The bruised Childhood of Kashmir

By: Advocate Babar Jan Qadri

“A Nation’s Welfare depends upon the prosperity of its children”

We define minor as a living human usually in his teenage more specifically 16 or less than 16 years. Just after the infancy, starts the minor age of a human being. This age is associated with innocence and grooming of childhood. How a nation shapes its minors on that paradigm depends the future of that very nation. Being a Kashmiri , I think the day our nations sovereignty is plundered and snatched , the same day we the children of conflict have lost our child hood “ curse to occupation “

Unfortunately, revolutionary circumstances prevailing in the Kashmir over the past several decades have not even spared the “Childhood”. The state repression has come with its full force over the children of this deadly conflict zone. Virtually India has waged war against minor revolutionaries of the wounded paradise.

On this global Children Day, we are reminded of horrible scenes .We are reminded of so many young toddlers being beaten to death by merciless men in uniform. We are reminded of constant fear on the faces of our minors.

This year we were heartened by the images of minors being flocked to jails and brought to courts and examination centers in a quiet disgraceful manner by the state forces. The minors on account of alleged involvement in revolutionary activities were subjected to third degree torture .How sham it is for a country that claims herself to be the biggest democracy of globe and boasts of having high morals of loving and catering to young souls.

Probably, after the Nazi Germany, our part of the world is the only places were minors have faced such an unprecedented state brunt. A minor having revolutionary thought is seen as an “Enemy of Nation” by the state and its institutions and is constantly threatened and mentally tortured. Out of state fear, even other parents fear to make their child accustomed with a revolutionary minor .The state even after releasing a minor constantly perpetrates violence on him, as they have to constantly report to their concerned police stations wherein they are humiliated and tortured.This is unknown to any criminal justice system in the world that a person is arrested for want of others surrender " a worst kind of human exchange policy ", but the same happens in Kashmir , as the father/ brother is arrested to force a son / brother to surrender

Indian state might be the rare state wherein the minors, especially the minors of Kashmir have often reported evil deeds like sodomy reported against them. The state has left no stone unturned to turn the childhood of our minors into a virtual nightmare. By hook or crook you have to be a conformist and should remain dumb over the brutalities of the state otherwise the norm has been to crush the innocence and logical rebellion of minor.

One is only dumbfounded by the revelation that state machinery slaps unthinkable charges like “War against nation” against the minor souls of Kashmir.

On the other side of the spectrum, even if the bail is granted the police does not honor the orders of judiciary. The judiciary is made defunct by the villain’s of police department. For a Kashmiri these minors represent hope i.e. the urge for freedom has passed on to next generation in spite of all state terror tactics being employed by the state to quell the sentiment of freedom.According to section 18 of juvinyle justice act , a minor is to be released on bail on the very first day of production before court with or without sureties . According to the same section a juvenile can be sent to juvenile home if required but the role of police is to be minimized by court by handing over the minor to in-charge juvinile home but the same is not complied with , instead it is police personal who administer minors even when they are sent to juvenile home thus putting the minors at risk .

On this children day, India over its track record in Kashmir has shamed the noble institution of childhood by unleashing very possible brutal measure over the minors of Kashmir. The conscience of India should wake up from the slumber and let dawn of freedom and liberty spread its wings over the browbeaten land of Kashmir.

BAPTIZING THE YOUNG MINDS

By: Irfan Kashmirie

On 2-11-2011 Kashmir Education Initiative observed its Annual Day in Gandhi Bhawan, University of Kashmir. KEI is a volunteer-driven philanthropic organization with an aim to support education of talented and deserving youth who can't otherwise support continuing their education on their own. On the occasion approximately 60-70 students (KEI Scholars) were awarded the scholarships. At around 12:00 noon all the participants were asked to come on dice, introduce themselves, share their thoughts and explain to the audience what they aspire to be.

A lot of students got up to the dice and most of the students wanted to become doctors, engineers, scientists, etc.

A bright kid from one of the backward areas of the valley also went up, introduced himself to the audience and said that his aim in life was to fight Indians for the freedom of Kashmir.

The hall reverberated with cheers and applauds to the young kid. Next was the young girl who aspired to pursue MMBS and a full time “dayee” to spread the word of Allah and organize congregations especially in Medical Colleges / Universities across valley.

Kudos to the young sister. After some time came the turn of another young brother who said that he will work and strive to expel American Zionists and Indians out of Muslim lands in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Kashmir, Chechnya, etc. But this did not go well with the organizers and they immediately cautioned the students not to spill it anymore.

And this is how the people at the helm of affairs make our youth/Gen-Next morally bankrupt. The place which is supposed to produce thinkers/philosophers is just busy in molding the brains of the youth. Shame on university administration who suppress the emotions of the youth to keep their political masters happy. The place is supposed to be the hub of revolution / renaissance (like Osmania University Hyderabad) but unfortunately it is doing exactly the opposite of the same.

In another example, class 7 students of DPS Athwajan offered congregational mid day Zuhr prayers in the playground of the school. This came into the notice of the principal and next day a siege was laid in the ground by so called Muslim teachers of the school to prevent students from offering the Zuhr prayer. Most of the students who have kept beard are asked day-in and out to tri m it off or else face the consequences.

It must be borne in mind that no religious activity (including offering prayer) is allowed in the DPS campus right from its inception in the Srinagar. Although, students every now and then break these rules but this does not go well with the school principle and often the students pay price (in the form of fine and mental torture). Isn’t this interfering in the faith?? Why are Kashmiris silent over such issues, why don’t we launch a mass campaign against such cultural and religious aggression?? Or is it that we all have gone materialistic and await wrath from Allah (SWT).

Alhamdulillah these youth have raised some hope that our Gen-Next will be fertile brains and great thinkers/philosophers who will do everything possible to keep their religion as well as Ummah protected. May He guide us to the right path, the path which He has bestowed with His Grace and not of those who earn His Anger? Aameen Summa Aameen.

Kashmir's children 'mistreated in adult jails'

Kashmir's children 'mistreated in adult jails'

Hundreds of youths detained in state prisons during protests in Indian-administered Kashmir last year say they have been abused and mistreated by the authorities, reports the BBC's Riyaz Masroor in Srinagar. Umar, 16, responds with a blank look when asked to recall his 35-day stay in prison last year. Jailed at 15 for throwing stones at policemen near his hometown of Pattan, 35km (22 miles) north of Srinagar city, Umar now fears any man in uniform. Umar and dozens of his fellow protesters say they were first detained in an abandoned matchstick factory. The place, they allege, served as a forced interrogation chamber of the paramilitary Special Task Force (STF) which has consistently denied all allegations that it has mistreated detainees. Those who were held say that they were later shifted by the authorities to a district jail in Baramulla, 30km (19 miles) from their homes. Umar is now out on bail, but he still faces several charges, including arson and attempt to murder, which he and his family deny. He is among hundreds of boys who were detained during the 2010 protests. Local rights groups have long criticised the state government's policy of lodging boys in adult jails. In the rest of India, offenders under 18 years are treated as juveniles and sent to separate detention facilities. 'A joke' But in Kashmir, boys above 16 are treated as adults. Rights groups have been demanding that the state government amend the detention law to make it similar to the rest of India. Kashmir-based child rights lawyer Abdul Rashid Hanjura says that the current system of dealing with juvenile offenders is "little short of a joke". "They jail boys aged between 16 and 18 and then claim they have no juveniles [underage boys] in detention," he said. "We want the state law to be on a par with the Indian law." Rights activists say holding an underage person in an adult prison amounts to a violation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child to which India is a signatory. Umar and hundreds like him say that they were detained in adult prisons even when they were under 16. Umar says that while he was not tortured, he was initially beaten with a bamboo stick at the local police station. But he shivers when recalling his five-week ordeal in prison alongside convicted thieves and hardened criminals. Umar's parents and siblings say that they have noticed a change in his behaviour which sometimes is marked by violent outbursts. Mr Hanjura says detaining teenagers in the absence of a juvenile justice system is only going to create more trouble in future. "When the boys spend time with convicts and adult criminals, they undergo psychological trauma which creates a sense of revenge," he says. 'Rebellion' Umar aspired to become a doctor before he was arrested, but now he has lost interest in studies. He is required to appear before a trial court every month. "Every time, the judge asks me my name and marks the date for the next hearing..

I wish he would listen to me." He says life has changed for him after his jail term. "Earlier I used to play unmindfully. Now I need to remember the date of the next trial. If I miss it, the policemen will knock on the door. I am scared." Leading psychiatrist Dr Arshad Hussain says young detainees tend to pick up adult behavior faster when in jail. "When they are out, parents complain of rebellion but they don't realize the scale of the psychological impact," he said. The state's Internal Security Minister Nasir Aslam refused to comment on the allegations. But officials say the government has tried to remedy the problem, recently setting up a "juvenile home" on the outskirts of Srinagar. This secluded and quiet three-storey building is situated in the scenic surroundings of the famed Harvan Mughal garden. But its picturesque qualities are lost on the teenagers who are lodged here. They argue that they would be better off in mainstream prisons because they feel so lonely. 'No rehabilitation' "No sports, no education. We only sleep," says a boy facing murder charges. The home now houses fewer than 10 juveniles - most of them booked for throwing stones at the security forces or for shouting anti-India slogans. "We'll soon offer sports and other fun activities besides moral education," says its administrator Bashir Ahmad. Campaigners say that besides setting up the home, the authorities have done little to rehabilitate juvenile offenders rounded up during last year's anti-India street protests. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah recently announced an amnesty for those not facing serious accusations, but many of the boys charged with stone-throwing or attending a procession either remain in jail or are on bail facing trial. Offenders are generally charged under the draconian Public Safety Act which allows police to detain a person for longer periods without trial and recommend a minimum two-year prison term. The government says it wants to soften the law to reduce this punishment to six months. But that has not impressed separatist groups who blame the government for inflicting "mass punishment" on the people of Indian-administered Kashmir for "rising against injustice and repression".

|BBC|

KASHMIR CONFLICT : Studying at prison; appearing in chains

As standard 10th students rush towards their examination centre at the historic Islamia School in the heart of the Old City, Shahbaaz Manzoor Khan, 16, who is also appearing, is brought handcuffed like a ‘criminal’.

Shahbaaz, who hails from Gojwara, has been in police detention for over a month before the annual 10th standard examination began in the Kashmir valley.

On the morning of September 8, this year, when Shahbaaz was still asleep, a pose of 75 police vehicles stood outside the gate of his house, says his father Manzoor Ahmad Khan. The family was having breakfast when they heard a thunderous sound. He says he rushed out in hurry to check out and found the policemen had broken the fence which surrounds their house.

“When my husband went out, I followed him and saw huge number of policemen crossing over the broken fence towards our house, says Dishada, his mother.

The policemen asked for their son. “They (policemen) were angry to listen to us, they warned us that they would barge into his room, if we did not bring him quickly, she says amid sobs outside the school, where her son is appearing for the exam.

She says being a mother she thought her only son

would be panicked ‘so she woke him up like she did every morning’. “I called him and asked him to wear your clothes quickly and come downstairs,” she explains with tears glistening in her eyes. She says when her son came down he held her hand tightly, before police took him away. “We didn’t utter a word in front of them, we just handed over a jacket to our son and they took him away,” she cries as she speaks.

The parents desperate to get their son out, more so as the dates for the crucial exam were nearing, approached people in the corridors of power. But, as his parents say nobody paid any heed. “We are pleading for our son in front of them, he is too innocent and young to do anything,” Dilshada says.

A police official says that the teen has been arrested on charges of hurling stones at the government forces. He, however, fails to explain the need of bringing Shahbaaz handcuffed to the examination centre.

A physiologist says that such scene at places where there is a huge presence of children is a matter of concern. "If you bring a child handcuffed and guarded like a hardened criminal it certainly is going to play on the psyche of other children around," he remarks while wishing to remain anonymous.

This becomes, particularly, important when government claims to have launched several initiatives for the youth, who have been at the forefront of expressing dissent, he says.

But, authorities seem to be ignoring the gravity of such actions and as his parents' pleas have fallen to deaf ears. Shahbaaz, these days, prepares in dark prison cell where not a ray of light passes, his mother believes. “When I went there, I saw the room in which they are keeping my son, it has a single window with no light, it is a ‘kal kothri’, I am not coming to terms with the crime he has committed, I don’t understand how would he be preparing,” she expresses her worry.

Dilshada often visits her son in jail to give him books and sometimes food.

On the first day of his examination she visited his school to wish him luck

b ut when she found his son handcuffed and surrounded by police it became difficult for her to

bear her son’s plight, says his father.

“Since then I don’t go to wish him luck, I just wait for the jeep outside school premises which picks and drops him to assure myself that he is appearing in exams,” says Dilshada.

Earlier Published On Kashmir Dispatch

No Lullaby for Babies in Kashmir !

By : Lonesome Kashmiri

The Enchanted forest where the fairies live, The princess waiting for her prince to rescue her. The villains who take so many exotic shapes. The epic battles between truth and lies, Greatest sacrifices made with slightest of hesitations. The great love that the King and his queen shared. The colors that would blind the sun. The clouds which is softer than the cotton and you can fly on it to the end of the world. Stories of Sinbad, adventures of Ali Baba and princes from Persia doing the impossible. Friendly dragons and wonderful wizards battling the evil witches. Oh Child of Kashmir, I wish I could tell you the wonderful tales of fantasy. Tales that take us to a world where only truth is victorious. Tales where love is valued above all else. Tales where peace and tranquility is preserved at any cost. Oh how I wish I could you tell you the stories which shape the minds of young. I wish I could start the evening with the tale of valor and end it with tales of victory. I wish I could. The stories of the mighty tiger and dainty fawns of the forest would also not make much sense to you. For all you will see are the heavy boots of the soldiers and their evil guns pointed at you. Tales of Tarzan and the Jungle Book are just a fantasy which will have no meaning for you. Because all that you will ever see is Animals in green uniforms roaming the streets of Kashmir.

Alas sweet baby you were born in a troubled age and in a troubled land. Kashmir is not a place for fantasies any more. Children like you do not grow as children, you mature too young. Your ears hear the deafening sound of bombs exploding, so where will the roar of a prince reach you. You see your mother crying silently then how can you imagine land of the fairies. You have not seen your father ever since you were born so how would you know the love of a King and a queen. You open your eyes and close them again because there is nothing to see in the middle of teargas smoke. Dear baby I will not tell you the story of justice and truth because you will never see it in Kashmir, so it would not make much sense to you. You hear the wails and cries of people without a pause, so how can I tell you the tales of Happily ever after? Do you want to know the adventures of princes or would you like to learn the shouts of freedom. Would you like to know how dwarves mine gold or would you like to learn how to wipe tears of your mother.

Alas sweet baby, stories of Alladin on his magic carpet is not for you. Rescuing the caged princess is not for you. Neither are the endless rainbows and the dancing fairies. You will be forced to grow very soon. You will mature much before your time has come. You will need to stand up for yourself because no one else will. You will need to learn the ways of Khalid bin Walid and Saladin Ayubi. You will need to follow the steps of your father who set an example for you. You will need to learn to hide your tears and bruises. You will need to learn to face the atrocity head on, So tell me how will the stories of Giants and Unicorns help you. It breaks my heart to tell you that we don't have childhoods in Kashmir. We can't afford to shut our eyes against the misery surrounding us. Most of us have forgotten to laugh so how can I tell you the tales of the jester whose jokes would win the hearts of cruelest of Kings? The legends that shaped the earth are not for you. We live in reality and die in reality. I am truly sorry for failing to provide you a safe childhood.



No Lullaby For Our Babies