But whatever the reason, "We have simply got into the habit of observing hartals," said a journalist.