Lying about Kashmir with old videos

 
In their coverage of the Kashmir protests, some channels recently used old 2010 footage to spread canards about the demonstrators. Hindi news channels Zee News and Aaj Tak and English channel India Today recently aired two videos to argue that Kashmir’s present crisis is sponsored by Pakistan and that Kashmiri mobs have been attacking Indian security forces.

In the first video they show a young Kashmiri boy in his undershirt, surrounded by a group of hostile CRPF personnel, crying and saying that “Geelani is paying their gang Rs 500 for throwing stones at Indian soldiers”. Rahul Kanwal, India Today’s anchor known for his pro-establishment views, took to Twitter to write this: “Newsroom on confession of a stone pelter who says he was paid money by separatists to spread mayhem in Kashmir.”

The video was of the 2010 demonstrations. It was run as an “exclusive” report in July 2016. Mufti Islah, a well-respected television journalist based in Srinagar, responded with this tweet: “One channel was running total crap today and called it exclusive. Grow up folks.”

Similarly, in another attempt to distort the Kashmir reality, on Zee News a pheran-clad Kashmiri man was shown throwing a petrol bomb at CRPF personnel. A pheran? The long woollen coat Kashmiris wear in winter? In the heat of July? This was total distortion and false reportage. 

By airing such old videos and other doctored ones, these channels are not only insulting the intelligence of their audiences but also lending credence to the Kashmiri argument that India’s hyper-nationalist media cashes on falsehoods, propaganda and provocation, and feeds on a daily diet of anti-Pakistan rhetoric. 

Hardly any journalism ethics are followed by vast sections of the Indian electronic media when it comes to reporting Kashmir dispassionately and with an open mind. They take every word of their army and police as gospel and willingly become partners in propaganda. They try to blame Pakistan for everything that happens or does not happen in Kashmir. 

Appallingly, as the death toll reached 32, Times Now ran a ticker saying “32 die in Kashmir in Pakistan-sponsored violence”. There can be no better example of the Indian media’s Pakistan paranoia. Afterwards, they ran another campaign saying that Pakistan has sent Rs 100 crore to encourage stone-pelting in Kashmir through Syed Ali Geelani who has been under house arrest for the last six years. Sometimes you don’t know whether to laugh or weep.   

Robert Fisk, noted British author and journalist, in one his articles published in the Independent, writes how journalists covering any conflict zone often become “partners in crime”. “Most of all, it's about the terror of power and the power of terror. Power and terror have become interchangeable. We journalists have let this happen. Our language has become not just a debased ally, but a full verbal partner in the language of governments and armies and generals and weapons.”

The author further asks a relevant question, “How do we break with the language of power? It is certainly killing us. That, I suspect, is one reason why readers have turned away from the "mainstream" press to the internet.” 

It doesn’t help that, in Kashmir, a crisis invariably means that journalists from outside the state are air-dropped in. Many television journalists, who can hardly tell whether the All Parties Hurriyat Conference is a conglomerate or a party or what exactly is the difference between the Hurriyat led by Syed Ali Geelani and the one headed by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, or how many districts there are in the Kashmir Valley and how their names are pronounced, can hardly do justice to the Kashmir story.

But I am also aware that these selected journalists are parachuted in to parrot the Indian government’s propaganda on Kashmir. They do not come to Kashmir to report facts. They come to distort them, and act as extensions of the Indian state. They often do the job of firefighting and think of themselves as conflict managers rather than journalists reporting and analyzing the facts on the ground.

Whenever Kashmir is on the edge, this ‘army in civvies’ on ‘Mission Kashmir’ with an aim to ‘douse flames’ will tell you that Kashmir is angry, that Kashmiris are feeling more alienated than before. But they won’t tell you the truth: that Kashmiris are raising azadi slogans and are demanding a just political solution to the Kashmir dispute.

The second appalling thing they do in Kashmir is to try and equate the state-sponsored violence with some protesters hurling a stone at government forces. They show pictures of 14 members of paramilitary and police being treated for minor scratches here and there at an army hospital in Srinagar to draw unfair parallels with the violence perpetrated by the government forces.

The brazen killing of 48 civilians (45 confirmed officially) which include women, and injuries to over 3,000 persons, mostly teenagers, is inconsequential. They try to stoke nationalistic passions in mainland India by erroneously showing that their brave soldiers are exercising maximum restraint while dealing with Kashmir’s “agitational terrorism” and “terrorist sympathizers”. Yes, this is the language they often employ to criminalise and de-legitimise the genuine political aspirations of the people of Kashmir.

Large sections of the Indian media often ‘sermonise’ to Kashmiris that “your future is safe with India” and offer unsolicited suggestions to Kashmiri audiences without making any genuine and unbiased attempt to listen to what Kashmiris have to say. Many Indian journalists wear their patriotism on their sleeve and think that they’re defending their borders in their air-conditioned studios and OB vans. 

India and its corporate-owned media and propagandists must wake up to the reality that there is no anger or alienation in Kashmir. People on the street are unambiguous in their demand: azadi. 
 

This article originally appeared on The Hoot

Gowhar Geelani is a journalist, political analyst & commentator based in Srinagar. He has worked for Deutsche  Welle and writes for Dawn, Catch News, and contributes political essays for the London-based Race & Class. @gowhargeelani/Twitter 
 

The post Lying about Kashmir with old videos appeared first on SabrangIndia.

पहला वीडियो बनियान पहने एक कश्मीरी लड़के का है जो सीआरपीएफ के जवानों से घिरा हुआ है। वीडियो में वो चीख रहा है कि उसे और उसके गिरोह को अलगाववादी नेता सैयद अली शाह गिलानी 500-500 रुपए भारतीय जवानों पर पत्थर फेंकने की एवज में देते हैं। अपने सरकार समर्थित नज़रिए के लिए बदनाम इंडिया टुडे के एंकर राहुल कंवल ने इस वीडियो को प्रसारित करने से पहले एक ट्वीट किया, 'आज न्यूज़रूम में पत्थर फेंकने वाले एक कश्मीरी का क़ुबूलनामा जिसमें वो कहता है कि कश्मीर में उत्पात मचाने के लिए अलगाववादी उसे फंड देते हैं।'

मगर इंडिया टुडे की स्क्रीन पर जो वीडियो चलाया गया, वो 2010 का था। राहुल कंवल 2016 में यानी कि छह साल बाद इसे एक्सक्लूसिव रिपोर्ट कहकर चला रहे थे। हालांकि श्रीनगर के मशहूर टीवी पत्रकार मुफ़्ती इस्लाह ने राहुल कंवल के इस ट्वीट पर पलटवार किया। उन्होंने लिखा, 'एक चैनल एक्सक्लूसिव का दावा करते हुए अपने न्यूज़ चैनल पर आज कचरा चला रहा है। आदमी बन जाओ साथियों।'

ठीक इंडिया टुडे की तरह, कश्मीरी प्रदर्शनकारियों की हक़ीक़त पर पर्दा डालने के लिए ज़ी न्यूज़ ने भी एक स्टोरी चलाई। इस ख़बर में ज़ी न्यूज़ ने फेरन (सर्दी में पहना जाने वाला गर्म कोट) पहने एक शख़्स को सीआरपीएफ जवानों पर पेट्रोल बम फेंकते हुए दिखाया है। मगर इस मौसम में फेरन? वो लंबा ऊनी फेरन जिसे कश्मीरी ठंड के मौसम में पहनते हैं? वो जुलाई की इस गर्मी में पहने हुए हैं? ये सीधे-सीधे फर्ज़ीवाड़ा और झूठी रिपोर्ट है।

इस तरह के पुराने और छेड़छाड़ किए गए वीडियो चलाकर, ऐसे चैनल ना सिर्फ दर्शकों की बुनियादी समझ का मज़ाक बना रहे हैं बल्कि उन्मादी राष्ट्रवादी मीडिया झूठ, प्रोपगंडा और भड़काऊ ख़बरें दिखाकर हर दिन वही पाकिस्तान विरोधी घिसा-पिटा राग दुहरा रहा है।

कश्मीर पर जब भी खुले और साफ़ मन से रिपोर्टिंग का सवाल आता है तो इंडियन इलेक्ट्रॉनिक मीडिया का एक बड़ा हिस्सा बमुश्किल पत्रकारीय उसूलों पर ध्यान देता है। सेना और पुलिस के एक-एक शब्द मीडिया इस तरह चलाता है, कि जैसे साक्षात ईश्वर प्रकट होकर किस्सा बता रहे हों। ऐसा करके वह ख़ुशी-ख़ुशी सरकारी प्रोपगंडा का हिस्सा बनने के लिए तैयार रहते हैं।

कश्मीर में मौतों का डरावना आंकड़ा जब 32 पहुंच गया, तब टाइम्स नाऊ ने एक टिकर चलाया, 'पाकिस्तान समर्थित हिंसा में 32 मारे गए।' पाकिस्तान को लेकर हिन्दुस्तानी मीडिया के पागलपन की इससे शानदार मिसाल नहीं मिल सकती। इसके बाद टाइम्स नाऊ ने एक और कैंपेन चलाया। इसमें दावा किया गया कि पाकिस्तान ने कश्मीर में पत्थरबाज़ी के लिए 100 करोड़ रुपए बज़रिए सैयद अली शाह गिलानी भेजे हैं। वही गिलानी जो पिछले छह साल से नज़रबंद हैं। कई बार समझ में नहीं आता कि ऐसी ख़बरें देखने के बाद हंसा जाए या उनपर मातम करना चाहिए।

ख़ैर, बहुत सारे टीवी पत्रकार कश्मीर से जुड़े मोटे-मोटे सवालों का भी जवाब नहीं दे सकते। वो नहीं बता सकते कि ऑल पार्टीज़ हुर्रियत कांफ्रेंस एक समूह है या दल? या सैय्यद अली शाह गिलानी की हुर्रियत और मीरवाइज़ उमर फारूक़ की हुर्रियत में क्या फर्क़ है? या कश्मीर घाटी में कुल कितने ज़िले हैं और उनके नाम कैसे पुकारे जाते हैं? ऐसे पत्रकार कश्मीर की किसी भी ख़बर या कहानी के साथ बमुश्किल इंसाफ़ कर सकते हैं।

मगर मैं ऐसे चुनिंदा पत्रकारों को भी जानता हूं जिन्हें कश्मीर में संकट होने पर बाक़ायदा मैदान में उतारा जाता है। भारत सरकार के प्रोपगंडा में ऐसे पत्रकारों की भूमिका महज़ एक तोते जैसी होती है। ये पत्रकार कश्मीर में तथ्यों की रिपोर्टिंग के लिए नहीं आते। इन्हें कश्मीर में तथ्यों से छेड़छाड़ और उसमें फेरबदल के लिए डंप किया जाता है और ये बिल्कुल भारत सरकार के पिट्ठू की तरह काम करते हैं। ये पत्रकारों हमेशा आग बुझाने की कोशिश करते हुए नज़र आएंगे। ये ख़ुद को ज़मीन पर तथ्यों की पड़ताल कर रहे एक पत्रकार की बजाय सेना-प्रदर्शनकारियों के संघर्ष को निपटाने-सुलटाने वाला मैनेजर टाइप फील करते हैं।

जब कभी कश्मीर में इस तरह का ख़तरा होता है, सिविलियन वर्दी में 'ऐसे पत्रकारों का गिरोह' 'मिशन कश्मीर' पर रवाना किया जाता है। इन्हें एक ख़ास मकसद के साथ भेजा जाता है ताकि इनकी मदद से कश्मीर में दहकती आग को 'ठंडा' किया जा सके। ये पत्रकार बार-बार कहते नज़र आएंगे कि कश्मीर गुस्से में है, उनमें अलगाव पहले से ज़्यादा बढ़ा है वग़ैरह-वग़ैरह। मगर यही पत्रकार सेना-प्रदर्शनकारियों के बीच जारी संघर्ष और अंसतोष की जड़ तक नहीं ले जाएंगे।

ऐसे पत्रकारों का दूसरा डरावना सच यह है कि ये कश्मीर में राज्य प्रायोजित हिंसा की तुलना सुरक्षाबलों पर पत्थर फेंकने वाले कुछ प्रदर्शनकारियों से करते दिखते हैं। ये पत्रकार श्रीनगर के अस्पतालों में घूमकर पैरामिलिट्री और पुलिस के दर्जनभर जवानों के इलाज की वो तस्वीरें दिखाते हैं जो मामूली स्क्रैच का शिकार होते हैं। फिर सरकार समर्थित हिंसा की गैरवाजिब तुलना प्रदर्शनकारियों से करते हैं।
​​​​​​​
अभी तक कश्मीर में 48 मौतें हुई हैं। इनमें औरतें भी शामिल हैं। 3 हज़ार से अधिक घायलों में ज़्यादातर बच्चे हैं। इस बेशर्म आंकड़े के सामने स्क्रैच खाए जवानों की मामलों की कोई अहमियत नहीं है। ऐेसे जवानों की तस्वीरें दिखा-दिखाकर ये पत्रकार दरअसल भारतीयों में राष्ट्रवादी जोश भरने की कोशिश करते हैं। ये दरअसल ऐसी तस्वीर सामने लाने की कोशिश करते हैं कि हमारे बहादुर सिपाहियों को प्रदर्शन रूपी आतंकवाद और आतंकियों से हमदर्दी रखने वालों से निपटने में कितनी मुश्किलों का सामना करना पड़ता है। जी हां, ये पत्रकार बिल्कुल इसी भाषा का इस्तेमाल करते हैं, कश्मीरी आवाम की वास्तविक राजनीतिक इच्छा को अवैध और गैरकानूनी साबित करने के लिए।

Courtesy: Media Vigil, द हूट से साभार

The post ‘आज तक’ चला रहा है 2010 की बाइट ! कश्मीरी पत्रकार का खुला आरोप ! appeared first on SabrangIndia.

SRINAGAR: In a video statement posted on Saturday, the mother of the schoolgirl from Handwara town at the centre of a molestation storm has alleged that the police have kept her daughter and husband in “illegal detention” and that her daughter was coerced to make a statement by the police.

While hearing a petition filed by the mother for the release of the girl and her relatives, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, on Saturday asked the state government to respond to allegations that the three are being illegally detained. Posting the case for the next hearing on April 20, the court had also directed the police to present the girl before a chief judicial magistrate for the recording of her statement.  

(SabrangIndia staff: The Indian Express reported on Sunday evening that the police have issued a statement according to which, while recording her statement before the chief judicial magistrate, the girl has reiterated her earlier statement that she was not molested by an army man on April 12. The police statement added as directed by the high court, the girl was produced before the chief judicial magistrate along with her father on Saturday evening).

Meanwhile, Amnesty International (AI) has issued a statement asking for the immediate release of the teenage girl, her father and aunt who are being detained by the police. “Pending their release, they must be granted prompt access to their family and lawyers. The girl has been detained since April 12, and her family members since April 13,” the AI said.  

“A teenage girl who has been allegedly sexually assaulted needs to receive sensitive and respectful treatment from the authorities, and not be herself detained in police custody,” said Zahoor Wani, campaigner, Amnesty International, India. “If the family needs protection, they should receive it at a location of their choosing,” the statement added. 

In the agitation following the alleged molestation, at least five unarmed persons, including a woman and a bright young cricketer, have died in army and police firing in north Kashmir then. Many more are injured, some of them critically.

Early Saturday morning, the police cordoned the office premises of the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) in Srinagar where a press conference to be addressed by the girl’s mother was scheduled to be held. Print and television journalists waiting outside the JKCCS office were told to go back. “We will not allow the press conference. Section 144 is in place. Go back,” said an officer of the police intelligence department present on the spot.

It was following this that the mother of the minor girl gave a video statement in which she alleged that the police had recorded her daughter’s statement under duress. The video was released by the JKCCS. She also questioned the “illegal detention” of her daughter and husband and said that her family would feel safe only among her people in the neighbourhood, not inside a police station. Mother’s latest video statement has put the state government and the police in a spot.

Narrating her ordeal, the mother said: “After school, my daughter came out with her classmates and went to the washroom in the market. As she entered an army person emerged before her which made her scream. The boys who were there could not tolerate the shrieks of their sister. Within minutes a crowd gathered. The army and police personnel opened fire on peaceful protesters.”

“My daughter is young in her teens. She is just 16 years old. Police has pressurised her to make a statement,” the mother said, adding that her daughter has been in illegal detention for five days now.

“They (police) are not allowing us to meet her,” she added. “Our daughter has been defamed. We want her dignity back. How can we leave our homes in this condition?” she said in her video statement.

Earlier, after massive protests by the locals against the alleged molestation of the schoolgirl on April 12, the army had released a video of the girl’s statement to the police wherein she denied being molested by an army man and instead pointed fingers at a local boy. This is turn had raised questions about the propriety and the legality of the face and identity of an alleged victim of molestation being put out in the public domain.

“The act of recording a video statement of a minor girl in the absence of her family violates a minor on multiple counts. It is a shameless and illegal act,” Khurram Pervez of the JKCCS said.

“The detention of the minor girl and her father are outside the powers of the state and it appears to be an attempt to further pressurise the family to withdraw all allegations against the armed forces. Further, the manner in which the video has been recorded and then circulated is a gross violation of the special protections afforded to minors particularly during investigation of sexual assault cases. The actions of the police and the army would necessarily invite criminal prosecution if investigated,” a spokesperson of the JKCCS said.

In its defense, the police have come out with a bizarre statement that the schoolgirl and her father were being kept in ‘preventive custody’.

Various TV news channels based in Noida, Delhi and Mumbai played the video of the schoolgirl umpteen times, but most of them did not feel it necessary to also telecast the video of the mother of the girl in which she questioned the “illegal detention” of her daughter.

Meanwhile, chief minister Mehbooba Mufti flew to Kupwara on Saturday where she chaired a high-level meeting to make an on-the-spot assessment of the situation.

“The chief minister met with the victims’ families to offer her condolences and held an interaction with prominent members of the civil society here to defuse the tense situation so that peace and normalcy is restored in the region,” a government statement said.

According to the government, Mufti is said to have made it clear that no civilian should be harmed while dealing with law-and-order situations. She also had a telephonic conversation with defence minister, Manohar Parrikar, and also met Indian army commander, Lt. Gen. D. S. Hooda and told them that incidents like the ones at Handwara and Natnusa in Kupwara were unacceptable and come as a “major setback to the efforts of the state government in consolidating peace dividends in the state”.   

She also said that the Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) should not remain a mere word but become a potent tool while dealing with law-and-order situations. However, despite her repeated assurances very little appears to have changed on the ground as the armed forces continue using oppressive tactics to control protesting crowds.
 
Video statement of the schoolgirl put out by Indian army

Video statement of mother released by Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society: Click here for video

Full transcript of the mother’s video statement:
Innocent people were martyred by army and police after they staged protest. My daughter left for school at 10 am. School got over at 3:30 pm. She is a Class XI student, a young girl around 16 years old. After the school got over she went to the toilet. As soon as she entered the toilet, she spotted an army person there. This made her scream. After hearing her cries the people, including the shopkeepers in the market, assembled.

Yes, I have also filed a case in the court. Those who killed our boys should not be probing this incident. It should be investigated independently by some other agency. How can the ones who killed investigate? They cannot. That’s what we want. They have brought disrepute to my girl; we want her dignity and honour restored. She is not only my daughter. She is the daughter of Kashmir. We want dignity and respect, nothing else. And an investigation as to why our young boys were martyred. The blame is on them (army and police). Isn’t it?

(The author is a journalist, commentator and political analyst from Srinagar. He is South Asia Journalism Programme/ Chevening fellow 2015 and Munich Young Leader, 2014. He formerly served Deutsche Welle (Voice of Germany) as editor in Bonn for several years).

Also see earlier story on killing of civilians here.
 

The post Mother Alleges Coercion, J&K Police Claim Schoolgirl Sticks to No Molestation Statement appeared first on SabrangIndia.

When Jammu & Kashmir Police’s Media Centre issued a statement on the killing of two young boys at the hands of armed forces in north Kashmir’s Handwara town on April 12, it sounded all too familiar.

A description of events unfolded in this carefully drafted police statement: “Today afternoon an alleged incident of misbehaviour with / molestation of a girl by an army man took place in Handwara town. Within minutes, public in large numbers gathered there and attacked the army bunker in Handwara chowk. They assaulted the personnel deployed there, ransacked the bunker and attempted to set fire to the bunker etc. In retaliation the security forces deployed used force to disperse the violent rampaging mob. In the process, two individuals namely Mohammad Iqbal R/O Bomhama, Kupwara and Nayeem Qadir Bhat S/O Gh. Qadir Bhat R/O Banday Mohalla, Handwara, sustained fire-arm injuries. They were evacuated to hospital where they, unfortunately, succumbed to their injuries.”

“J&K Police deeply regrets the loss of life. A criminal case has been registered in Police Station Handwara and investigation launched to ascertain the facts,” it added.
After all, these killings were not the first of their kind in Kashmir. And sadly, these won’t be the last. That is the sad reality. The new normal in Kashmir; Kashmir’s unarmed civilians killed in cold blood have become mere statistics in the larger Kashmir narrative.

The Police issue a statement of regret, the army promises probes and punishment to the guilty while expressing regret in an authoritative language, the political bishops across the board sell dreams and also deliver sermons, and the pro-freedom alliance Hurriyat Conference gives a call for valley wide shutdowns against these killings. This cycle has been repeated so many times. Yes, so many times.

All of the Kashmir valley has observed a strike against the killing of four persons, including an old woman and a bright cricketer Nayeem, for the last two days. On April 14, it will be the third straight day of a complete shutdown and strike and even curfew in parts of Kupwara and Handwara; curfew-like restrictions have been applied to some parts of downtown Srinagar.

But there will be no ‘national’ prime time television debates on the killings of four unarmed civilians in Kashmir, because most channels will be busy on debating how a rich man’s son lost 108 kilos in 18 months. In sharp contrast, when some outstation (read non-Kashmiri) engineering students received minor bruises at Srinagar’s NIT last week, Indian television anchors were outraged, shouting on the Newshour at 9!. Why should they care at all if four Kashmiris have been shot dead by the Indian armed forces? The ‘national interest’ lies in protecting the guilty soldiers.

Questioning the impunity of the Indian Army under the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) will ‘demoralise’ the forces working under “extraordinary circumstances” in Kashmir, dealing with a hostile (unarmed) population!

All the four civilians were shot at in Handwara after the locals there staged protests against the alleged molestation of a minor girl by the army, which the army has, since, denied.

At least 27 others are injured. The loss of Kashmiri lives however makes no news because some player in the cash-rich IPL cricket game has hit some monstrous sixes!
The London based human rights body Amnesty International too has issued a statement to saying that “security forces should refrain from excessive use of force against civilians”. “Authorities must conduct a full and independent criminal investigation into the killing of three [now four] protesters in firing by Indian Army personnel in Handwara, Jammu and Kashmir. Those responsible must be prosecuted in a civilian court of law. An incident of alleged sexual assault against a teenage girl by a soldier, which is believed to have led to the protests, must also be promptly investigated,” the AI said.

The Handwara Killings, Source: Facebook

So who cares when it comes to civilian killings in Kashmir?

After this latest killing spree, the newly installed coalition government headed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will have a lot of explaining to do. This killing spree is part of a larger malaise. Killing people for sport in Kashmir has become an ugly routine since the early 1990s. To kill is an attempt to silence the voices that call for a political resolution to the Kashmir imbroglio and further, to prevent them from articulating their political and economic aspirations. To kill is to instil a fear of the state and its security apparatus in the hearts and minds of the people. To kill is to criminalise and de-legitimise the political opinion of the people.

Jammu and Kashmir’s first woman chief minister Mehbooba Mufti has met the Indian Defence Minister, Manohar Parrikar, on the morning of April 13, a Wednesday, in New Delhi and “discussed with him the unfortunate firing incident at Handwara yesterday in which three [now four] civilians, including a woman, were killed.” “During the meeting, the Chief Minister called for a time-bound enquiry into the incident so that those responsible for the deaths are handed exemplary punishment,” a statement released by Jammu and Kashmir’s Information Department said.

Regardless of what happens to the PDP-BJP partnership in the immediate future, the fact is that the PDP knows fully well how successfully it has hoodwinked its own voters by promising them, first to fight the BJP’s Mission 44+ electoral dream and then ‘joining hands with the enemy’, an ultra supremacist party, simply to grab power.

A Timeline of Killings in Kashmir

February 2016
Meanwhile, not that long ago (in February 2016) Kashmir was on the boil after the killings of Danish Farooq Mir, a student of bachelor of Technology (B-Tech) at the Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST) in Awantipora, and Shaista Hameed, who was pursuing her Master’s degree after completing her Bachelors in Education (B.Ed).

The debate on the “collateral damage” in encounters between militants and armed forces isn’t new to Kashmir. Both Danish and Shaista were residents of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district and got killed in police and army firing following an encounter between a group of militants and government forces at Kakapora.
Police claimed to have killed one militant in the encounter. The slain militant was identified as Adil Ahmad Shergojri alias Abu Bakar, son of Muhammad Ashraf, resident of Banderpora, allegedly bearing allegiance to Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT).

How the Events Unfolded
While the world celebrated or observed Valentine’s Day on February 14, Kashmir Valley witnessed bloodshed as two civilians, including a girl student, got killed in Pulwama district. Four others received injuries. Doctors confirmed that both Danish and Shaista had bullet wounds above their waists. After being hit by the bullets they were removed to Pulwama and Pampore hospitals, but the doctors declared them as “brought dead”.

Both factions of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), headed by Syed Ali Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq respectively, and the pro-independence Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) led by Mohammad Yasin Malik had given the shutdown call against the killings.

The Srinagar-based head priest and chairman of a faction of the APHC said that “killing civilians during peaceful protests was now a new normal in Kashmir.”
“Unfortunately, killing civilians and unarmed protesters has become a routine, a new normal, in Kashmir because the government forces enjoy unbridled powers, whether under elected governments or under Governor’s rule,” the Mirwaiz said.

“The Indian soldiers deal with the protesters in a violent manner. After each killing severe restrictions are placed, and curfew is clamped. There is no accountability here,” he added.The Hurriyat chairman also said that the enquiry initiated by the authorities into the latest killings was a “farce”. “This vicious cycle of violence will only be repeated. We have to wait to receive one more body bag,” he said.He was proven right after four more civilians were killed by the armed forces on April 12, this time in north Kashmir’s Handwara town. After each civilian killing, the police and army come up with a strangely worded statement. Yes, a carefully drafted but strange statement.

 
The Srinagar-based English Daily ‘Rising Kashmir’ report revealed that at least 26 civilians were killed in Kashmir from January 1 until August 11, 2015, while 29 civilians died in 2014. Between August to December 2015, 26 more civilians were killed in Jammu and Kashmir, taking the civilian death toll to 55.

The Police Version

 “Today (February 14) security forces/police components of Pampore, Awantipora, Kakapora, 50 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) and 183 battalion of CRPF laid cordon in Astan Mohalla Kakapora, Pulwama. As search was going on, the militants hiding in a house opened indiscriminate firing on security forces. The police started evacuating civilians trapped inside the cordon. A large number of people were evacuated but a lady named Shaista while taking cover was hit by a bullet. She was evacuated to hospital where she was declared dead. Some more miscreants/ stone-pelters received bullet injuries in the cross fire. A large number of people despite imposition of Section 144 CRPC came near encounter site where militants were firing indiscriminately on security forces from inside. They were pelting stones on security forces. One terrorist was killed in the encounter, identified as Adil Ahmad Shergojri alias Abu Bakar, son of Muhammad Ashraf, resident of Banderpora, affiliated with LeT. Due to heavy stone pelting and ensuing law and order situation the security forces had to resort to tear smoke shelling as a result of which some protesters received injuries. Due to heavy stone pelting two terrorists managed to escape. Six army men received injuries in the stone pelting. Apart from this, 15 policemen also got injured in stone pelting.”

Timeline 2015
Civilians often become cannon fodder in a conflict zone like Kashmir. Nayeem and Iqbal or Danish and Shaista are not the only civilians to have died in police and army firings. Neither will they be the last.

Last year, 2015, as many as 55 civilians were killed in different incidents of violence in Jammu and Kashmir.

According to a report entitled ‘Jammu and Kashmir Human Rights Review-2015’ compiled by Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), the graph of killings witnessed upswing in 2015. The report claims that “militarisation” of the Himalayan region was responsible for the civilian killings.

“In 2015, the graph of killings witnessed upswing with 219 deaths, which belies the drop-in-violence claims by the government. The month long Kupwara siege by the army to catch or kill trapped militants again points to the tightening noose of militarisation which continues to be responsible for widespread violence in Jammu and Kashmir,” the JKCCS report says. Of the 219 deaths in 2015, at least 55 were civilian killings while 106 were killings of militants and 58 of armed forces.

“The gruesome killing of 55 civilians during the year [2015] belied the claim of Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, on September 15, that ‘not a single bullet was fired on civilians’ during his 7 month tenure as chief minister (when the number of civilians killed stood at 41),” the report says.

The Srinagar-based English Daily ‘Rising Kashmir’ report revealed that at least 26 civilians were killed in Kashmir from January 1 until August 11, 2015, while 29 civilians died in
2014. Between August to December 2015, 26 more civilians were killed in Jammu and Kashmir, taking the civilian death toll to 55.

In August last year, a 26-year-old civilian named Bilal Ahmad Bhat of Padgampora in Pulwama district was killed after the paramilitary Border Security Force (BSF) personnel opened fire on a group of people protesting against the death of two LeT militants in Ratnipora area.

At that time, Jammu and Kashmir Police lodged First Information Report (FIR) number 244-2015 under Section 307 against the BSF personnel, part of the Road Opening Party, in connection with the civilian’s killing.

Strangely, the BSF filed a counter FIR on the grounds that the paramilitary troopers came under attack from a mob “putting us into a life threatening situation”. On November 7, a 22-year Gowhar Nazir of HMT Srinagar, an engineering student at SSM College Parihaspora, was killed in the firing by the CRPF in Zainakote area. More than 10 witnesses had recorded their statement before the inquiry officer in this regard. He had received bullet injuries.
It was the same day when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited Srinagar.

Earlier Killings
As many as five civilians were killed in cold blood in south Kashmir’s Pathribal area and dubbed as “foreign mercenaries” following the massacre of around 35 members of the Sikh community in Chattisinghpora in March 2000. Even the CBI established that those killed and dubbed as militants by the Indian army were innocent civilians.

In July 2005, three teenaged boys were mercilessly killed by the army in north Kashmir’s frontier district of Kupwara. Tens of thousands of people protested against the killings.

At that time, the then General Officer Commanding the Srinagar-based 15 Corps in a press conference at Badami Bagh cantonment had said this:  “This incident was unfortunate and most regrettable. It was an ‘error of judgment’ on part of the troops who opened fire on the
teenaged boys.”

Afterwards, two more civilians were killed in Doodhipora village in Handwara while another 25-year old civilian Hilal Ahmad was killed at the hands of 27-Rashtriya Rifles in Aloosa Bandipora.

Defending the Indefensible
As government forces enjoy impunity by virtue of laws like the AFSPA in force since the mid-1990s, civilians have often found themselves at the receiving end. Official statements like “we do not shoot to kill,” “it was a mistaken identity,” “it was an aberration,” etc, have become superfluous. After every civilian killing the paramilitary forces and police argue that they fired in “self-defence” and also insist that the civilian killing was an “aberration”; the government orders an “impartial probe” and the pro-freedom resistance camp calls for a shutdown in protest.

Anyway, these killings are mere symptoms. The heavy presence of the army and paramilitary in every nook and cranny of the beleaguered valley is the disease. And that is the big, fat elephant in the room: the unresolved Kashmir dispute!

(The author is a journalist, commentator and political analyst from Srinagar. He is South Asia Journalism Programme/ Chevening fellow 2015 and Munich Young Leader 2014. He formerly served Deutsche Welle (Voice of Germany) as Editor in Bonn for several years)

Cover Picture: Nayeem Qadir Bhat, playing Cricket on the streets of Handwara, Source: facebook

The post A Timeline on Civilian Killings in Kashmir appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The hasty manner in which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) airdropped its 2-member Human Resources Development (HRD) Ministry team to Srinagar to look into the matter at Kashmir’s National Institute of Technology (NIT) and then replaced Jammu & Kashmir Police with the Indian paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force to provide security to outstation students at the campus has again reignited the “Hindu India versus Muslim Kashmir” debate.

To add fuel to the fire, 150 students, sponsored and backed by the Sangh Parivar have commenced a protest march from Delhi to Srinagar to hoist the Indian Tricolour. The ‘students’ are led by BJP national secretary RP Singh.

To make even matters worse, authors, filmmakers, actors and academics like Chetan Bhagat, Ashoke Pandit, Anupam Kher and Madhu Kishwar have tried their best and worst to stoke communal passions with their vitriolic commentary on social networking sites.

Gowhar Geelani explains how a minor issue of scuffle between local and non-local students over a cricket match was badly handled to turn it into a major crisis for the newly installed PDP-BJP government, which is largely seen as an “unholy alliance” by the local population…..

There is eerie calm at Srinagar’s National Institute of Technology (NIT). The stalemate between the non-Kashmiri students and NIT administration enters day nine, though several demands made by the outstation students have been met and a State-level inquiry initiated. However, the J&K government has not accepted their “non-negotiable” demand, that of shifting the campus from Srinagar.

Formerly known as Regional Engineering College (REC), the campus no more looks like a premier engineering college of the Kashmir valley. It resembles a fortress. Yes, just like another military camp or army cantonment in the heavily militarised and restive Himalayan valley.

As many as five companies of the Indian paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), numbering about 600 personnel, are guarding the campus. The paramilitary has replaced the local police personnel, who are now manning the NIT entrance.

A Cricket Match Disturbs Peace
All it took it took to throw Srinagar’s NIT into turmoil was the result of a cricket match between India and the West Indies in the just-concluded ICC Twenty 20 world cup 2016.

On March 31, India lost the semi-finals to the West Indies by seven wickets at Mumbai’s Wankhade Stadium, which brought delight to many Kashmiris cheering for the Caribbean. Some local engineering students studying at NIT Srinagar also jumped with joy to celebrate West Indies’ victory, much to the annoyance of the outstation students who outnumber the locals here.

Earlier, when India had beaten Pakistan at Kolkata’s Eden Garden on a damp wicket the non-Kashmiri students at NIT had celebrated India’s victory. They had reportedly made some objectionable remarks against Pakistan and Kashmiri Muslims while shouting at the local students, who are in minority on the campus.

With India’s defeat in Mumbai, it was ‘payback’ time for the Kashmiri students at NIT.

Traditionally, Kashmiris have always favoured other cricket teams like Pakistan, the West Indies and Australia over India.

In October 1983, when the Indian team played the West Indies at Srinagar’s Sher-i-Kashmir cricket stadium the local Kashmiri crowds overwhelmingly supported the Caribbean team and booed the Indian players. India’s legendary cricketer, Sunil Gavaskar, records this moment in his ‘Runs n Ruins’. What saved Gavaskar from being hooted was a gesture when he, while pointing towards a poster of Pakistan’s iconic cricketer Imran Khan, said that the latter was just like his brother.

Traditionally, Kashmiris have always favoured other cricket teams like Pakistan, the West Indies and Australia over India

Anyway, the recent trouble at Srinagar’s NIT started on March 31. Some students from outside Jammu & Kashmir – who vastly outnumber local students by more than two-thirds — objected to their Kashmiri colleagues celebrating West Indies' victory over India, claiming it hurt their "patriotic feelings".

A verbal brawl turned into a scuffle and eventually snowballed into a major crisis for the newly-installed PDP-BJP government, which is largely being perceived as an “unholy alliance” in Jammu and Kashmir.

Chant ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’
Many outstation students lost their cool and resorted to violence. They attacked some of the staff members at the NIT canteen, disturbed the furniture and threw eatables around. Afterwards, a large group of non-Kashmiri students beat up 20-year old Imtiyaz Sheikh, a local courier, who is still nursing his wounds. He had entered the campus on April 1 to deliver regular mail.

Non-local students reportedly wanted Sheikh to chant ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ slogan, which he refused to do. Still not satisfied, a group of angry students ran after him and one of the members hit him with a cricket bat and a glass object.

A hapless Sheikh told The Hindu: “As I rode the scooter, a student hit me with a cricket bat and a glass object was struck on my arm. I bled profusely. They wanted me to chant Bharat Mata Ki Jai. I refused. I told them I am a Kashmiri Muslim and can’t chant the slogan.” (April 8)

The Jammu and Kashmir Police later released a video which shows many non-local students resorting to violence, vandalising the property with stones and sticks in their hands. (link) On their part, the non-local students also released a video to highlight the police action against them. The police had chased the protesting non-Kashmiri students with lathis as they were attempting to take out a protest march.

J&K Police: ‘Collaborators’ in Kashmir, ‘Anti-nationals’ for Delhi
Violent acts against Kashmiri students, a local courier and some staff members did not fully satisfy the non-Kashmiri students. They decided to take out a protest march outside the campus. This is exactly when the Jammu and Kashmir Police swung into action. They did exactly what they have been trained to do to quell the local protesters since the eruption of popular anti-India uprising in 1989.

Local policemen thrashed the protesting outstation students too, leaving some of them badly injured. The police action triggered an angry reaction from many Indian television anchors, well-known for their ability to shout on top of their lungs over trivia, in their primetime shows.

Some television anchors, who fashionably wear patriotism on their sleeves, raised questions regarding the local police’s ‘loyalty’ and ‘competence’ and condemned their use of force against the non-local students. [1] In its defence, the J&K Police released a statement to claim that they took action only after the “students turned violent” and took law into their hands.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police has been accused of killing more than 120 boys, mostly in their teens, during the wave of massive anti-India and pro-freedom demonstrations in 2010. Not a single policeman has been punished thus far.

When J&K Police used force against the outstation NIT students, the Indian Human Resource Development Ministry stepped in to replace local police with the CRPF. This unprecedented decision and political interference from New Delhi in Kashmir’s local affair angered the state police.

Many senior officers of ranks such as senior superintendent and deputy superintendent vented their frustration on social networking sites. Some of them questioned whose war they were fighting in Kashmir?

Imtiyaz Hussain, SSP North Kashmir’s Baramulla district, expressed his rage on Twitter: “100s of our colleagues in JKP hv gone bck 2 deir homes in coffins wrapped in #Tiranga fighting to uphold it's honour.Stand with #JKP #NIT.” Image ?

A top ranking police officer that the author spoke to said, “J&K Police force has been performing professional duties to combat militancy in extraordinary circumstances, which has resulted in several mistakes, leading to local peoples’ alienation at times.” The officer further said that the way J&K police force was replaced by the CRPF has been “demoralising”.

In the wake of the NIT crisis in the Kashmir valley, many officers of J&K Police find themselves caught between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, the police are disparaged as “collaborators” and “killers” by the local population for fighting the popular indigenous militancy. On the other, New Delhi just made obvious its distrust of the police – or so the officers believe – by replacing them with the paramilitary to provide security at the NIT.

“It is a double-edged sword for us. Our society, by and large, dubs us collaborators and killers. We are stigmatised and ostracised. And now we are anti-nationals for people outside Kashmir,” said an officer who didn't wish to be named.“We have killed thousands of militants, both local and foreign, in our counter-insurgency operations. See the irony that thousands of people attend a slain militant’s funeral, but when a policeman dies in a militant attack hardly four to five people take part in his funeral,” he added.

Firoz Yehya, a deputy superintendent of police, wrote on his Facebook timeline that, “Many of my colleagues have been asking and many more must be thinking, 'whose war are we fighting?' All I can tell them is that this is just another phase and will pass. Further, the J&K police doesn't need any certificates from people like Mr. Arnab Goswami.”

Kishwar, Kher, Pandit & Bhagat Stoke Communal Passions
Even academic activists like Madhu Kishwar and the rightwing Kashmiri Pandits, mostly Modi bhakts like Anupam Kher and Ashoke Pandit, wrote provocative commentaries on Twitter.

Ms Kishwar said that J&K Police force was “heavily infiltrated by secessionists” (April 6) while filmmaker Pandit and actor Kher also made controversial comments.

On April 10, both Kher and Pandit tried to stoke communal passions with their publicity stunts. Minting grief, they visited Srinagar while claiming to express solidarity with the non-local NIT students. However, the local administration stopped the controversial duo at the Srinagar airport and forced them to return to Delhi.

Kashmir's Pro-Azadi Camp Douses Fire

While people like Arnab Goswami, Chetan Bhagat, Madhu Kishwar, Anupam Kher and Ashoke Pandit tried their best and worst to spread a hate campaign in order to make a verbal brawl between students appear look like a war between Hindu India and Muslim Kashmir, the pro-freedom camp in Kashmir behaved maturely and appealed for calm.

Kashmir valley’s three leaders, vocal in their support for ‘azadi’ (freedom) — Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik— on the contrary, appealed for peace,  assured safety to the non-local students pursuing engineering at Srinagar’s NIT and urged them to resume their class work without further delay.

Even Kashmir’s civil society made a passionate appeal to both local and non-local students to maintain peace and tranquility at the campus. Barring a small protest inside the University of Kashmir by a small group of students, Kashmiri people in general displayed a quiet maturity to defeat the nefarious designs, from visible and not so visible forces, that were hell bent on creating communal tensions.

Pro-Pakistan Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who returned to Srinagar on April 6 after undergoing treatment for heart ailment in New Delhi, asked all NIT students to “concentrate on studies”. The octogenarian said that “the non-local students are our guests and we always welcome them here”.

Speaking exclusively to Sabrangindia, the Srinagar-based head priest and chairman of his faction of pro-Azadi conglomerate All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), Mirwaiz Umar Farooq strongly condemned “anti-student activities” and the alleged use of force by J&K Police against the student community. “The sad part is this disturbing news that some students have been thrashed by the police. I strongly condemn this police brutality,” the Mirwaiz said. Making a reference to the 2008 Amarnath land row (which divided Kashmir and Jammu on regional and religious lines) and the devastating floods of 2014, the head priest said that “even in the most difficult times Kashmiris have protected outsiders as their guests at the cost of their own safety.”

“Following our age-old tradition of harmony, hospitality and warmth, even in those difficult times not a single Amarnath pilgrim or tourist was touched by Kashmiris,” he said. At his Nigeen residence, which is only a stone’s throw away from NIT Srinagar, Mirwaiz Farooq appealed for calm while requesting both local and non-local students to “concentrate on their studies and move on”.

However, the Hurriyat chairman expressed surprise and disappointment over what he described as the Hindu ‘supremacist’ Bharatiya Janata Party’s “more than desired interference” in the NIT issue. “The BJP government in New Delhi has unnecessarily interfered in this matter by sending a team from HRD Ministry. The BJP has overdone it,” he said. He also questioned the “double standards” the manner in which non-Kashmiri and Kashmiri students were being treated in Jammu, Jodhpur, Mewar, Jaipur, Bhopal, Bihar, Meerut and Delhi.

On April 7, a group of Kashmiri students was assaulted in Jodhpur’s Vyas Dental College in an alleged backlash against the alleged police action against non-local engineering students at Srinagar’s NIT. Armed with sharp knives and iron rods, a group of around 30 people had attacked Kashmiri students in Jodhpur.

Similarly, many Kashmiri students were also attacked in Jammu.

Earlier, in February 2014, as many as 67 Kashmiri students from the Swami Vivekanand Subhrati University in Meerut were suspended and forced to leave the campus for celebrating the Pakistan cricket team’s win against arch-rivals India in Asia Cup game.

The Mirwaiz said that no HRD team is ever formed to come to the rescue of Kashmiri students, and accused the Narendra Modi led BJP government in New Delhi of “unnecessary interference” in Kashmir’s local affairs.“When Kashmiri students were suspended in Meerut, arrested in Rajasthan or harassed in New Delhi during the JNU row and beef crisis, there was no direct interference from the BJP or its HRD ministry to ensure safety of our students. Narendra Modi led government in Delhi has only exposed itself by turning the NIT Srinagar campus into a fortress by deploying five companies of CRPF here,” he said.

He said that this also “speaks volumes about the trust deficit that exists between New Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir’s government.” “Basically New Delhi is telling us that it does not even trust the institutions that it creates,” he said.

According to the Mirwaiz, the NIT issue could have easily been resolved by Srinagar’s district administration and local police. “Ironically, everything in Kashmir is controlled and managed by Delhi,” he said.

“Our sincere message is that all non-local students are safe here in Kashmir. There is no threat perception. Let us not politicise this issue,” he said, adding that “Let us understand that Kashmir is a conflict zone. There are emotions and aspirations involved. It is a sensitive place. Students should not indulge in politics. Instead, they should focus on their studies,” he added.

Like Mirwaiz Umar, the chairman of pro-independence Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front Mohammad Yasin Malik also believes that some electronic channels based in Delhi and Mumbai were “stoking communal passions with their misreporting of facts from Kashmir.” Malik said, "See, they [electronic media] are creating war hysteria through jingoistic reporting on this small issue at NIT."

Voicing concern against the growing attacks on Kashmiri students in many Indian states, Yasin Malik called for a complete shutdown in Jammu and Kashmir on April 12. Apart from Geelani and Mirwaiz led Hurriyat factions, J&K High Court Bar Association lent its support to JKLF’s strike call.

Thankfully, a small group of well-meaning Kashmiri Pandits also appealed for calm and condemned the acts of violence against Kashmiri students in various parts of India as reprisal.

Demands of Outstation NIT students
The non-Kashmiri students at Srinagar’s NIT want permission to hoist the Indian Tricolour in the campus while some demanded that the campus be shifted from “Kashmir to India”. Reportedly, several female outstation students sung the Indian national anthem and chanted slogans like ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’. One of their demands is “stern action against the NIT staff and police officials”.

The NIT administration has offered protesting non-local students separate exams, a safe transit to their home states with an aim to break the stalemate. However, their unrealistic demand to shift the campus has been summarily rejected.

On its part, the J&K police released video footage of outstation students indulging in rioting and damaging of public property. The police are mulling action against the ‘culprits’. Jammu and Kashmir’s Education Minister Naeem Akhtar hoped that “all the issues will be resolved soon.” “Situation is being closely monitored. All the issues will be resolved soon. An inquiry committee has been asked to submit its report within 15 days to establish the sequence of events and fix responsibility,” Akhtar said.

Campus Turned Into a Fortress
Srinagar’s NIT is probably the only campus with its entire security handed over to the paramilitary CRPF. [2]

After the non-local NIT students updated the situation inside the engineering college on their social media profiles and made frantic phone calls to their relatives and friends, the Human Resources Development (HRD) Ministry sent its 2-member team to the NIT, a decision which was not received well by the people of Kashmir.

Also, the strange decision to replace J&K Police with the CRPF hasn’t been appreciated by many people. Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah took to micro-blogging site Twitter to express his displeasure. “Rushing in a team from HRD ministry coupled with the CRPF replacing J&K police speaks volumes about Delhi's confidence in Mehbooba Mufti,” the junior Abdullah tweeted. A senior political analyst while commenting on the decision said that “an insult has been hurled at the local police.”  

“Those who have broken the backbone of militancy since 1989 in Kashmir; killed hundreds of teenaged protesters in 2009 and 2010, and blinded scores of local boys in anti-India demonstrations with pellet guns are not even trusted by the Government of India to handle a small issue at Srinagar’s NIT,” he said, adding that “This is a slap on the face of J&K Police. This is insulting. Even Sepoys under British India enjoyed more respect than this.”

Kashmir's Civil Society Responds
Kashmir Centre for Social and Development Studies (KCSDS) voiced its concern over what it described as “unavoidable incident” that took place at NIT Srinagar on March 31. “The society does not expect such happenings in the educational institutions where students’ primary objective is to pursue education and enlightenment in order to serve the society in a better way in various capacities, the KCSDS said in a press release.

“Despite different ideological leanings which are permissible but should not become a cause of skirmishes, divisions, disaffection, resulting in mutual bitterness, animosity and hatred. In such situations the vested interest are ready to add fuel to the fire to create anger and hatred against each other,” it said.

In the final analysis, the Peoples Democratic Party led by Mehbooba Mufti is responsible for the present crisis for more than one reason. One, the PDP re-stitched its partnership with the ideologically antithetical Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s demise on January 7 to allow the Hindu supremacist party and its communal backers like the RSS a field day in Kashmir. Secondly, an efficient government could have easily handled this minor issue of a tiff between the two groups of students without turning the campus into a cantonment.  

(Gowhar Geelani is a journalist, commentator and political analyst from Srinagar. He is South Asia Journalism Programme/ Chevening fellow 2015 and Munich Young Leader 2014. He formerly served Deutsche Welle (Voice of Germany) as Editor in Bonn for several years.)

Footnotes:
[1] Aabid lone ‏@aabidlone786 Apr 8 @Times Now J&K Police doesn't need any certificate from people like Mr. Arnab Goswami J&K Police Hits Back #NITSrinagar
[2] The Campus of the Hyderavad Central University has also since March 22, 2016 turned over to private security agencies under the tutelage of suspended Vice Chancellor Appa Rao
 

The post ‘Patriotic’ BJP turns the NIT Campus into a Cantonment: Srinagar appeared first on SabrangIndia.