If it is the Indian mainstream media which has been keeping you informed about Kashmir, trust me, you have been in the wrong hands. Lies are peddled by the government, and in turn faithfully disseminated by the Indian media. This is a brief attempt at dispelling those lies-turned-myths.
Kashmir is militant-infested
Who told you so? Watching too many Bollywood films, or what? If the official admission is anything to go by, there are not more than 500 militants operating today in Kashmir. And all entrenched too deep to foment any discord. There has been no militancy in the Valley worth the name in this century. Your information is outdated by more than a decade.
Kashmiris are hostile to Indians
You indeed must be kidding. If there is any hostility, it is the Kashmiris who face this discrimination and animosity day in and out, both in mainland India and back home as well. Try disguising yourself as a Kashmiri Muslim and venture on a house-hunting chore in any Indian city and you will find the truth the hard way out. That's, of course, assuming you have the height and the good looks to pass off as one.
The alienation of Kashmiris is their own doing, fuelled by Pakistan
Now, that's a spiteful joke. The people of Kashmir have been subject to untold misery by Indian security forces. Disappearances. Torture. Detention without charge. Tomes have been published about the atrocities that have been heaped on these people over the years. The wounds inflicted by India on Kashmiris run deep. Very deep. You don't need a trouble-monger Pakistan to fuel anything, all the stoking is devotedly done by India. Quite remorselessly, at that.
Kashmir is headed for Talibanisation
Islamophobia is really getting to you. Get yourself a good shrink. And bill it to the Indian government, for it is this establishment that is singularly responsible for the dissemination and proliferation of such deceitful conjectures. You might also like to bill a smaller amount to the Indian mainstream media which has dutifully acted as the conduit for such unadulterated balderdash. The people of Kashmir certainly are conservative, relatively speaking; and Islam is more a way of life than a fanatical mode of self-expression. Kashmir is as much headed for Talibanisation at this moment, as India has become a Hindu Rashtra in spite of the efforts of the saffron brigade.
Geelani being the main leader means Kashmiris are for Pakistan
Which TV channel do you watch? Must be one of those where the anchor keeps flaring his nostrils and gnashing his perfect set of teeth. No, SAS Geelani is a leader by default. Some may be with him because they are pro-Pakistan themselves, or believe in an Islamist theocracy. Who knows? That's hardly the point. Geelani is Geelani because he is one person who is widely seen as a man who has not compromised vis-à-vis India. We may abhor him, disagree with him; and that's all that we can do. The truth lies in the minds of the people.
The interlocutors will solve the problem
You mean the Three Idiots? But then you can't ignore idiots, either. You can do so only at your own peril. And this triumvirate has been doing everything that interlocutors, by their very mandate, are not supposed to do. They speak to whosoever they want, they ignore whosoever they deem fit to. And they air their pompous vaingloriousness at press meets. So much for their haughtiness. At every stage they have been fanning hatred and trying to divide an already fractured society. You judge people by their actions and not their CVs. By this measure, this is a bunch of mischief-mongers.
With so much of central funds going in, Kashmiris are one pampered lot
If you have an idea about the volume of central funds going in, you ought to pay a visit to Kashmir and find out where it has been disappearing to. It's certainly not reaching the Kashmiri people. If there are pampered people around, those would be the rapacious puppet politicians and the fiendish security forces. After the shahtoosh ban, the weavers are living in penury. So are the fur workers. The silk industry has been dealt with a severe blow. The Dal lake is all about a glorious past. And there's no militancy worth its name that is to be blamed for all this. The people live in abject misery, deeply scarred and mortally hurt.
The Indian media gave adequate coverage to the 2010 unrest
Actually, it's called lopsided coverage. All you saw splashed across newspaper pages and television screens last year were stone-pelters on the rampage against our genteel forces who were apparently acting under a lot of duress and restraint. Can't you ask yourself a few questions? How many of these mainstream media outlets even told you about the cause of the unrest? How many even reported how the forces would perpetrate atrocities on innocents? How many even told you that it has been all about structural issues for a while now?
Tourism figures prove Kashmir is peaceful
Wouldn't that be contradictory to (i)? And in any case, if you have fallen for this white lie, you must also have for the India Shining hoax, you gullible sod. This may not be the perfect analogy, but you ought to get the message. For one, Kashmiris are not a hostile lot. Indian tourists land, create a mess, throw a ruckus, strut around obscenely, click photographs, cluck sanctimonious tongues, pee all over the place, and become a sordid statistic in a propaganda lore. Even the Amarnath Yatra, barring a few unsavoury incidents propagated and perpetrated by the powers-that-always-are, have always carried on peacefully. Kashmiris are not in the habit of throwing spanners into the works of other people. It's not about peace; it's about anger, dissent, right to self-determination.
Aren't the remaining Kashmiri Pandits a hapless lot?
They certainly are going through trying times. As are others. But then, here's a count-question: how many times did you hear of Pandits being targeted in last year's five-month long agitation? It would have been way too easy for demonstrators to cook their goose. But was theirs?
"Ido not find any point in starting this essay with the history of Kashmir. In my essay, only few historical instances will be brought into the lime light, where ever required.
Resolution of any problem can be ascertained by the deep understanding of the cause of the problem.kashmir imbroglio, although being a vexed issue is not complicated to understand at all. History stands witness to each and every incident. I repeat, it’s crystal clear. Then the question arises, why is it still unresolved even after 60 years? There are many answers to it. India’s adamance, few mistakes by Pakistan, and last but not the least is the confused Kashmiri leadership.
It is not wise to call Kashmir just a bilateral issue. The fate of 13.6 million people can not be decided by the two foreign countries or any organization which does not represent Kashmir’s truly. Pakistan's representation of Kashmir is always being seen at, with dubious eyes at the international platform. No country can trust Pakistan’s sayings about the condition of Kashmir. Many countries and organizations perceive India and Pakistan both as occupants and do not differentiate them, saying both of these nations have their vested interests in it.So my point is that the bottleneck of the problem is weak and bifurcated Kashmiri separatist leadership, so are the people. This has given rise to the two obstacles in between Kashmir and its freedom.
1. LOSS OF THE FREEDOM PASSION; Kashmir’s have never felt to be part of India, they always aspired for their freedom, but they were predominantly ignorant, so they needed a reliable, wise and influential torch bearer. They got few but at the end of the day all of them turned out to be cheaters. so due to the known reasons, violence broke out in the valley. It was not the war between few organizations and India. It was a civil war. It was raised by the local populace of Kashmir, it was so popular that if India would not have been able to succeed in confusing the militant outfits and the people of Kashmir and if it would have persisted 1 or 2 years further with the same zeal and passion, India had to leave the valley. India’s first success was the internal rift in Kashmiri militants, a gang war like situation prevailed, when hizbul mujahideen and Jammu Kashmir liberation front began to kill each other due to their ideological differences, leaving the war against India aside. So with this, local population was divided as both these outfits had mass public support.
This broke the back of Kashmir freedom struggle.
The second setback to the struggle was a very ugly name in the history of Kashmir, i.e. KUKA PARRAY, the very unfortunate formation of so called ikhwaan. India succeeded in indoctrinating hundred's of kashmiri youth, majority of whom were former millitants,to surrender and gave them arms, ranks, unlimited power and utilized them to curb the militancy, because, they being locals and involved in militancy before, knew each and everything about the militants, their thinking and way of operating. Although majority of these so-called ikhwanis have been killed by the militants now, but the damage done by them to the freedom struggle is irreparable. This second setback cooled everything down and this betrayal even killed the freedom passion in the local populace. There was a lack of trust. Nobody would know who is who. Even there were many families which had its members in different rival organizations. On the whole, India played a very intelligent politics in curbing Kashmir’s struggle. India could not have been successful in doing all this directly without getting locals into it.
2. INADEQUATE INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT; According to united nations resolutions, Kashmir is a disputed territory whose people have to exercise their rights through a free and fair plebiscite under U.N. So this dispute was internationally recognized, but now Kashmir has lost that support to a great extent. There are again 2 reasons for it. a).immediately after the armed resistance erupted in the valley, there was a huge exodus of minority pandit community, a plan mainly engineered by the then governor general of Kashmir, Mr. Jagmohan, and many other unpopular reasons are responsible for it. This helped India to label the Kashmiri uprising purely Islamic; India was successful to frame this issue on communal lines, to a great extent. So this defamed the uprising in many parts of the world.
b). Another setback was the September 11, 2001 attack on twin towers and pentagon in the united states of America, after which America’s 'war against terror' was launched all over the world. So in this post-9/11 world, it became hard for international community to differentiate between freedom struggle and terrorism. The word 'terrorism' became so popular that anybody with a weapon, for any cause, was labeled as terrorist. According to America, their prime suspect was Sheikh Osama bin laden, for whom they attacked Afghanistan and then suspected him to be in South Waziristan, which is a Pak-Afghan border area. America found Pakistan to have huge no. of Osama sympathizers, and Pakistan somehow managed to convince America and saved itself from devastation, although it was at the brink of it. So, now it was a cake walk for India to link Kashmir issue with the international terrorism. According to India, 9/11 attack had a direct link with Kashmir and it even succeeded in highlighting this link to a great extent.So these two reasons, especially the second one destructed the Kashmir’s international support as India claimed to be the terror victim like USA.
So, till now I have sorted out the basic two problems, which if dealt with delicately, and solved, the day is not far when we can see a free Kashmir.
Now the remedies to solve the problems;
50% of the problem is solved if its cause is predicted and then understood properly so at the present moment by figuring out the causes of this problem, we have solved it partially.There are two steps to be taken to resolve the Kashmir dispute, which means to solve the above two problems. So the two steps of remedies are;
1. Revival of that freedom passion in Kashmiri people which was in them at the inception of the popular uprising.
2. succeeding to get the sincere interference of international community especially the major players like United States and United Kingdom.
The second step is spontaneous to the first one.
1.REVIAVAL OF FREEDOM PASSION IN THE PEOPLE; I strongly confront to this notion that Kashmir’s are tired of striving for freedom. It’s only because of the impaired leadership machinery. Even being without a monopolistic leader, Kashmir’s still continue to strive for their goal to a great extent. They still boycott august 15, India s Independence Day, October 27th, when Indian troops entered Kashmir, all elections under Indian constitutions and many more. Although Kashmiri leaders do proclaim a strike call on these days but the reality is that the people do it for themselves and not for the call given by these leaders. But we can not deny the fact that a sincere leader is indispensable for this goal to be accomplished. So my point over here is the need of a passionate, sincere, knowledgeable leader, who has a full public backing. Revolution has always been brought up by single persons, so we have to wait for such a person for whose tones people will dance to. Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah had enjoyed such a support just few decades ago but he failed at the end and ditched his own people. Now we need one more sheikh, provided he does not ditch the people. I am emphasizing the element of the public support enjoyed by him.
Mathematically, we need sheikh Abdullah - treachery.
Such a person even has the ability to mesmerize the people with his demogoguery.He can bring all the people from all shades under one roof and set a common goal for them. Kashmir’s should not abstain to such a situation saying it can lead to more violence, but they should comprehend this fact that everyday people die and nobody cares, it has become a norm of the life now. So is it not better to face it at once by facing the Indian pressure and coming out on the roads irrespective of age, sex, educational backgrounds etc etc ? Exactly the situation of 1989 is to be rejuvenated, but without the gun. gun can be detrimental to the struggle this time, it can give room to India for calling itself terror victim and earn sympathy. So the war is to be waged with power and passion, as was done before but including intelligence and unity this time. The whole world is to be shambled with such local protests. Educated youths are to be involved in this and they be given chances to enter the revolutionary machinery, so that they can go front and speak up in front of the world effectively. It is to be highlighted at the intellectual level. It should become a fashion. People should know what their actual rights are. And all this can be done by that leader who can get the masses behind him.
India has always been strategic in curbing the voice of Kashmir by enforced disappearances, rapes, plunder,custodial killings, imposition of various draconian laws like POTA (prevention of terrorist activities act),AFSPA(armed forces special powers act), artificial ghosts in early 90's to terrorize people and now their latest trend is to indoctrinate Kashmir’s new generation. This year India conducted Gandhi jayanti on a high level in Kashmir asking students to participate in it and even chief minister Ghulam nabi azad asked people to follow Gandhi's principles in this life and keep Islam for the hereafter, and recently on an eve of children's day, children were asked to recite the much debated and controversial Indian patriotic song VANDE MATARAM, which is not only against the kashmiri sentiments but even against Islamic sentiments. This is a religious interference. This is the most dangerous Indian strategy, which could be detrimental to the cause of Kashmir to a great extent, if not dealt with properly. People, especially children should be made aware of these deep conspiracies hatched by New Delhi.
2. SUCCEEDING TO GET THE SINCERE INTERFERENCE OF INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY AND EVEN THE UNITED NATIONS; as I said earlier, this step is spontaneous to the first one. When such a scenario comes into the being, there is no other way out for the world community to force India for solving the problem.International community never takes cognizance of any dispute unless it is not serious and a threat to the world or regional security. Kashmir dispute has already caused 3 wars between Pakistan and India and now both of these arch rivals have nuclear power, so the next war between them is a threat to the whole of South Asia and the world peace. So this threat is to be practically realized by the world. Pakistan has been pressurizing the world even on this point but as I said earlier that now it is not being considered true Kashmir representative. Islamic world should be insisted to play a role in it. Organization of Islamic countries (OIC) conducts Islamic conference every year and every time expresses its solidarity with the Kashmir cause, but just verbal support does not suffice. All Islamic countries should stop all kinds of trade and relation with India and pressurize it to solve Kashmir. I am emphasizing Islamic countries, because we all know that Kashmir is a Muslim majority place so getting such kind of support is pragmatically comparatively very easy. After getting the Islamic support, Kashmir should turn towards the west. It should organize programmes in which English speaking youth be nurtured and made knowledgeable about the issue and sent to the universities of the United states, united kingdom, Australia and even to the strong Indian allies like Russia. This program should be launched at the high level with huge funds and responsible, knowledgeable people to take care of it. So in this way, Kashmir can build up its young intellectual army against India with non violence and India will be bound not to do anything with it.
CONCLUSION; India is a big country with an obdurate stand on Kashmir, so kashmiris should follow the above furnished two point theory of reviving their freedom passion and getting international support, with patience and perseverance.i am sure it is not difficult to do, but it needs joint efforts. Although Kashmir’s are making efforts but not in the right direction, all efforts by them should make one confluence and form an effort pool. I am certain this is the only best solution for it, which is really productive and does not ask for lot of blood shed.
The essay competition titled ‘How could Kashmir, the oldest unresolved dispute, be settled’ was judged independently by Brian Cox, Senior Vice President, ICRD (International Centre for Religion and Diplomacy) in the United States who evaluated the essays and his decision was final.The winner was Mahboob-ul-Haq Makhdoomi of Indiana University, Pennsylvania, while Himanshu Goenka of London School of Oriential and African Studies and Tawseef Kashoo of University of Kashmir, Srinanagar were adjudged the second best.
Dirt, rubble, thick grass, hillside and flatland, crowded with graves. Signifiers of military and paramilitary terror, masked from the world. Constructed by institutions of state to conceal massacre. Placed next to homes, fields, schools, an army practice range. Unknown, unmarked. Over 940 graves in a segment of Baramulla district alone. Some containing more than one cadaver. Dug by locals, coerced by the police, on village land. Bodies dragged through the night, some tortured, burnt, desecrated. Circulating mythology claims these graves uniformly house ‘foreign militants’. Exhumation and identification have not occurred in most cases. When undertaken, in sizable instances, records prove the dead to be local people, ordinary citizens, killed in fake encounters. In instances where bodies have been identified as local, non-militant and militant, it demystifies state rhetoric that rumours these persons to be ‘foreign militants’, propagating misrepresentation that the demand for self-determination is prevailingly external. Mourned, cared for, by locals, as ‘farz’/duty, as part of an obligation, stated repeatedly, to ‘azadi’. ‘Azadi’/freedom to determine self and future.
On 18 and 20 June, the International People’s Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice in Indian-administered Kashmir (‘Tribunal’, convened in April 2008, www.kashmirprocess.org) visited Baramulla and Kupwara district to conduct ongoing fact-finding and verification related to mass graves at the behest of local communities. The team comprised of Tribunal Conveners Advocate Parvez Imroz and myself, a staff member, and camera crew.
On 18 June, we visited Raja Mohalla in Uri, Baramulla district, 110 kilometres from Srinagar, where 22 graves were constructed between 1996-1997. Then to Quazipora, where 13 bodies were stated as buried in seven graves in 1991. Then we travelled to Chehal, Bimyar village, Uri, holding 235 graves. We re-met Atta Mohammad, gravedigger and caretaker at Chehal, who testified that these bodies, brought by the police, primarily after dark, were buried between 2002-2006. Atta Mohammad said that the bodies appear in his nightmares, each in graphic, gruesome detail. Terrorised by the task forced upon him, his nights are bereft of sleep. Then we travelled to Mir Mohalla, Kichama, Sheeri, to the main graveyard with 105 graves, stated to hold about 225-250 bodies, buried between 1994-2003, and a smaller graveyard, with nine graves, adjacent to a sign proclaiming it a ‘Model Village’.
On 20 June, we visited the northern district of Kupwara. On the way we witnessed army convoys, including one of 21+ vehicles. Created in 1979 through the forking of Baramulla district, approximately 5,000 feet above sea level, Kupwara borders the Line-of-Control to the north and west. Between Shamsbari and Pirpanchal mountain ranges, it is one of the most heavily militarised zones, about 95 kilometres from Srinagar. Kupwara houses six army camps, as military and paramilitary forces occupy significant land. Seven interrogation centres have been operational with police stations functioning as additional interrogation cells. In Handwara town, a watchtower surveils and regulates movement.
In Kupwara, we visited Trehgam village, holding 85-100 graves, 24 of which are identified, and spoke with community members. Trehgam was home to Maqbool Bhat (b. 1938), founding figure of the Jammu Kashmir National Liberation Front. Acknowledged as Shaheed-e-Kashmir, Bhat is labelled a ‘terrorist’ by certain segments of India. He sought to unite the territories of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir into a secular, sovereign, democratic state. Bhat was sentenced to death by the Supreme Court of India and hanged in Tihar jail in New Delhi on 11 February 1984. Maqbool Bhat’s nephew, Parvaiz Ahmad Bhat, reminded us that Habibullah Bhat, Bhat’s brother, was the first case of enforced disappearance before 1989.
After Trehgam, we reached Regipora around 3 pm and stopped for lunch. There, two persons introduced themselves as Special Branch Kashmir (SBK) and Counter Intelligence Kashmir (CIK) personnel, and questioned the Tribunal staff member about our visit. After responding, we proceeded to the ‘martyrs’ graveyard’ holding 258 graves, constructed in 1995. This burial ground is meticulously ordered, each grave numbered. The body of a 20-25 year old youth was buried in the first week of June, reportedly killed in an encounter in Bamhama village.
We stopped at a roadside tea stall to speak with local people about the graves. Four intelligence personnel questioned us, asking we disclose information about those we had visited. Soon, four additional SBK and CIK personnel joined the questioning. Other intelligence personnel made phone calls. By then, about 12 intelligence personnel gathered. Following further questioning we proceeded toward Srinagar. A car followed at a distance.
We detoured to Sadipora, Kandi, where locals stated that around 20 bodies were buried. The graveyard, overrun with wild flowers, is part of a larger ground used during festivals, including Id. Two of four bodies, killed in a fake encounter on 29 April 2007, were exhumed, identified as locals, contrary to police records stating them to be ‘Pakistani terrorists’. Saidipora holds Riyaz Ahmad Bhat’s grave, killed in the encounter, age 19. Police records, per the First Information Report, declared him a ‘Pakistani terrorist’. Riyaz Bhat was identified by Javeed Ahmed, his brother, as a resident of Kalashpora, Srinagar, based on police photographs from the time of death. Ahmed travelled with the Tribunal to take us to his brother’s grave. On his knees Javeed attempted to clear the thick brush. Later, in Srinagar, he testified that Bhat had never been involved in militancy. Javeed spoke of grieving, of imprisonment and beatings at the police station. He asked how he could have saved his brother from death.
After Sadiapora, we were stopped at Shangargund, Sopore, at about 6.40 pm, by three persons in civilian clothing. They forcibly boarded the car. We were ordered to the Sopore Police Station. There we were asked to detail our identity, employment, the purpose of the visit, and to hand over tapes which, the police alleged, contained ‘dangerous’ and ‘objectionable’ material. We stated that the Tribunal, a public process, was undertaking its work peaceably, lawfully, with informed consent, and that we had not visited restricted areas. We stated that the police had no lawful reason to seize the tapes. We were detained for 16 minutes.
After several calls to senior police persons, we were released. A red Indica car followed us to Sangrama. At Srinagar, Intelligence personnel were stationed at my hotel. On 21 June, I was followed from the hotel to the Tribunal’s office in Lal Chowk, where about 8 personnel were stationed the entire day questioning anyone who entered or left the office.
My mother, residing in Calcutta, received a query regarding my whereabouts from the District Magistrate’s Office. I was followed to the Srinagar airport on 22 June, and questioned, asked if I possessed dual citizenship. I do not. I am a citizen of India and a permanent resident of the United States. On 24 June, I arrived in Bhubaneswar to submit a statement to the Commission of Inquiry on the Kandhamal violence against Christians in 2007 in Orissa. There too, Central Intelligence officials persistently inquired after me. In April, after announcing the Tribunal, I was stopped and harassed at Immigration while leaving India for the United States, and again on my re-entry in June.
The targeting of the Tribunal has not abated since the Amarnath issue erupted around 23 June. The volatile proposal to transfer 800 kanals of land to the Shrine Board, revoked on 01 July, was supported by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party and Hindu militant Shiv Sena. Despite the Sena’s recent call to Hindus to form suicide squads, it faces no sanctions from the state. Kashmiris of diverse ethnicities and religions dissented the Amarnath land transfer. Community leaders in Kashmir explained that their stance against the proposal is not in dissent to Hindu pilgrims, but a repressive state. During the Amarnath land transfer protests, civil disobedience paralleled that of 1989, amid severe repression. On 30 June, in curfew-like conditions, we met with two families in Srinagar who narrated that the police had shot dead their sons. At one place, in the old city, while the men took the body for burial late at night, the police returned and destroyed property and molested women.
On 30 June, at about 10:10 pm, Parvez Imroz and his family were attacked at home by state forces, who fired three shots and hurled a grenade while exiting when family and community interrupted their attempts. Neighbours reported seeing one large armoured vehicle and two Gypsy cars, and men in CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) and SOG (Special Operations Group) uniforms. This murder attempt is an escalation in the forms of state-led intimidation and targeting aimed at Advocate Imroz. It is an attempt to make the Tribunal vulnerable and instil fear in us in an attempt to stop this process.
On 01 July, we met at Khurram Parvez’s home before addressing a press conference. Outside, jeeps with plainclothes men continued their observation, accompanied by a jeep with armed men in uniform.
Later, Advocate Imroz, Khurram Parvez, Advocate Mihir Desai, and I went to the police station to lodge a First Information Report. We were not permitted to do so. For security reasons, Parvez Imroz is not staying at home. Khurram Parvez remains under surveillance.
I must allow for distance before revisiting the graves. On 04 July, sitting on a plane at Delhi International Airport, waiting to take-off, I received a phone call on my India mobile, caller ‘Unknown’: “Madam,we know you’re leaving. Think wisely before coming back”.
Orders to unnerve the leadership of the International Tribunal by the Government of India’s intelligence and security administration appear to be generated at the highest levels. The general policy of surveillance should not be used as a pretext to create obstacles for our work. As India argues for a seat on the United Nations Security Council, the Government of India, as ‘Frontline Defenders’ stated in their recent alert supporting the Tribunal, must adhere to its own repeated commitment to peace in Kashmir and international conventions and laws. It must uphold democratic governance and safeguard human rights.
Advocate Imroz, Khurram Parvez, other members of the Tribunal team, have long experienced injustices for their extraordinary work as human rights defenders. A lauded human rights lawyer, Parvez Imroz has survived two, now three, assassination attempts, the first from militants. Since 2005, his passport has been denied. Khurram Parvez lost his leg in a landmine incident. Gautam Navlakha and Zahir-ud-Din have been intimidated and threatened, as has Mihir Desai, in their larger work. It is noteworthy that the Government of India is adding intimidation to the death and rape threats delivered me by Hindu extremists for human rights work.
The work of the Tribunal is an act of conscience and accountability, fraught with the charge of complex and violent histories. Its mandate, in documenting Kashmir’s present, is to chronicle the fabric of militarisation, status of human rights, and legal, political, militaristic ‘states of exception’. The Tribunal’s work will continue through the coming months. We have received extensive solidarity from civil society; victims/survivors, at street corners, from villagers, ordinary citizens, those committed to justice. Each life in Kashmir has a story to tell. The subjugation of civil society has produced magnificent ethical resistance. The state cannot combat every individual.
European Parliament debate about Kashmir mass graves by Sarah Ludford
Nearly two decades of genocidal violence record 70,000+ dead, 8,000+ disappeared, 60,000+ tortured, 50,000+ orphaned,incalculable sexualised and gendered violence, a very high rate of people with suicidal behaviours; hundreds of thousands displaced; violations of promises, laws, conventions, agreements, treaties; mass graves; mile upon mile of barbed wire; fear, suppression of varied demands for participation to determine Kashmir’s future, spirals of violence, protracted silence. Last year, Kashmir’s only hospital with services for mental health received 68,000 patients. Profound social, economic, and psychological consequences,and an intense isolation have impacted private, public, and everyday life. It has generated brutal resistance on the part of groups that have engaged in violent militancy. Repressions of struggles for self-determination and internationalpolicies/politics have yielded severe consequences, creating a juncture at which the failure of governance intersects with a culture of grief.
Torture survivors, non-militants and former militants, that I met with testified to the sadism of the forces. Reportedly, a man, hung upside down, had petrol injected through his anus. Water-boarding,mutilation, rape of women, children, and men, starvation, psychological torture.
Brutalised, ‘healed’, to be brutalised again. An eagle tattoo on the arm of a man was reportedly identified by an army officer as a symbol of Pakistan-held Azad Kashmir, even as the man clarified the tattoo was from his childhood. The skin containing it was burned. The officer, the man stated, said: “When you look at this, think of azadi”. A mother, reportedly asked to watch her daughter’s rape by army personnel, pleaded for her release. They refused. She pleaded that she could not watch, asking to be sent out of the room or be killed. We were told that the soldier pointed a gun to her forehead, stating he would grant her wish, and shot her before they proceeded to rape the daughter. We also spoke with persons violated by militants. One man stated that people’s experiences with the reprehensible atrocities of militancy do not imply the abdication of their desire for self-determination. This, he stated, is a mistake the state makes, conflating militancy with the intent for self-determination.
He clarified that neither is self-determination an indication of allegiance to Pakistan, largely to the contrary.
The continuing and daunting presence of military and paramilitary forces, increased and sophisticated surveillance, merges with pervasive and immense suffering and anger of people in villages, towns, and cities across Kashmir. Parallel to the presence of 500,000 troops and commitment to nuclearisation, official figures state that there are about 450 militants in Kashmir and that demilitarisation is underway. In March 2007, three government committees on demilitarisation resolved that the ‘low intensity war continues’, placing in limbo troop reduction and the repealment of draconian laws -- the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958, imposed in Jammu and Kashmir in December 1990, and the Disturbed Areas Act, 1976, enacted in 1992. Local realities reflect that these laws and the military seek to control the general population with impunity.
Kashmir is increasingly defined as a ‘post-conflict’ zone. ‘Post-conflict’ is not the propagation of tourism toward an overt display of nationalism. Post-conflict is a space in which to heal, reflect, and enable civil society participation in determining peace and justice. The graves speak to those that listen. Those haunted by history are called to remember.
About Writer
(Dr Angana Chatterji is associate professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the California Institute of Integral Studies and co-convener of the International People’s Tribunal in Kashmir. A shorter version of the article appeared in Tehelka magazine’s recent issue).
Activists argue that the AFSPA protects Indian forces from being prosecuted for
crimes in Indian-administered Kashmir [Showkat Shafi]
The reported 8,000 to 10,000 enforced disappearances in Indian-administered Kashmir are just one part of a series of human rights violations attributed to the Indian government, including extra-judicial killings, torture and illegal detentions. But the Indian state has been able to side-step international human rights conventions through a series of laws that grant special rights to the armed forces in Kashmir.
Al Jazeera's Azad Essa speaks to Aaliya Anjum, lecturer in law at Vitasta Law School, University of Kashmir, about the legal framework that enables the armed forces to act with impunity in the valley.
What allows the Indian government to legally get away with using enforced disappearances as a tactic?
I suppose it is primarily because of its overwhelming military presence in Kashmir. The Indian government empowers its military through special security legislations like the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and the Public Safety Act (PSA), granting them sweeping impunity for acts carried out under these laws, which in turn facilitate the bringing about of enforced disappearances and other human rights abuse.
AFSPA for instance grants the 'powers' to members of the armed forces in 'disturbed areas' like Kashmir to shoot to kill or arrest persons on the ground of ‘mere’ suspicion. That is not only in contravention to core human rights standards, which guarantee a fair trial, but also goes against the basic principle of Indian criminal law itself : ’One is presumed innocent unless proven otherwise’. Likewise, the PSA provides for holding the arrested person in custody without trial for up to two years, dumping fair and speedy trial guarantees.
Also, for an act done under the AFSPA, the army is immune from prosecution, in other words, trial before a court (as provided under the provisions of the AFSPA itself).Otherwise than that also, for initiating an action against a member of the armed forces, permission is needed from the central government, under Sec 45 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which is of course never granted.
In Kashmir, many of those arrested under AFSPA or PSA never make it out of detention centers .They are held under ‘incommunicado’ detention( unacknowledged and secret detention) leading to enforced disappearance, tortured or subject to extra-judicial killings. Besides, slapping of PSA on even juveniles (children below the age of 18) continues to take place. There are reportedly 8,000 to 10,000 cases of disappearances so far.
What legal avenues can victims' families take to fight this scourge?
The remedy available to an aggrieved relative in such a case would be to file a Writ of habeas corpus (you have the body/ produce the body) in the state high court. But the judicial process is long-drawn, expensive and unproductive largely, with hundreds of these writs lying pending in the court.
In addition, there are many more contempt petitions waiting to be heard by the court, which seek to challenge disregard of favorable orders in such cases i-e even if the state high court quashes detentions in some cases, it is often followed by slapping of fresh PSA charges on the detainee.
What sort of opposition has there been to the AFSPA and the PSA from civil society and human rights advocacy groups?
Civil society in India as well as in Kashmir has been vehemently demanding the repeal of the AFSPA, mainly through out of court advocacy.
The opposition to AFSPA first began in context of the north-east of India, where the law was first introduced in 1958.
It was extended to Kashmir in 1990, where the opposition towards the legislation became louder in street protest, media, and civil society campaigns(domestically and internationally), particularly after the discovery of the mass-graves, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch reports on disappearances and impunity, and the killing and arrest of protestors in 2008 and 2010.
But Kashmir is a 'disturbed area', so surely India has a right to defend its borders against threats to its security?
For arguments sake, even if such a contention is to be considered, from a human rights perspective it lacks any substance. For so called maintenance of ‘law and order’ in a ‘disturbed’ area, common minimum human rights standards, as prescribed by core human rights treaties like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and also under the UN Convention Against Enforced Disappearances (UNAED) cannot be contravened.
Not under any circumstances. India is a party to all core human rights treaties, together with UNAED and the four Geneva Conventions prescribing code of conduct in times of armed conflict.
It needs to respect the right to life, personal liberty and provide a fair and speedy trial guaranteed to all individuals it claims to govern and also ‘protect’ them from 'enforced disappearance'.
Do these laws fuel self-determination sentiment in Kashmir or are the laws a response to self-determination sentiment?
Human rights abuse and the denial of justice by way of these laws are seen as tools for curbing dissent and therefore suppressing the popular sentiment for freedom in Kashmir.
In that sense, they are not responsible for fuelling the sentiment for freedom to sustain it, nor has the sentiment been born out of acts resulting from these laws. As a matter of fact, these laws and the resultant abuse exist because of the sentiment for freedom.
Born in 1966, 24 year old Miss Loura Jane Lambie, a Canadian agricultural science student, was on a stroll on October 11th on the boulevard in Srinagar when it was just getting towards darkness. Near the Centaur Hotel, she was having a chat with three local boys asking them about what was going on in Kashmir and was immediately waylaid by personnel of the Indian National Security Guards (MSG) traveling in a white Maruti van. They were armed with automatic weapons and carried radios. One of them, tall but slim, warned Loura not to get into conversation with local Muslim youth. “All of them are very, very dangerous terrorists and can molest you in this desolate spot”, he told her.
When the guards asked her who she was, she replied “a Canadian”. “You shall have to accompany us to the police station” and thus Loura was asked to board the vehicle. Instead of any police station, Loura was taken to the Oberoi palace hotel where the Indian guards had a drink, from their own bottles because the hotel bar was closed. She did not drink even though she was invited to do so. Then guards then ordered her to board the vehicle again as they told her it was not safe for her to go back to the house boat at that late hour, for the Kashmiri militants could kill her at any spot. The guards also took away her purse. Loura was then taken to a garden near Chasma Shahi. It was 1 am on October 12th.
One of the guards directed Loura to undress but she did not oblige. Her clothes were torn and she was laid down on the ground and gang raped. She cried under the open sky but there was no one to listen to her moans and shrieksexcept the sleeping state governor, Girish Saxena, in Raj Bavan, which is situated only a few hundred yards from the scene of the incident. For a change, Loura was taken to another adjacent garden and the gang rape by five guards continued until finally she fell unconscious. A semi conscious Loura was then dropped on the roadside, at a slight distance from where she had been picked up the previous evening. On being sighted by the locals, she was carried to the police station a Nehru Park where a case for kidnapping and rape was registered under sections 366 and 367 of the Rambir Penal Code under First Information Report No: 90/40. The police officer at the station recommended a medical examination of the victim and Loura was taken to Lal Ded Women’s hospital in Srinagar.
Two female doctors examined her ascertaining that dead sperms were found in her uterus and the passage leading to it. There were scratches on her thighs, arms and breasts, which testify that she resisted.
Loura Jane Lambie told pressmen that very day how brutally the security guards raped her. The matter when brought to higher authorities in the state and also when it was taken up with the government of India by the Canadian high commission in New Delhi, the state police registered the case against the guards, arresting two of them whom Loura had identified in a batch of sixty four guards paraded before her. She recognized them even though both of them had shaven of their beards.
Loura was kept in protective custody by the state authorities and was allowed an interview with the state governor on October 13th who promised stern action would be taken against the guards turned rapists.
The authorities acted swiftly in view of the Canadian government taking serious notice of the incident and it was in record time that an inquiry was conducted and the culprits punished.
Here lies the difference between the rape of a foreigner and that of a Muslim Kashmiri woman. The latter is treated as an allegation and passed of unnoticed and unwept.”
Without wasting time in the embellishment of this article, I would prefer to come on to the point, directly. Kashmir imbroglio may be hard to resolve, because of India's adamance, but it's not hard to ascertain the culprit among the parties involved. In this piece of writing, I have no intention to go through the events from 1947 to 2011, in order to prove my interpretations right. In fact, I would like to present some facts which will leave no room for interpretations. Let's see what was promised to us (Kashmiris), not by the United Nations, not by the International community, not by Pakistan but by the very Greats of the Nation of India.
Ponder over these historical statements and you will be astonished at India's arrogance towards Kashmir in 2011.
1) “People seem to forget that Kashmir is not a commodity for sale or to be bartered. It has an individual existence and its people must be the final arbiters of their future.”
JAWAHARLAL NEHRU (Report to the All-India Congress Committee, 6 July 1951; The Statesman, New Delhi, 9 July 1951).
2) “We had given our pledge to the people of Kashmir, and subsequently to the United Nations; we stood by it and we stand by it today. Let the people of Kashmir decide.”
JAWAHARLAL NEHRU (Statement in the Indian Parliament, 12 February 1951).
3) “We have taken the issue to the United Nations and given our word of honour for a peaceful solution. As a great nation, we cannot go back on it. We have left the question for final solution to the people of Kashmir and we are determined to abide by their decision.”
JAWAHARLAL NEHRU (Amrita Bazar Patrika, Calcutta, 2 January 1952).
4) “If, after a proper plebiscite, the people of Kashmir said, 'We do not want to be with India', we are committed to accept that. We will accept it though it might pain us. We will not send any army against them. We will accept that, however hurt we might feel about it, we will change the Constitution, if necessary.”
JAWAHARLAL NEHRU (Statement in the Indian Parliament, 26 June 1952).
5) “I want to stress that it is only the people of Kashmir who can decide the future of Kashmir. It is not that we have merely said that to the United Nations and to the people of Kashmir; it is our conviction and one that is borne out by the policy that we have pursued, not only in Kashmir but everywhere. Though these five years have meant a lot of trouble and expense and in spite of all we have done we would willingly leave Kashmir if it was made clear to us that the people of Kashmir wanted us to go. However sad we may feel about leaving. We are not going to stay against the wishes of the people. We are not going to stay against the wishes of the people. We are not going to impose ourselves on them at the point of the bayonet"
“I started with the presumption that it is for the people of Kashmir to decide their own future. We will not compel them. In that sense, the people of Kashmir are sovereign”.
(Statement in Indian Parliament, 7th August, 1952)
6) “The whole dispute about Kashmir is still before the United Nations. We cannot just decide things concerning Kashmir. We cannot pass a bill or issue an order concerning Kashmir or do whatever we want.
JAWAHARLAL NEHRU (The Statesman, 1 May 1953)
7) “Leave the decision regarding the future of this State to the people of the State is not merely a promise to your Government but also to the people of Kashmir and to the world.”
JAWAHARLAL NEHRU (In telegram No. 25 dated 31 October 1947 addressed to Prime Minister of Pakistan).
8) “In regard to accession also it has been made clear that this is subject to reference to people of State and their decision.”
JAWAHARLAL NEHRU (In telegram No.413 dated 28 October 1947 addressed to Prime Minister of Pakistan).
9) “We have always right from the beginning accepted the idea of the Kashmir people deciding their fate by referendum or plebiscite………..”
“Ultimately, the final decision of settlement, which must come, has first of all to be made basically by the people of Kashmir…….”
JAWAHARLAL NEHRU (Statement at Press Conference in London, 16 January 1951, The Statesman, 18 January 1951).
10) “But so far as the Government of India are concerned, every assurance and international commitment in regard to Kashmir stands.”
JAWAHARLAL NEHRU (Statement in the Indian Council of States; 18 May 1954).
11) “The issue in Kashmir is whether violence and naked force should decide the future or the will of the people.”
JAWAHARLAL NEHRU (Statement in Indian Constituent Assembly; 25 November 1947).
12) “Kashmir should decide question of accession by plebiscite or referendum under international auspices such as those of the United Nations.”
JAWAHARLAL NEHRU ( Letter No. 368-Primin dated 21 November 1947 to Prime Minister of Pakistan).
13) “…….the people of Kashmir would decide the question of accession. It is open to them to accede to either Dominion then.”
JAWAHARLAL NEHRU ( In telegram No.255 dated 31 October 1947 addressed to Prime Minister of Pakistan).
14) “First of all, I would like to remind you of the fateful days of 1947 when I came to Srinagar and gave the solemn assurance that the people of India would stand by Kashmir in her struggle. On that assurance, I shook Sheikh Abdullah's hand before the vast multitude that had gathered there. I want to repeat that the Government of India will stand by that pledge, whatever happens. That pledge itself stated that it is for the people of Kashmir to decide their fate without external interference. That assurance also remains and will continue”.
(Address at public meeting in Srinagar, 4th June, 1951)
15) “India is a great country and Kashmir is almost in the heart of Asia. There is an enormous difference not only geographically but in all kinds of facts there. Do you think (in dealing with Kashmir) you are dealing with a part of U.P or Bihar or Gujarat?”
(Statement in Indian Parliament, 26th June, 1952)
16) “As a result of the plebiscite over the entire state, we would be in a position to consider the matter, so that the final decision should cause the least disturbance and should take into consideration geographical, economic and other important factors.
“I should like to make it clear that there is no intention on my part to exclude the UN from this question of Kashmir.
(Letter to Prime Minister of Pakistan, 3rd September, 1953
17) “Our object is to give freedom to the people of Kashmir to decide their future in a peaceful way so as to create no upset, as we said in our joint statement”.
(Letter to Prime Minister of Pakistan, 10th November, 1953)
18) “India will stand by her international commitments on the Kashmir issue and implement them at the appropriate time."
“The repudiation of international commitments would lower India's prestige abroad”.
(Statement reported in The Time of India, 16th May, 1954)
19) “Kashmir is not a thing to be bandied about between India and Pakistan but it has a soul of its own and an individuality of its own. Nothing can be done without the goodwill and consent of the people of Kashmir”.
(Statement in Indian Parliament, 31st March, 1955)
"Until now, you were reading comments of the very first Prime Minister of India. Now, let us analyze what did The Father of their Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, had to say about Kashmir, even though he did not get much time to address this issue. Let us read the statement of the person whose photo can be viewed on the Indian currency notes, which seems to be the only value given to him by his people"
20.“If the people of Kashmir are in favour of opting for Pakistan, no power on earth can stop them from doing so. They should be left free to decide for themselves”.
(Speech at Prayer Meeting, 26th October, 1947. Complete Works of Mahatma Gandhi)
Not to forget, Governor General of India, Lord Mountbatten, in his letter to Maharaja on 27th October 1947, wrote as follows;
21). “The question of the state's accession should be settled by a reference to the people”.
After these pioneers, let's go ahead and see what other political personalities had to say about us;
22) “The people of Kashmir would be free to decide their future by the recognized democratic method of plebiscite or referendum, which in order to ensure complete impartiality may be held under international auspices.”
(Letter from Government of India to UN, 31st December, 1947)
23) “In accepting the accession they [the Government of India] refused to take advantage of the immediate peril in which the State found itself and informed the Ruler that the accession should finally be settled by plebiscite as soon as peace had been restored. They have subsequently made it quite clear that they are agreeable to the plebiscite being conducted if necessary under international auspices."
“On the question of accession, the Government of India has always enunciated the policy that in all cases of dispute the people of the State concerned should make the decision."
“We have no further interest, and we have agreed that a plebiscite in Kashmir might take place under international auspices after peace and order have been established. “We desire only to see peace restored in Kashmir and ensure that the people of Kashmir are left free to decide in an orderly and peaceful manner the future of their state."
Gopalaswami Ayyangar, (Statement at the Security Council, 15th January, 1948)
24) “The question of accession is to be decided finally in a free plebiscite, on this there is no dispute”.
(White Paper on Kashmir issued by Government of India, 1948)
25) My government has always taken the view that resolutions, if they are passed, must be implemented.”
Krishna Menon, (Statement at UN General Assembly, 5th April, 1951)
26) We adhere strictly to our pledge of plebiscite in Kashmir – a pledge made to the people because they believe in democratic government …… We don't regard Kashmir as a commodity to be trafficked in”.
Krishna Menon (Press statement in London, reported in the Statesman,
New Delhi, 2nd August, 1951)
27) “The Government of India not only reaffirms its acceptance of the principle that the question of the continuing accession of the State of Jammu and Kashmir to India shall be decided through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite under the auspices of the United Nations, but is anxious that the conditions necessary for such a plebiscite should be created as quickly as possible”.
(Letter from Govt. of India to UN Representative for India and Pakistan, 11th September, 1951)
28)“We do not seek to go behind the UNCIP resolutions, or to ignore the vital elements of principle contained in them. ……We have always adhered to the UNCIP resolutions….. We cannot be a party to the reversal of previous decisions taken by the United Nations Commission with the agreement of the parties.”
Mrs. Vijay Lakshmi Pandit, (Statement at the Security Council, 8th December, 1952)
29) “I want to say for the purpose of the record that there is nothing that has been said on behalf of the Government of India which in the slightest degree indicates that the Government of India or the Union of India will dishonor any international obligations it has undertaken.”
Krishna Menon (Statement at UN Security Council, 24th January, 1957)
30)“If, as a result of a plebiscite, the people decided that they did not want to stay with India, then our duty at that time would be to adopt those constitutional procedures which would enable us to separate that territory.”
Krishna Menon, (Statement at UN Security Council, 8th February, 1957)
31) “The resolutions of January 17, 1948 and the resolutions of the UNICP, the assurances given, these are all resolutions which carry a greater weight – that is because we have accepted them, we are parties to them, whether we like them or not.”
Krishna Menon,(Statement at UN Security Council, 20th February, 1957)
32) “These documents (UNCIP reports) and declarations and the resolutions of the Security Council are decisions; they are resolutions, there has been some resolving of a question of one character or another, there has been a meeting of minds on this question where we have committed ourselves to it.”
Krishna Menon,(Statement at the Security Council, 9th October, 1957)
33) “India believes that sovereignty rests in the people and should return to them.”
Krishna Menon, (The Statesman, Delhi, 19th January, 1962)
"I reiterate that I won't conclude by trying to feed you with my personal interpretations to beautify my tail piece. In fact, after taking a brief tour of these properly referenced facts,I would like to ask this open-ended question to the people of Kashmir, people of India and the world community that How do you feel when India calls us its integral part and says there is nothing called Kashmir dispute and its final fate was decided with the fake accession of Maharaja in 1947? If I am not wrong, all the above statements have come after India's military occupation in 1947. Does not India stand Naked?"
Mehboob Makhdoomi is the President of 'Kashmir Youth Intellect', a global academic group of young Kashmiris, seeking to raise awareness of the Kashmir dispute. His essay 'Resolution of Kashmir' was awarded first prize by the ICRD (International Centre for Religion and Diplomacy) in 2008.
Dal Lake needs no introduction. The most famous and often quoted symbol of Kashmir is in fact the Dal Lake. It would not be wrong to say that most parts of Srinagar city lie in the vicinity of this lake. The crown of kashmir unfortunately is breathing is last. It has shrunk to almost one sixth of its original size. Human greed, callous authorities and criminal neglect by all residents of kashmir have brought it almost to the point of being consigned to the dustbin of history. Kashmir is the only place on earth where lake dwellers have filled the lake over the years and have earned legal rights too.They are being compensated for plunder and enchroachment of public property and national treasure. The level of pollution in the Dal lake is now beyond definition by any statistics. While token protests and half hearted attempts have been going on, radical measures are warranted. Swift and abrupt end to the floating gardens. should be the first priority. They are the most convenient and frequently used way of enchroaching the lake. Demolition of all habitations within the lake which have no legal basis. Lake dwellers have rights to live in boats and not in houses within the lake.Limiting the number of house boats and ensuring that each one is fitted with latest sewage treatment facilities. Stopping all sewage from flowing into the lake.
It may seem to be a tough ask. Yes it is. But it is not only Dal lake but the kashmiri nation which is dying.We have to race against time to save ourselves by salvaging the Dal lake. When Delhi, a city of 15 million can transform its whole public transport within a few months, why cant we do something about our priceless treasure. Delhi is the first city in the world which has less polluting fuels for whole of its public transport system. We should Invite foreign consortia. Fund raising can be done to supplement the funds already earmarked for the lake.Moreover, international financial assistance can also be sought.We can impose a special levy or cess to raise funds over a ten year period exclusively for the conservation of the Dal Lake on the analogy of the education cess to raise funds for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan at the central level.
Build a system of roads and parks on the whole boundry of the lake. This will put an end to the enchroachment and conserve the lake for posterity. We must wake up.
Tel Bal Nallah
The tel bal nallah is extremely important for the sustainance of Dal Lake. Not only is the water level in the lake regulated by its flow, the breeding of fish thriving in dal lake depends on the nallah to a great extent.The nallah , has unfortunately got badly polluted and is adding to the woes of the lake. Here are a few glimpes of the rot at the mouth of the nallah and the settling basin at the foreshore road.
Dal Lake Proper
This may soon be a forgotten site.
Foot wear is found floating in abundance in the lake.
A drain emptying directly into the lake.
Thick algal blooms have suffocated the lake.
The Life line of the lake, the countless springs on the shores of the lake which used to nourish the lake are all but dead.They cry for conservation and attention.
A spring on the shores of Dal Lake which has dried up and has not been conserved .
This used to be a spring right on the shores of the lake. Now in disuse and damaged.
