Jammu Massacre 1947: " A Father killed his daughters to save them from getting raped"

It is one of the least known genocides in the modern history. It was carried out with such a precision that it is difficult to find its traces, except in the memories of the survivors, and the tales of horror they passed on to their next generation. It started on November 6, 1947. Nearly two hundred thousand innocent Muslims were slaughtered by Dogra army and extremists in Jammu region.

The genocide was carried out to cleanse the Muslims from Jammu region. The Dogra troops backed up by the extremists succeeded in pushing half a million Muslims to Pakistan administered Kashmir and Pakistan.

Rashid’s father, brothers, sisters, wife, and a son were slaughtered Malik Abdul Rashid, a survivor from Reasi, currently settled in Rawalpindi, says he was 22-year old when the carnage happened.

“Men, women, children were killed in the cruelest manner, maimed, intimidated. The carnage continued for several days. I lost my father, brothers, sisters, wife, and a son,” Rashid said.
“I lost all my dears; the genocide has haunted me all my life,” he said.

On 4 November 1947, when Dogra troops entered Reasi, two highly esteemed citizens of the town, Khwaja Amkullah and Chaudhary Aziz-u-Din rushed to the office of then Deputy Commissioner Thakur Gavinder Singh, complaining against the entry of the troops when Peace Committees, comprising Hindus and Muslims, were already in place to maintain peace. Both of them were shot dead in the office.
“People were mowed down with machine guns and swords during the night. And those who had survived were assembled in a field where they were put to death. Some women who escaped jumped into Chinab river to save their honour,”Rashid recounts.
“Khwaja Ali Muhammad of Bhadarwah who was performing his duties as a public prosecutor at Reasi went to a police station to save his life, but the duty officer, a Dogra, handed him over to the RSS men. They dragged him out and tortured him so much that he begged them to kill him than torture him. But the barbarians cut his fingers one by one and told him ‘we will send your fingers to Pakistan’. He was killed near the court premises in broad day light,” Rashid said.

Rashid said Maharaja Hari Singh orchestrated the carnage to eliminate Muslims from Jammu.“Muslims were not even allowed to have weapons for self defense, but Maharaja distributed arms to the marauders of his community,” he said, adding the killers were trained and armed in RSS camps for the genocide.
He said that Maharaja Hari Singh who fled from Srinagar to Jammu on 26 October1947 ordered his troops to kill Muslims everywhere.

“The carnage started in remote villages, and many Muslims fled to towns and district headquarters. But the killers were everywhere. Hundreds of Muslims committed suicide to avoid torture,” he said.
The killers kidnapped the daughter of legendary leader Chaudhary Ghulam Abbas, the prominent leader of Muslim Conference. Mistari Ahmed-u-Din hailing from Mast Garh Mohalla of Jammu himself killed his two daughters fearing the Hindu marauders would rape them.

On 4 November Muslims who had escaped slaughter were asked to assemble in a ground near police station in Jammu so that they would be driven to Pakistan in buses. On November 5 and 6, 1947, scores of buses, trucks and lorries, loaded with women, children and old men were taken into the wilderness of Kathua forests where Hindu extremists and armed gangs butchered them like chickens.”

‘MY 3 SISTERS WERE ABDUCTED, TWO WERE RECOVERED, SURAYA IS STILL MISSING’
Another Kashmiri migrant from Jammu, Muhammad Khan Naqashbandi, told Greater Kashmir that his mother was killed and three sisters were abducted by the marauders while they were traveling to Pakistan.
Two of his sisters were recovered, but the youngest sister Suraya was still missing. Teary eyed Khan said,“My sister is still missing and I don’t know whether she is alive or dead. I survived because I was studying in Lahore when the carnage occurred. No Muslim can forget that genocide.”Naqashbandi said the slaughter was well planned and rehearsed to prevent people from acceding to Pakistan. Muslims were slaughtered at Mavera near Samba on November 5 and the next day carnage was carried out near cantonment in Satvari.

‘OUT OF 6000, 250 SURVIVED’
Abdul Qayum Qureshi, a witness of the genocide, hails from Dalpatian Mohalla of Jammu. Qureshi told this scribe that the blood-bath of Muslims in Jammu province had started several weeks ago but the hunt against Muslims intensified when frustrated Maharaja of the state entered into Jammu on 26 October 1947 and ordered his troops to kill Muslims wherever they can be found. Mohalla Dalpatian was a Muslim majority area where thousands of Muslims from other areas had taken shelter.

“There was a big ground where these refugees were camping. Volunteers were guarding them, but everybody lived in a state of fear. The extremists and Dogra soldiers had besieged the area but they did not dare to enter the area. Muslim volunteers led by a former army official Captain Naseer-u-din defended the camp bravely,” Qureshi said.

Qureshi narrated the horrors thus:
“Meanwhile a fresh group of refugees arrived but the ground was full so they were accommodated in an empty Haveli (a mansion). But the killers had taken positions in a trench close to the Haveli. And when people entered the Haveli premises, the killers started indiscriminate firing, but the Muslim volunteers fought back. Then a Dogra official, Chetan Chopra, arrived with the message that he wanted to talk to Captain Naseer-ud-din. Around 4 PM Captain Naseer returned saying the administration has announced a ceasefire and assured that the violators will be punished. The ceasefire continued for seven days but the situation remained tense. On 5 November Muslims were asked to assemble in the police lines Jammu. I remember about 26 trucks and buses were present in the police grounds. People were ordered to board the vehicles so that they could be driven to Pakistan via Sialkot border. The Dogra officials circulated a rumor that these vehicles have reached Pakistan. We had absolutely no idea that they were butchered in the Kuthwa and Samaba forests.

On 6 November a caravan of refuges in buses and trucks was driven towards the border area. I was also part of this caravan. But after half an hour drive the entire caravan was turned towards Bisna. Around 11 AM all of us, about 6000, were dragged out of the buses. Then they fired at us indiscriminately. The bloodbath continued for nearly three hours; like other people I took refuge in a canal. People hid under thorny bushes and wherever they could. At 3 PM the Dogra officials asked the survivors to come out hiding so that they could be driven to safe places. Having no alternative we came out, and fortunately on the directives of Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah we were later shifted to a refugee camp in Jammu. Only 250 had survived. My father was in the Valley and my two brothers were in Mirpur.”

The Massacre is long forgotten and lost in the memories of today. This massacre changed the History of Jammu Kashmir forever.

JAMMU GENOCIDE OF 1947-REMEMBERING 6TH NOVEMBER

By: Abdul Majeed Zargar

It is one of the least known genocides in the modern history. It was carried out with such a precision that it is difficult to find its traces, except in the memories of the survivors, and the tales of horror they passed on to their next generation. Around five lakh Muslims were killed with a military precision. It was such an operation that language lacks words to express this offence of demolition of human being.

Though the targeted killing had already started in Jammu around Mid July 1947, the operation got a fillip immediately after fleeing Maharaja Hari Singh & his wife reached Jammu on October 26^th 1947. An organised carnage was orchestrated to kill Muslims, wherever found or spotted in Jammu.

British daily "the London Times" quoting its special correspondent in India states that the Maharaja, under his own supervision, got assassinated 2,37,000 Muslims, using military forces in Jammu area. The editor of "Statesman" Ian Stephen, in his book "Horned Moon" writes that till the end of autumn 1947 , more than 200,000 Muslims were murdered in one go.

The Hindu Dogra ruler’s main aim was to change the demographic composition of the region by eliminating the Muslim population. Such was the intensity of carnage that in Jammu province about 123 villages were ‘completely depopulated’. Kathua district ‘lost’ almost fifty per cent of its Muslim population. Thousands of Gujars were massacred inmohalla Ram Nagar. Village Raipur, within Jammu cantonment area was completely burnt down. The Dogra state troops were at the forefront of attacks on Muslims. The state authorities were also issuing arms not only to local volunteer organizations such as RSS, but to those in surrounding East Punjab districts such as Gurdaspur. The state administration had not only demobilised a large number of Muslim soldiers serving in the state army, but Muslim police officers, whose loyalty was suspect, had also been sent home. In Jammu city, the Muslim military were disarmed and the Jammu cantonment Brigadier Khuda Baksh replaced by a Hindu Dogra officer. Meanwhile Maharaja of Patiala was not only supplying weapons, but also a Brigade of Patiala State troops were also operating in Jammu and Kashmir, without whose help & assistance ,the objective could not have been achieved with such a precision . The daily Times of London reported the events in Jammu with such a front page headings: ‘Elimination of Muslims from Jammu’ and pointed out that the Maharaja Hari Singh was ‘in person commanding all the forces’ which were ethnically cleansing the Muslims.

That there was a design to change the demographics is evidenced by another well-reported incident. Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Mehr Chand Mahajan upon arrival in Jammu told a delegation of Hindus, which met him in the Palace, that now when the power was being transferred to the people they should better demand parity. When one of the delegation members wanted to know how that is possible, Mahajan, Pointing to the Ramnagarnatural reserve below, where some Muslim corpses were still lying said, ‘the population ratio too can change’ like that.( Elimination of Muslims from Jammu’ II, The Times, London, 10 August 1948, p. 5.-See also Ved Bhasin’s interview to a local Magzine)

Both documentary and oral sources suggest that the crime committed on the Muslims was nothing less than an organized holocaust. Sheikh Mohd. Abdullah, who was appointed “ Chief Emergency Administrator” on 30^th October 1947 could not prevent the carnage. He writes in his Autobiography Atish Chinar (page 312)“ that the carnage got impetus after the arrival of Union Home Minster Sardar Patel, Union Defence Minster Baldev Singh along with Maharaja of Patiala, a person known for his anti-Muslim bias, in Jammu. The trio met various Hindu organizations & delegations, after which the massacre attained a great momentum. Hindu fanatics, aided & abetted by Govt. forces, started burning down village after village inhabited by Muslims. Women were raped at will.Weapons were distributred freely to marauders from the Kachi Chawni house of Pandith Prem Nath Dogra and motivated by Balraj Madohk.

On 6^th November surviving muslims were told to assemble in an open ground, herded in trucks like cattle & killed mercilessly with Machine Gun fire between Digiana & Samba belt. Women were abducted & raped. Even the daughter of Legendary Chaudhary Ghulam Abbas was not spared. Many women preferred death than falling prey to the cruel beasts, who do not tire calling themselves as secular people.

On ground the killing operations were organized, directed & supervised by Maharani Tara Devi in league with her Debauch Guru Sat Dev & Governor Jammu Chet Ram Chopra. At politico-adminstrative level Sheikh puts the blame solely on Dogra ruler Hari Singh and Prime Minster Mahajan . At one point of time Sheikh had even thought of initiating action against the duo for crimes against humanity (Atish Chinar-page 331).But why did’nt he translate his thoughts into action, remains shrouded in mystery. Did he surrender this right as quid pro quid for Prime Minstership, which came his way in March 1948? As is generally known, Govt. Of India & Dogra ruler were only interested in conceding him a limited role in a “Mysore type of Govt.”But later this plan was changed & sheikh offered full fledged prime Minstership.

The other aspect of the carnage was appropriation of properties of Muslims. The Muslim names were immediately erased to conform to new ownership. For instance Urdu Bazar became Rajinder Bazar and Islamia School became Hari Singh High School to conform to new ownership.Almost ninety five per cent of left over properties which should have, in the normal course been taken over by State Govt, was allowed to be appropriated by looters & rioters. The daily Telegraph of London reported on 12 January 1948: ‘Yet another element in the situation is provided by rioters who seized Muslim lands in Jammu… they originated the massacres there last October to clear for themselves new territory.

Another incident needs a mention here. When Hindu refugees from Muzaffarabad & surrounding areas reaching Kashmir desired to be sent to Jammu or Punjab, local muslims motivated Kashmiri “Tonga-wallas” (horse-cart drivers) to transport them to Jammu against heavy odds. Initially 22 “tongawallas” were hired. They were later joined by many others from Khannabal-Qazigund rural belt. On return all these poor “tongawalls” were massacred near Nagrota. Their only fault was that they made Hindu refugees to reach their destinations safely.

What makes this holocaust unique is the complicity of State on the one hand & the exemplary treatment of Kashmiri Muslims to its minorities on the other hand, given the grave provocation of Jammu genocide . Mahtama Gandhi was so disgusted with the carnage that on two occasions (November 27, & December 27 1947), he made mention of it in following words.

"The Hindus and Sikhs of Jammu and those who had gone there from outside killed Muslims there. Their women have been dishonored. This has not been fully reported in the newspapers. The Maharaja of Kashmir is responsible for what has happened there” (Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi; volume 90, page 115 & 298). It is no wonder then when that when Gandhi was killed by a RSS supported Hindu fanatic, sweets were distributed throughout Jammu in special Thalis supplied from Maharaja’s Palace.

A fitting tribute to those unsung Martyrs of Jammu will be to install a symbolic Epitaph with brief inscription of the incident at Mazar-i-Shuda, Idd-gah. Let the first line of that inscription be

“Qareeb Hai Rouz e Mahshar, Chhupegaa Kushtoon Kaa Khoon Kyoon Kar,
Jo Chup Rahegi Zubaan- e- Khanjar, Lahoo Pukaaregaa Aasteen Kaa.”

(The author is a practicing Chartered Accountant)

Photo Feature: Children being humiliated publicly before their release by occupational forces

Sixteen Minors who were detained by occupational forces being humiliated publicly before their release

Mirwaiz In Response To The Queries From Aalaw & Frontline | Kashmir

Urging people to repose trust in the separatist leadership, Hurriyat (M) chairman, Mirwaiz Umar

Farooq Friday responded to a host of serious questions raised by a facebook community on the role of Hurriyat in the dialogue process and other issues.

‘Aalaw’, the facebook community with more than 8000 followers, had written an open letter to Mirwaiz asking him to clarify his party’s stand on some of the crucial policy issues. Replying to the queries, Mirwaiz told Rising Kashmir that people have the right to question the separatist leadership, but at the same “they should trust us”.

About the talks with New Delhi, he said the real dialogue process virtually stopped in 2006. “We had a dialogue process with New Delhi and we proposed many things but not even a single proposal was accepted by the Indian authorities. So our stand is clear now, no dialogue until the proposed things are not implemented on ground.”

The Hurriyat (M) chief said his party will never consider the back channel negotiations as a dialogue process “until and unless India doesn’t agree to what we feel is important for improving ground situation for a meaningful and result oriented dialogue process that would ultimately lead us to amicable resolution of this long pending issue.”

One of the questions posed by ‘Aalaw’ to Mirwaiz was about his participation in a lunch programme attended by interlocutor, Radha Kumar, some mainstream politicians, a former Ikhwani (government gunman) and a PDP agent.

“We live in a society where we have friends and sometimes it becomes obligatory for us to participate in functions organized by them,” said Mirwaiz.

‘Aalaw’ had brought to fore Mirwaiz’s participation in the said function organized by a local editor at Manasbal.

“A friend of mine invited me for a lunch and it was a mere coincidence that the interlocutor and other pro-India politicians were also present there. It was just a social gathering and no conversation took place. I had no idea who others were invited.”

Miwiaz further said his participation in the function shouldn’t be taken as something that will harm the Kashmir cause.

“Our faith is not so weak that it will be shaken by mere participation in the social gatherings. People have the right to question, but they should trust us. Being at a place where the objectionable people are also present doesn’t mean that we have run away from our stand. People should trust us and we will uphold that trust at all costs.”

In response to the query as to why despite being a chief cleric, he was opposed to an idea of “Islamic State” for Jammu and Kashmir, Mirwaiz said in the present geo-political scenario such demand will weaken the Kashmir issue at the international level.

“I am not against the idea of an Islamic state. What our party believes is that Kashmir is a political issue and until and unless apolitical resolution doesn’t evolve, we have to take the struggle as it is. Once the people of the state are given the right to decide their future, they have the will to choose the destiny for the state.”

“At present we have to portray it as a political issue and have to take along all other communities. If we give it a religious overtone, the support at the international level will not be there for us. We don’t have to portray that our struggle is Muslim Kashmiris against the Hindu India. I don’t deny that the evolution of this issue is a result of Muslim Pakistan versus Hindu India but the times have changed.”

One of the questions posed by ‘Aalaw’ was about the role of Hurriyat (M) in helping the orphans, the widows and those who are languishing in different jails across India.

Mirwaiz acknowledged that his party has not done much for those who have suffered during the 20 years of turmoil.

“We do what we could with our available resources but I must acknowledge that it is not enough. We have a cell Dar-ul Khairat and we do help people who are in need but it is not that big.” He said Hurriyat (M) has not gone for any massive fund raising exercise keeping in view how much people have suffered economically during the past three years.

“But collectively, the society and leadership can do what will be more effective in helping those who are in real need. The community must help us so that those who have sacrificed for the freedom struggle should not suffer.”

Mirwaiz said his party provides legal aid to the prisoners. “But that is also not upto the level that we could help all. We try to help those who are lodged here but sometimes people don’t come to us and moreover, the lawyers outside the valley demand huge money to fight cases of our people. We are not able to help them. Our help to them is also limited.”

How India alienated Kashmiri people

BY: AIJAZ ZAKA SYED

An unjust law is no law, warned Martin Luther King, the celebrated U.S. human rights icon. The Kashmiris have been living with suchlaws for decades. At least one in every five Kashmiris has at some point or another in his/her life suffered violence, humiliation, torture and old-fashioned abuse at the hands of security forces without any recourse to justice or a distant promise of retribution

Is it any wonder then the Kashmiris today find themselves hopelessly alienated and persecuted even as our politicians never tire of pronouncing the state an “integral and inseparable” part of India?.

The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act has been a license to abuse, torture and kill the Kashmiris in their own land. A law that confers “special powers” on men in uniform to do as they please and get away with it; a law that the UN says violates “contemporary international human rights standards” and a law that cannot be challenged in any court of law no matter how grave the crime.

Following the division of the subcontinent in 1947 when India and Pakistan actively courted the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, it was promised a “special status” and special treatment by New Delhi. The Article 370 of Indian Constitution was supposed to protect that “special status” of Kashmir. We made a lot of other promises as well that are too familiar to revisit here.

And we have ensured and protected that “special status” of Kashmir by gifting them the AFSPA that offers sweeping powers to the security forces while ensuring their total immunity. This special law has turned the Vale of Kashmir that the Moguls believed was paradise on earth into a beautiful hell.

How did we end up here? Who lost the paradise? The answer is out there and everyone knows it. In our desperation and determination to keep Kashmir with us and away from our neighbor, we have ended up losing the Kashmiri people.

Of course, the role played by Pakistani agencies, not to mention groups such as the one led by Hafiz Saeed, who have made a business enterprise of jihad, in adding to the woes of Kashmiris isn’t in anyway insignificant.

But if an entire generation of Kashmiris has grown up loathing all things Indian it is because of the excessive presence of the security forces in the Valley and their heavy-handed approach to the local population. And if there is one thing that epitomizes all that has go

ne wrong with India’s Kashmir affair, it is the AFSPA. This black law has created a dangerous, ever deepening disconnect and gulf between the Kashmiris and the rest of India. A draconian law that belongs in a police state, not in the world’s largest democracy.

Thanks to these “special powers”, just about anybody could be picked up from anywhere any time, kicked, abused, raped, killed in broad daylight or simply disappeared and no one including the state government can do anything about it.

Security forces are a law unto themselves. And you see their power in full display all across the state including in capital Srinagar. There are more soldiers than tourists or even locals constantly reminding the Kashmiris of the original sin of being born in this land of incredible beauty. Peaceful protests last year saw scores of young people, some of them as young as nine, felled by the bullets of the forces that are supposed to protect them. In the course of fighting terrorists and cross-border infiltrators, we have turned this beautiful land into a permanent war zone and its proud people a hostage in this never-ending conflict with the neighbor. This war has claimed more than a hundred thousand Kashmiris over the past two decades, not to mention the tens of thousands who have gone “missing.”
If the 2,730 unmarked mass graves recently discovered across the state had been found elsewhere they could have shaken the world, as they did in Srebrenica, in Iraq and Rwanda. But they were met with stony silence in the ever-shrill Indian media and its self-righteous Western counterparts.

Human rights groups including the State Human Rights Commission that finally acted on the complaints of thousands of families of “disappeared persons” unearthing graves with hundreds of bullet riddled bodies fear this may be a tip of the iceberg. The dead in Kashmir have finally begun to speak up, as Arundhati Roy so evocatively puts it. But justice may still elude the victims as long as the AFSPA reigns in Jammu and Kashmir. And India’s powerful security and defense establishment, including the army, are determined to retain it. And why wouldn’t they? It’s this law that allows the security forces to rule and treat Kashmir as their fiefdom without anyone, including the elected government, questioning their authority and excesses. Despite being a fine and vibrant democracy with robust democratic institutions and judiciary that we can justifiably be proud of, we are yet to realize that no people can be governed at gunpoint. Not in this age and time. Not with black laws like the AFSPA and not by constantly waving half a million guns that have contributed to the alienation of Kashmiri society and radicalization of its youth. If India is to win Kashmiri hearts and minds, it could do so only with love, compassion, respect and justice.

(The writer is a Middle East-based commentator. This article first appeared in Arab News on Nov. 3, 2011.)

Turabi urges Pak to review decision of declaring India as favourable country

Amir-e-Jamaat-Islami (JI) Azad Jammu and Kashmir Abdur Rasheed Turabi has said trade with India should not be done at the cost of Kashmir cause. Declaring India as the most favoured nation for trade is not only against Pakistan’s national interests but also is mocking Kashmiris’ sacrifices for obtaining their right to self-determination

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Commenting on Pakistan granting India the Most Favoured Nation status, Abdul Rashid Turabi addressing a public meeting here said granting the most favoured nation status to India for trade by Pakistani government is a matter of great concern for Kashmiri people. He said trade with India should not be carried out unless and until India resolves the longstanding issue of Kashmir peacefully and in accordance with Kashmiris’ aspirations.

Highlighting the situation of Indian Occupied Kashmir, he said the Indian forces have intensified human rights violations in Kashmir. Kashmiris are being killed while rape is used as a weapon of war by Indian forces. Pakistan was a counsel for the Kashmiri people; therefore, it is the responsibility of all Pakistanis to highlight the Kashmir issue at all international forums.

He also urged the Pakistan government, instead of declaring India as the most favoured nation, to highlight the Kashmir issue and the Indian state terrorism unleashed in the Occupied Kashmir at all international forums. He said that the decision was tantamount to rubbing salt on the bleeding wounds of Kashmiri people and a historic blunder. Kashmiri people have rendered tremendous sacrifice during years-long struggle to achieve globally recognised right to self-determination.

He said it is totally unintelligible and inconceivable decision on the part of Government of Pakistan to declare India as the most favoured nation as it is involved in clear violations of international norms of justice and massive human rights violations in Kashmir. The decision would have far-reaching consequences for Kashmiris’ peaceful struggle.

He said the Government of Pakistan should review and revisit its decision keeping in view the prevailing political and human rights situation in Kashmir and devise a policy thereby taking the aspirations and apprehensions of the people of Kashmir into consideration. He called for national unity and diplomatic campaign at international level to highlight the Indian aggression against Pakistan.

AFSPA Revocation - Army recaps opposition

We'll be handicapped : Parnaik

Amidst raging debate over Omar Abdullah government's intention to revoke Armed Forces Special Powers Act from parts of the state, Army on Thursday made its case clear saying any such move will handicap the capability of the force to conduct counter insurgency operations.

"We have a situation which has now carried on for more than 20 years and the Army requires the provisions to enable it to act... Without the provisions, the Army will be handicapped," General Officer Commanding in Chief for Northern Command Lt Gen K T Parnaik told reporters.

The Army commander, who visited this village - located on the Line of Control - in north Kashmir's Kupwara district, said removing the AFSPA from certain areas of the state will make it difficult for the Army to operate.

"It is a question of the confidence and trust that you repose in your Army. If you are removing the Act from certain areas then it will become difficult for the Army to operate in the manner we operate now," he said.

Debate over the partial revocation of AFSPA and Disturbed Areas Act, introduced in 1990 to give the Army and paramilitary forces powers to detain suspects and use deadly force began last month when Chief Minister Omar Abdullah announced that Acts will be revoked from parts of the state "within few days".

Lt Gen Parnaik, who was accompanied by General Officer Commanding of Srinagar based 15 Corps Lt Gen S A Hasnain, termed AFSPA as an "enabling" Act and said it was not a draconian law.

"The fact is that partial revocation from the areas may be seen as a genuine thing because there seems to be peace here. But peace is very fragile," he said. "After all we have seen one of the most peaceful summers in 2011 and that has happened with AFSPA only," he said.

He said if AFSPA is revoked from certain areas, "terrorists and inimical elements" will exploit the situation. "We don't want that to happen," he said.

Linking the revocation of AFSPA with the dismantling of the militant infrastructure across the border, Lt Gen Parnaik said it is not the "correct time" to remove the law till there is interference from Pakistan.

"We are not looking only at a few places or counter- terrorist operations or peace in few areas. It (AFSPA) has to be seen in context of the entire proxy war which is going on. The proxy war in J-K is externally abetted by Pakistan," he said.

"Therefore, we feel that unless we are able to neutralize that infrastructure and unless we are able to remove interference from Pakistan, it may not be the correct time for us to think of revoking it partially," he said.

The commander said Army was not on a confrontational path with any one and pleaded that there should be more discussions before taking a final call.

"There is no confrontation with anyone and these issues need a lot of discussions and deliberations. We have made our stance clear to the state government. I have had discussions with the high powered committee which came here for review recently and we continue to have dialogue with them," Lt Gen Parnaik said.

He said the chief minister had asked the Army to give its recommendations earlier this year.

"On our part, we have sensitised them on the manner in which it will affect our operations," he said.

"We have to see whether the AFSPA's revocation is a matter of security or political dispensation. It will all happen after discussions with the people who are concerned," he said.

Open letter to Umar Farooq

Dear Brother in Islam, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq,

Assalamu Alikum,

Let me start by narrating an incident from the archives of Islamic History. The incident was the occurrence of Jung-e-Jamal (War of the Camel).

On one side was Assadullah Hazrate Ali bin Abdul Muttalib (Cousin and Son-in-Law of Muhammad (SAW) and on the other side was Ummul Momineen Hazrate Ayesha Saddiqah (RA). These were two people dearest to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and hence they are dearest to us as well because they both belonged to Family of Muhammad (SAW). The Battle of Camel happened due to a myriad of reasons and nobody can claim that he can judge the cause and the conclusion. Despite being on opposed sides, despite raising weapons against each other- these two still are the only few lucky ones who got the news of being Jannati while alive. This was an honor reserved for the very few of Prophet’s companions. The reason to bring up this incident is that Islam has seen turbulent times in the past, is seeing harsh times and only Allah (JS) knows when the seas will be calm for Muslims. But despite that the one thing that has always allowed Islam to flourish and prosper is that nowhere did Muslims give up the concept of Ikhwatul Islam, fair Justice and truth.

We are writing to you in a hope that at this critical juncture when we are facing enemies on all sides, you will be the guiding light for us. We are writing to you in a hope that you will take our hand and lead us to victory. We are writing with the tears, hopes and prayers of innocents butchered in the valley of Kashmir for you and me. We are writing to you in a hope that eventually all of us need to take a step backward to realize that we all stand for the freedom of Kashmir. We are writing to you in a hope that you being a direct victim of Indian atrocity know how it feels like to be an orphan and an oppressed.

Justice is being denied to us, jails are being filled with us, and even the water that we drink is soaked in the blood of our beloved Martyrs. The consistent and persistent conspiracy hatched by Indian agencies to dilute the demography of Kashmir Valley is not only alarming but it is a real threat to our survival. The Christian missionaries are luring our innocent children to abandon their faith for mere pennies and the foreign laborers are being settled in Kashmir without any hesitation. In this critical phase of our journey towards freedom, do we want to be remembered as “Once upon a time there were some Muslims living in Kashmir” or do we want to face the challenge head on. We don’t have the luxury of being complacent or lazy. We don’t have the time to go back in time and wish things were different. We don’t have the energy to start a new revolution. The last 20 years of Kashmir have been bloody, brutal and unforgiving, but we can’t get bogged down with fatigue and say we are tired. Surrendering or abandoning the struggle of freedom movement is not an option simply because our existence is attached to it.

Dear Brother, We come to the not so pleasant part of our letter to you. These questions might be uncomfortable and you are absolutely not obliged to respond. But it will go a long way in clarifying the doubts, the reservations and the misunderstandings. We also understand that we have a right to ask these questions because you are the face of the revolution and the face of our freedom struggle. Hence we need to know if we are following the right person or if it is just an illusion. There is no room for diplomacy or ‘back channel dialogue’ because all we need is for you to state your position on where you stand. The below questions are just the ones that need immediate attention and by no means is it a complete list of queries that we have.

1. By virtue of being Mirwaiz of Kashmir, how is it possible that you do not wish for an Islamic state in Kashmir. Being a well read person and an intellectual, you must know that secularism, and communism, capitalism, socialism, liberalism, fundamentalism and all other ‘isms’ are incompatible with Islam. Having said that minorities in Islam are treated with highest respect, honor and justice as can be seen from the pages of Islamic History. Prophet Muhammad (SAW)’ time, When Muslims ruled in Europe and when Muslims ruled in India – there was absolutely not a single incident of any genocide of minorities.
2. The leadership issue of Kashmir freedom struggle needs nobody to explain how messed up it is, to clean up this mess what Is stopping you from joining hands with Syed Ali Shah Geelani. All Syed Ali Shah Geelani is asking you that the alliance of pro-freedom parties can exist when all demand an Islamic state. Being an Islamic cleric, I don’t think you should have any hesitation of doing so.
3. You silence on the conversion issue in Kashmir is being seen as a tacit understanding and acceptance on your part. We want to know why you did not condemn or raise your voice against this menace.
4. You silence on Indian agencies conspiracy of settling down the foreigners from India in Kashmir also does not go very well. We want to know why you maintained silence on this sensitive issue.
5. You have had several dialogues with Indian government over several years. Are you ready to make the details of those meetings public? This is essential because you represent the sisters who were raped, the brothers who were killed and the mothers who are worn out trying to locate their sons. You are representing the pious blood of our martyrs and we need to know If that is no being sold in Khan Market, Delhi.
6. You know the condition of orphans in Kashmir. The heartbreaking condition of widows of the martyrs. The misery of those who are indefinitely suffering in Indian jails is also not hidden from any one. What are the steps taken by you as leader to ease their condition?
7. Recently you had lunch with one of the interlocutors from India “Radha Kumar”, also present was one of the most well known criminal and some PDP agents. Radha Kumar and her ilk are nothing but a diversion. They are back stabbers who enjoy tormenting the Kashmiri Muslims. There was a renegade gunman in that lunch, these are the same people who participate in the mass rapes of Kashmiri women, who enjoy spilling the blood of our brothers and who play with our honor. How can you justify sitting on the same table with them.
8. Please tell the oppressed people of Kashmir that they are in good hands, that we are not being led astray and that we are following Sirat-ul-Mustaqeem.

Instead of being five fingers of a hand, let us make it a fist. Instead of being vulnerable let us turn our vulnerability into our greatest strengths. Your answers to the above queries will undoubtedly go a long way in pacifying the people of Kashmir whom you claim to represent. On your shoulders is the biggest responsibility which comes once in a lifetime, are you strong enough to carry it.

Yours Sincerely,

Team Aalaw and Frontline | Kashmir

How a nation was raped? Tales from Kashmir that hit the core of my heart.

It dates back to the chaddeee days of my grandpa. I wont be talking about those past events, they will put Indians to shame. I will be talking about the more recent developements.

Kashmir is sometimes refered to as "Heaven on earth". Different titles given by different people. The world’s best saffron grown here and in the middle of those saffron fields is a Army Camp. The largest fresh water lake of Asia is in Kashmir – The Wular Lake. Adjacent to it is an Army Camp. Jahangir loved this place, now known as Verinag. A beautiful mughal garden, the source of river Jehlum. Half of it under military occupation (they are vacating though). Kokernag, the biggest spring in Kashmir, half of it under Army. The Almond orchards of the “HIGH GROUND”, completely under army control. Sher Bagh, a spiring in Islamabad district of Kashmir, surrounded by Army Camp. Lal Chowk, the hub of Srinagar city, home to an Army Camp. After the AFSPA was launched these army men didn’t even spare private toilets. You spit anywhere, at random, and you spit at an Army Personnel, such is their density in Kashmir. Doesn’t matter much though.

This nation, Kashmir, has been raped time and again by Indian troops. Be it the Tengpora massacre or the Zakoora massacre, the Gawkadal Massacre or the Sopore massacre. Be it the Bomai killings or any other fake encounters, rape rape everywhere. (Read my artng though). Kokernag, the biggest spring in Kashmir, half of it under Army. The Almond orchards of the “HIGH GROUND”, completely under army control. Sher Bagh, a spiring in Islamabad district of Kashmir, surrounded by Army Camp. Lal Chowk, the hub of Srinagar city, home to an Army Camp. After the AFSPA was launched these army men didn’t even spare private toilets. You spit anywhere, at random, and you spit at an Army Personnel, such is their density in Kashmir. Doesn’t matter much though.

“These killings aint random, this is an organised genocide”.

In the last 11 years, over 2000 people, between the ages of 10 and 70, have disappeared from the Kashmir Valley after they were allegedly picked up by the security forces. They have left behind desperate families who have tried everything to trace their dear ones, but to no avail. Consider these:

* Zahoor Ahmed Sofi. Arrested on August 8, 1994, by 15th Battalion, BSF. Petition filed under 491-CrPC no.20/99. Still missing.

* Mohammed Rafiq Bhatt. Arrested on August 19, 1992, by BSF. Petition filed under 491-CrPC No.19/99. Still missing.

* Mushtaq Ahmed Khan. Arrested on midnight April 13/14, 1997, by 20th Grenade Army C/O 56 APO. Petition filed under 491-CrPC No. 15/99. Still missing.

It was June 27, 2000 that some 300 Muslim refugees from Indian-controlled Kashmir have crossed into the Pakistani side of the disputed territory after being beaten and threatened by Indian troops. The refugees said they had been abused for several days and eventually threatened with death unless they left their village about three kilometres (two miles) from the unofficial border between the Indian and Pakistani sides.

"We were scared that we were going to be killed so it was better to get across to a Muslim area," said 24-year-old mother of one Kulsoom Begum, from the village of Tarkundi. "It was a collective decision to leave by the whole family."

Another refugee told how he brought his wife and one-year-

old son across the Line of Control after being beaten repeatedly for several days by an Indian officer.

"They said that they would set everything on fire and we would have nothing to eat but dust unless we left the village," said 25-year-old Zakir.

"We had to leave everything behind except the clothes we were wearing."

Local Pakistani military commander Colonel Rizwan Ali Khan said 284 people from 51 families had crossed so far and would be taken to a refugee camp near Kotli, 120 kilometres (72 miles) south of Muzaffarabad.

This aint the end MARWAL (PULWAMA), May 8, 2000, A shroud of fear had enveloped the village. The houses were all bolted from inside, even the windows are shut. Women do not venture out alone even during the day, 10 years have passed. Two men from the nearby Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) camp barged into the house of Abdul Rehman Dar and raped his 40-year-old housewife. The Dar household is still to recover from the shock. His wife, a Bengali, had come to Kashmir eight years ago as the bride of Abdul Rehman, who works as a labourer. "I had never imagined this will be my fate here," she says. The villagers who have assembled in front of her house are restless. She asks them to keep quiet. "Let me talk. I want to tell my pathetic story. Somebody will definitely listen to me," her voice is choked with pain and anger. Chill buddy AFSPA is at their backing you cant do anything.

"Aag lagao. Mere ko dead body chahiye". This is how J. K. Sharma Additional Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Commandant of Border Security Force's 75th battalion, is to have told his men before they shot nine innocent civilians

in cold blood in Mashali Mohalla, Srinagar district, on August 6, 1990. Now the BSF court of inquiry is drawing to a close. This will be the first court martial of its kind and E N Rammohan, Director General of the BSF, says the final orders against the DIG and others, will be issued later this month. (Buddies this is from the Indian Express dated 2, july 1998).

Mashali Mohalla was resounding with the wails of hysterical women and children. Mehbooba, one of the widows of Mashali Mohalla, told the court of inquiry that she first heard the sound of vehicles screeching at her door and some men shouting, "Pakistani Kutto, Bahar ajayo" (Pakistani dogs, come out). After this she heard sounds of rapid-fire and the shattering of windowpanes. Her husband, Bashir Ahmed Baig, 60,was sleeping by her side. Within minutes, the door was broken down and the BSF Jawans stormed in. They pulled off her clothes. In the meantime, she heard shots in the other room. Her youngest son, Izaz, had hidden himself under a table and was dragged out. One of the BSF men shot him too. Mehbooba ran to other room to find her husband, older son Muzzafar and a guest Abdul Rehman, all bleeding from bullet-injuries. Ten minutes later, a turbaned BSF officer returned. Seeing a new face in uniform, Mehbooba ran wailing to him, only to be shot at on the left side of her chest. She wrapped a quilt around herself and lay near the body of her husband. Her youngest son died on the way to the hospital. Abdul lived to tell the tale though he lost his left eye. The house was then set on fire. Tasleema, the other Mashali Mohalla widow, has also given a graphic account of the massacre at the hands of the BSF. She has stated that the BSF personnel came to the first floor of her house and opened fire. She hid under the bed when she was pulled out by a BSF jawan, who ripped her cloths and tried to force himself on

PAMELA CONSTABLE writes for The Washington Post, June 21, 1999 her. It was the whistle from DIG Sharma a signal to end the "operation" which Tasleema says she her self heard, that saved her from further humiliation. She stepped out only after the firing stopped to see the bodies of her father, Ghulam Qadir Magloo, and her two brothers, Mushtaq and Ahmed Magloo, lying on the ground, riddled with bullets. By their side was their neighbour, Farooq Baig. All of them were dead. The youngest witness for the BSF's court of inquiry is Baby Jaan, Farooq Baig's 15 year old daughter. She told the court of inquiry how the Jawans attempted to molest her when she was cowering under the bed. A BSF officer pulled her out but disgusted with her hysterical screaming, cut open her right cheek with a knife, spat on her and left.

Khargam - India: Until Tuesday, this was a prosperous village of brick and cement houses. Women and girls worked looms in shady yards, weaving carpets for export. Men tended apple orchards, rice paddies and plump milk cows.

Today Khargam is a heap of charred rubble, silent except for the sound of women wailing. Outside, families squat among their ruined possessions: scraps of flowered carpeting, piles of blackened cooking pots. Inside their sheds lie the corpses of incinerated cows.

According to authorities, the annihilation of Khargam was the consequence of "cross-fire" between Muslim separatist guerrillas and Indian security forces. According to villagers, it was an act of vengeance by army and police who sealed off the village, found and shot two guerrillas, torched the community with kerosene and kept watch while it burned for hours.

The incident was not the first of its kind in Kashmir, a scenic but heavily militarized region that is the subject of a decades-old dispute between India and Pakistan and the site of a long-smoldering guerrilla conflict that has caused some 700,000 Indian troops to be stationed here. But it was an especially gruesome example of how the latest flare-up of tensions over the region - a three-week battle in the Kargil mountains 100 miles east of here on the Line of Control separating Indian and Pakistani-Occupied Kashmir, has revived an array of regional problems that m

ost Kashmiris hoped they were finally putting behind them.

The News International, Jan 03, 2001

Indian forces have burnt down historical Jamia Masjid in Kishtwar, a town in Doda south of occupied Kashmir. The mosque was gutted in fire during the intervening night of January 1-2 when the whole town was under curfew.

According to Kashmir Media Service, the gruesome event triggered strong protest demonstrations and people raised slogans against India and in favour of Kashmir's liberation. According to eyewitnesses, the Indian forces prevented fire-fighting trucks from extinguishing the fire.

Add the following to it….

The burning of the 700-year-old Shah-e Hamdan shrine in Tral, Indian occupied Kashmir, on December 16 was no accident. This was the third 'accidental fire' that has destroyed an important Islamic monument in Kashmir.

In May 1995, the 600-year-old shrine at Charar-i Sharif was destroyed by what the Indian occupation forces described as 'cross-firing' with a group of mujahideen who allegedly had taken shelter there. No mujahid was found when the shooting stopped. Three years earlier, the library at Srinagar's main mosque was set ablaze. A large number of priceless manuscripts were destroyed.

After the Shah-e Hamdan fire, home minister in the Kashmir puppet administration, Ali Mohammed Sagar, was quoted by the AFP on December 20 as saying that the government would investigate the cause thoroughly, adding: 'We have nothing to hide.' The people of Kashmir have no faith in such pronouncements who consider the Farooq Abdullah administration as unrepresentative and a puppet of Delhi.

India, which claims to be the 'largest democracy' in the world, has drawn an iron curtain around Kashmir. Human rights organisations, especially Amnesy International, have been barred from entering the state since 1978. Even so, reports have trickled out painting a grim picture. Freedom House, a New York-based non-profit organisation, described on December 21 India's occupation of Kashmir as the 'worst of the worst' where basic human and political rights were denied to the people. In its annual report on Kashmir (December 1997), Human Rights Watch/Asia said that since the induction of the Abdullah government, there has been a marked 'increase in extrajudicial executions,' in Kashmir.

Brutalities in Kashmir have also been condemned by Indian human rights groups. The Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee, Hyderabad; Committee for the Protection of Democratic Rights, Mumbai, and Peoples Union for Democratic Rights, Delhi, issued a stinging rebuke of Indian forces' practices in Kashmir following a visit to the state by their fact-finding team last year.

The Indian team was particularly scathing in its attack of random killings of civilians by the occupation forces. Their report listed a large number of incidents in which innocent civilians were simply grabbed and shot dead. The purpose behind such brutality is to terrorise the civilian population. An even more insidious practice is the burning alive of innocent people by Indian-backed militants. On December 12, Bashir Ahmed Ganai, a 17-year-old youth, from Sundo village near Achabal, was burned to death by Indian-sponsored militants.

World press on Indian atrocities in Kashmir:

"As the conflict in Kashmir enters its fourth year, central and state authorities have done little to stop the widespread practice of rape by Indian security forces in Kashmir. Indeed, when confronted with the evidence of rape, time and again the authorities have attempted to impugn the integrity of the witnesses, discredit the testimony of physicians or simply deny the charges everything except order a full inquiry and prosecute those responsible for rape". (Asia Watch and Physicians for Human Rights, May 09, 1993)

"Since January 1990, rape by Indian occupation forces has become more frequent. Rape most often occurs during crackdowns, cordon and search operations during which men are held for identification in parks or schoolyards while security forces search their homes. In raping them, the security forces are attempting to punish and humiliate the entire community." ('Pain in Kashmir: A Crime of War' issued jointly by Asia Watch and Physicians for Human Rights, May 09, 1993)

"By beginning TV cameras and prohibiting the presence in Kashmir of the International Red Cross and of human rights organization, the Indian authorities have tried to keep Kashmir out of the news." (`Kashmiri crisis at the flash point', The Washington Times, by columnist Cord Meyer, April 23, 1993)

"Despite pressure from League of Human Rights and other humanitarian organizations the Indian forces have not desisted from using torture and sequestration of political opponents and using methods that defy imagination." (Le Quotidien de Paris, September 05, 1992)

"(On February 23, 1991), at least 23 women were reportedly raped in their homes at gunpoint (at Kunan Poshpora in Kashmir). Some are said to have been gang-raped, others to have been raped in front of their children ... The youngest victim was a girl of 13 named Misra, the oldest victim, name Jana, was aged 80". (Amnesty International, March 1992)

"The most common torture methods are severe beatings, sometimes while the victim is hung upside down, and electric shocks. People have also been crushed with heavy rollers, burned, stabbed with sharp instruments, and had objects such as chilies or thick sticks forced into their rectums. Sexual mutilation has been reported". (Amnesty International, March 1992)

"Widespread human rights violations in the state since January 1990 have been attributed to the (Kashmir) Indian army, and the Paramilitary Border Security Force and Central Reserve Police Force." (Amnesty International, March 1992)

"The term "rape of Kashmir", is no exaggeration. India's Hindu and Sikh forces have adopted a concerted policy of raping Muslim women which is designed to break the will of the Kashmiri resistance... The world community should immediately bring political and economic pressure on India to stop behaving like a Mongol." (Eric Margolis, Sunday Sun, April 12, 1992)

"The worst outrages by the CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) have been frequent gang rapes of all women in Muslim villages, followed by the execution of the men". (Eric Margolis, The Ottawa Citizen, December 8, 1991)

"While army troops dragged men from their homes for questioning in the border town of Kunan Pushpura, scores of women say they were raped by soldiers....a pregnant Kashmiri woman, who was raped and kicked, gave birth to a son with a broken arm." (Melinda Liuin, Newsweek, June 24, 1991) [Anthony Wood and Ron MaCullagh of the Sundav Observer (June 02, 1992) estimated that over 500 Indian army men were involved in this orgy of rape and plunder in Kunan Pushpura.]

"The security forces have entered hospitals, beaten patients, hit doctors, entered operating theaters, smashed instruments. Ambulances have been attacked, curfew passes are confiscated." (Asia Watch, May 1991)

"Sexual molestation, beatings, threats of violence, and electric shock are the most common forms of torture. " (Asia Watch, May 1991)

"Jammu and Kashmir is almost the only part of India where demands for democracy and human rights and protest against corruption and administrative injustices were branded as treason. If a deliberate experiment had been launched, under controlled and most favorable conditions, with Kashmir as a laboratory, to implement a textbook model of terrorism, it could hardly have improved upon the present situation." (Hindu observer quoted in Asia Watch report, May 1991).

"Subjugated, humiliated, tortured and killed by the 650,000-strong Indian army, the people of Kashmir have been living through sheer hell for more than a year, the result of an increasingly brutal campaign of state repression. . India hides behind its carefully-crafted image of "non-violence" and presents itself in international forums as a model of democracy and Pluralism. Yet , it is unable to stand up the scrutiny of even its admirers. All journalists, especially television crews, were expelled from the Valley. with no intrusive cameras to record the brutalities of the Indian forces, the world has been kept largely in the dark." (The Toronto Star, January 25, 1991)

"Young girls were now being raped systematically by entire (Indian) army units rather than by a single soldier as before. Girls are taken to soldier's camps and held naked in their tents for days on end. Many never return home....Women are strung up naked from trees and their breast lacerated with knives, as the (Indian) soldiers tell them that their breast will never give milk again to a newborn militant. Women are raped in front of their husbands and children, or paraded naked through villages and beaten on the breasts." (The Independent, September 18, 1990)

These Indiots didn’t even leave sikhs. Yes buddy (may be they were demanding Khalistan). PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

SRINAGAR, MARCH 25: Five top foreign mercenaries, suspected to be involved in the massacre of 35 Sikhs in the Kashmir Valley early this week, were on Saturday killed in a gun-battle with security forces at Panchaltran, 82 km from here, a Defence Ministry spokesperson here said.

All the militants were in combat uniform and involved in the March 20 night massacre at Chattisinghpura village, 70 km from here, in Anantnag district, he said. He said five rifles, two wireless sets and five grenades were recovered from the militants' hideout which was blasted by security forces.

Police did not rule out the possibility of more militants being involved in the encounter as the operation was still continuing.

Acting on a tip-off provided by Mohammad Yaqoob Wagey, who is believed to have taken part in the massacre and was arrested by the authorities on Thursday, the security forces cordoned off the house where the militants were hiding and launched the operation to flush them out ensuing a heavy gun battle between the two sides.

However, the Indian lie was quickly exposed as the Kashmiris and even the Sikhs themselves accused the Indian forces for this heinous act. Rattled by this development, the Indians shot dead 5 Kashmiri civilians in a fake encounter and claimed them to be Kashmiri Mujahideen responsible for killing the 35 Sikhs. However, people protested against this blatant lie and the bodies of these 5 men were exhumed and examined by forensic experts. It was established beyond any doubt that these men were innocent and that they had been liquidated as part of the Indian game plan. It also became clear that the Indian government tried to falsify evidence in order to blame these five men. Thus, the entire world came to know of India's lies with regard to Kashmir.

For a detailed account of what really happened, read Valley of Death, an article written by Pankaj Mishra.

The best way to do it. Yes indians have discovered it. Indian army patrols looking for mines and booby traps in troubled Kashmir have found the safest and most effective way to conduct their dangerous searches -- get a civilian to do it.

Abdul Hamid, 16, steps gingerly into a large hole along an isolated stretch of the Rajouri-Poonch highway, around 200-km northwest of the Kashmiri winter capital Jammu. Clad only in a pair cotton trousers and a T-shirt and carrying a wooden stick, Hamid's figure cuts a striking contrast with the small army sapper patrol watching him. The soldiers are dressed in full army fatigues and flak jackets, and carry sensitive metal detectors and semi-automatic weapons. As Hamid hesitates, a member of the patrol points towards the hole with a stick, edging him on. Such scenes are common in Kashmir.

Hamid and his friend, Rashid, 20, remained with the patrol the entire morning, poking into bushes and under boulders along the sides of the highway. The patrols can be seen all over Kashmir, performing their daily check for landmines and other explosives.

Villagers in Poonch and Rajouri say most patrols will force two civilians to accompany them on the routine searches. "Two civilians, usually young men, accompany every 20 odd soldiers every morning to look for landmines or explosives planted by mujahideen," said Muhammad Hussain of Sarankote village. "They have to search along the roadsides, under the bridges and culverts, and behind the heavy rocks," Hussain said, adding that they were rarely given anything more than a wooden axe handle in terms of equipment.

An army officer leading the patrol containing Hamid and Rashid, denied any coercion was used when drafting in villagers for help. "It is with their agreement that we ask locals to accompany us who know the topography of the area very well," the officer said.

Darling, it doesn’t end here. In a charity hostel in Srinagar, young Kashmiri boys pray together. All of them are orphans, their parents have been killed during the ongoing struggle for the right of self-determination, which has resulted in savage Indian atrocities and genocide in the held territory. They are just a handful of an estimated 100,000 children orphaned by the crisis - many of them forced to fend for themselves as child labourers. Kashmiris say some eighty thousand people have been killed during the past eleven years. It was March 30, 2002.

The News International writes on March 30, 2002 Black laws for Kashmiris

Last 13 years have witnessed a rapid rise in human rights violations in Kashmir. The Indian security forces disregarding any fear of international criticism continue to practice their barbaric methods despite the fact that many human rights groups have consistently took notice of these despicable acts. Mary Robinson, United Nations high commissioner for human rights, during her recent visit to Pakistan, described human rights violations in Indian occupied Kashmir as "serious". The US State Department in its annual report on human rights for the year 2001 also expressed somewhat similar views. The report stressed that the Indian security force continued to commit human rights abuses in Kashmir including killing of civilians, excessive use of force, extra-judicial killings, torture and rape.

Most regional sources indicate that more than 81,000 Kashmiris have already sacrificed their lives in pursuit of freedom from Indian rule. Over 102,000 houses and shops have been either burnt or looted. More than 100,000 children have been orphaned and roughly 8,350 women have so far been molested. It is indeed difficult to calculate that how many Kashmiris are missing or hiding but rough estimates put the figure to over 100,000. These figures by themselves paint a horrible picture in Kashmir.

A simple look at the figures certainly lends ample support to Mary Robinson's contentions. It is indeed imperative that an immediate stop is put to such barbaric and blatant violations. It becomes even more pressing when one realises that the Indians have intensified their killing spree following the tragic events of September 11, 2001. Effectively using the cover of international coalition against terrorism, the Indians are killing their own people as they claim that the disputed state of Kashmir is an integral part of India.

To sum it up, here is a tribute which Indians have given us.

Since 1990 - Oct.1996:

* 59 750 Murdered

* 49 000 Murdered by indiscriminate firing

* 550 Burnt alive

* 3 200 Bound and drowned in the River Jhelum

* 4 500 Murdered crossing the cease-fire line

Early 1990's estimate:

* 15 873 Rape cases (reported)

* 934 Women murdered in gang rapes

* 756 Rendered disabled

* 43 390 Men and women held in prison without trial

* 11 600 Youth in torture cells

* 97 654 Burnt houses and shops

* 250 678 Refugees (successfully crossed) in Pakistan (1)

* 30 Schools destroyed

* 189 Schools and hospitals bomb blasted

* 200 Primary school children burnt alive on October 1, 1990

* 358 Hospital Clinics destroyed

* 346 Mosques destroyed

* 358 Children died without treatment

* 66 094 Houses and shops burnt

* 1 480 Cattle burnt

* 1 225 Food burnt (worth in dollars)

* 1 123 Forest burnt (worth in millions of dollars)

* 848 Hospitals and schools burnt

* + Thousands of people dismissed from jobs

And the persecution is still continuing at an ever-increasing rate. In a land where even gatherings of more than four persons is prohibited, everyday is a nightmare; every place is a holocaust. Every family has suffered in one way or another.

I leave it upto you. I don’t have any further words.

Earlier Published As A Note On: Shah Saaib Ahmed Rabbani ·