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A man rides his bicycle past a poster of Burhan Wani, a commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen militant group, during restrictions on the occasion of Wani’s death anniversary, in Srinagar July 8, 2017.

Unidentified terrorists reportedly opened fire on a police vehicle at around 8 pm on July 10. When police retaliated, the terrorists fired indiscriminately, and a bus full of pilgrims returning from Amarnath was caught in the crossfire, according to the police. Others said there was no crossfire and the pilgrims were targets, with later reports saying the bus was attacked twice in three minutes.
 
The Kashmir Police blamed the Laskhar-e-Taiba (LeT), a terror group, for the attack, alleging it was masterminded by Pakistani terrorist Abu Ismail.  LeT spokesperson Abdullah Ghaznavi, however,  denied the charges and blamed “Indian agencies” for the “highly reprehensible act”, the deadliest on Amarnath pilgrims in 15 years.
 
 

Kashmiris, including separatists, were quick to condemn the attack.

 
Widespread criticism of the terrorists in Kashmir drew a reaction from India’s home minister, Rajnath Singh.
 

 
Over 18 years, 52 pilgrims killed in five attacks
 
Over the past 18 years, at least 52 Amarnath pilgrims have been killed in five terrorist attacks. The deadliest attack was mounted by LeT terrorists on August 1, 2000. That attack left 21 pilgrims dead in Pahalgam.

 
The latest attack comes hours after a curfew and social-media ban was lifted in the Kashmir Valley after  restrictions were imposed in anticipation of a possible attack to mark the death anniversary of Hizbul Mujahideen leader Burhan Wani.
 
Wani was gunned down by security forces a little over a year ago on July 8, 2016. What followed were violent protests, several months of curfew and an overall deterioration in J&K’s security situation.
 
Death toll of security forces, civilians up in 1 year
 
The number of security personnel killed in terrorist violence has nearly doubled from 51 in the year preceding Wani’s death to 98 in the following year, according to an analysis of data compiled by SATP.
 
The SATP compiles data on fatalities due to terrorism from media reports. The data are provisional and compiled as on July 10, 2017.
 
On July 8, 2017, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa paid tributes to Wani on his first death anniversary. Sharif said Wani’s death “infused a new spirit in the struggle for freedom” in the Kashmir Valley.
 

The 45% increase in deaths of civilians, security personnel and terrorists from 216 in 2015-16 to 313 in 2016-17 is the highest year-on-year percentage increase over the past five years.
 
Civilian deaths have increased 164%, as we said, from 14 in 2015-16 to 37 in 2016-17 while terrorist deaths have risen 18% during this period to 178 in 2016-17.
 
There has been a 42% increase in terrorism-related deaths in J&K since the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party government (BJP) came to power in May 2014, compared with the last three years of the second term of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA-II), IndiaSpend reported on May 27, 2017.
 
India has had successes against terrorism – both on the security and diplomatic front.
 
On May 27, 2017, Wani’s successor Sabzar Bhat was killed in an anti-terrorist operation by security forces.
 
On June 27, 2017, United States designated Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin a “global terrorist,” ahead of Modi’s meeting with American President Donald Trump in Washington, DC.
 
Salahuddin also leads the United Jihad Council, an umbrella organisation for anti-India terrorist organisations such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, known to operate out of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir.
 
Salahuddin has openly admitted to carrying out attacks against India, including on an Indian Air Force base in Pathankot, Punjab, on January 2, 2016.
 
(Sethi is a Mumbai-based freelance writer and defence analyst.)

Courtesy: India Spend

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Almost a year after Kashmiri militant Burhan Wani’s killing, a cop Muhammad Ayub Pandith was lynched by an angry mob outside Srinagar’s Jamia Masjid while night long Jumat-ul-Vida prayers were going on inside the mosque. The cop was dressed in civvies and generated suspicions while he was taking photographs at the gate of the mosque. An altercation with some people who objected to his presence prompted him to fish out his gun, possibly in self defence, and press the trigger, injuring three people. Whether the provocation to thrash him till death stemmed from the firing, his allegedly suspicious behavior, his identity as a cop, or all of these; the incident marks a new low in Kashmir, where back in the eighties (1980s) murders and stabbings were almost unknown.

How did the Valley descend into this level of desperation, frustration, anger and hatred? The seeds of discontent lay in the preceding years.

Anti-India sentiment was already deepening due to Indian government’s failure in politically resolving a long pending dispute during the decade of comparative calm. Added to that the exacerbating human rights situation despite a diminishing graph of militancy with targeting of peaceful assemblies and stone pelting protestors brutally had already made the Valley restive by 2010, pushing smitten and humiliated young men to join the ranks of militants.  

Burhan Wani belonged to the same crop of young men and became the poster boy of new age of militancy. His death inspired many youngsters to pick up the gun. But there are several other factors that have pushed teenagers and youth to that path.

The repressive action against protestors and by-standers, in the after-math of his death, especially, the liberal use of high velocity lead pellet guns by police and CRPF is one of the main factors. Pellet ridden bodies and blinded faces of children as young as four years old became the most defining images of Kashmir in 2016 after Burhan Wani’s killing. This brutality was seen as continuum and worsening of human rights situation.

Anger was also fuelled by the shabby relief and rescue work during the 2014 floods and in far greater measure by the unholy alliance between PDP and BJP. The PDP, which sought votes in the 2014 elections on the promise of keeping saffron out of the Valley, finally made its peace with BJP and formed a coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir. PDP’s strongest bastion – South Kashmir – is today a hotbed of militancy and reportedly many youth who canvassed for the party in 2014 elections eventually joined the ranks of militants.

An altering idea of India with beef bans, lynchings, Love-Jehad and anti-minority violence by hooligans, patronised by the BJP in power at the Centre, and scripting a new discourse across the country also deepens the insecurities, anxieties of the Kashmiri youth, transforming the already deepening anti-India sentiment into hatred. Needless to point out that this conflict generation has seen only a militarized and brutal face of India, never its democratic one. The sole event of periodic elections since 1996 has been bandied about as democracy, the benefits of which have been insufficient to not just address the political aspirations of the people but also their day to day needs like development and employment.   
  
Post Burhan Wani, Kashmir has been a story of over-all despair where normality has a new definition and where militancy and protests are churning a complex narrative. Even though the Valley has witnessed comparative calm since last October, more and more youth are mesmerised by the idea of picking up guns. They are either inspired by their own harassment, prison terms under the draconian Public Safety Act or the collective oppression around them or they are ex-militants. Some of them are engineering and IT professionals or studying in professional colleges with promising careers. Even some cops deserted their posts and are believed to have joined militant groups. Religious radicalization is also a source of inspiration for some of the new entrants into the fold of militancy.

The newer trends in militancy reveal a far greater brotherhood with foreign militants, teenagers joining militancy and starved of arms and cash, this militancy by and large remains indigenous. Increasing incidents of looting of banks and arms from police installations and ill-trained but determined militants further corroborates that point. The proliferating numbers are not so huge as to ring alarm bells. But respect, sympathy and support for militants across the Valley certainly is. Massive funerals are held for slain militants, including foreign militants. But more significantly, swarms of people descend on the encounter site to shout slogans and pelt stones and queer the pitch for the security forces by making all efforts to rescue holed up militants.

Across the Valley, occasional stone pelting protests over the slightest of provocation has become the new normal. School and college students including young girls, though still very rare, initially provoked by the killing of a student by security forces inside the college campus in Pulwama, have also begun joining street protests, often with stones to pelt.

Anger was also fuelled by the shabby relief and rescue work during the 2014 floods and in far greater measure by the unholy alliance between PDP and BJP. The PDP, which sought votes in the 2014 elections on the promise of keeping saffron out of the Valley, finally made its peace with BJP and formed a coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir. PDP’s strongest bastion – South Kashmir – is today a hotbed of militancy and reportedly many youth who canvassed for the party in 2014 elections eventually joined the ranks of militants.

This generation is no longer deterred by the brutal clampdown of protests or of the lethal consequences of picking up the gun, revealing the depths of desperation.

A young lawyer, I have known since he was an enthusiastic law student with tremendous positive energy, told me in November 2016 of the immense frustration that overcomes him when he is fighting against a legal justice system that fails to deliver or when he witnesses how ten year old boys have been detained because the police wanted to arrest their elder family members. “Sometimes, out of helplessness I myself want to pick up the gun.” The young professional is far too mature and seasoned to do that but even for a thought like that to creep in his mind is disturbing, encapsulating the extent of frustration, desperation and loss of sense of fear that pushes many to take on the mighty Indian State and its security apparatus with guns, stones or even bare hands. What is even more disturbing is that they know that the State will not budge, but for them it is a choice between enduring constant pain and humiliation and committing, what may well be, ‘honour suicide’. 

A worrying trend is sections of militants making the departure from fighting for independence or merger with Pakistan to fighting in the name of khilafat. Two months ago, Zakir Musa, broke away from Hizb-ul-Mujahideen by first threatening the Hurriyat leaders. The likes of Zakir Musa and the theory of khilafat may not find much currency in the Valley which is still bound to its traditional syncretic culture. However, expressions of anger against the Indian State as well as their remote-controlled regime in Jammu and Kashmir, brutality by the security forces and even a weakened and corrupted Hurriyat have turned Zakir Musa into a hero, as witnessed during the night of Jumat-ul-Vida inside the Jamia Masjid where slogans in his support were raised, while a lone cop was being lynched outside. 

As I write this, reports pour in of 7 Amarnath yatris killed and several injured in a militant attack in South Kashmir. At this moment, it will be jumping the gun to presume this as a new norm. It is still not clear whether the attack was a pre-meditated one or a case of being caught at the wrong place and wrong time. Besides, such attacks, even though aberrations, have happened in the past in the Valley.  

Like the cop’s lynching, the attack on the pilgrims has been widely condemned in the Valley which continues to be mesmerized by the plural traditions of the pilgrimage. Many in the Valley believe that the radicalised militants are backed by the Indian agencies, though there is no evidence to suggest the same. Some others fear that the radicalised militants may gradually gravitate towards Islamic State operatives or may already have. Whether or not there is an element of truth in such assumptions, the choking of civilian space and the targeting of liberal voices among those espousing a separatist ideology through constant militarization and brutalization of the society is enlarging the base of radicalized elements.      
 
Massive human rights abuse and the worsening patterns of impunity that have made the transition from silence and inaction over complaints to harassing, intimidating and even registering cases against complainants and victims keeps the pot of frustration and anger boiling. The situation is typified by the haunting image of an army officer strapping a young man to a jeep and using him as a ‘human shield’ for over five hours and its justification by accusing the man of pelting stones and its far more brazen legitimization by rewarding the officer of violating military norms in doing so. Either the Indian government has no policy on Kashmir or it dangerously hopes to cash in on the rich electoral harvest (elsewhere in the country) of demonising Kashmir by pushing it towards chaos through perpetuation of brutality and injustices.

This sense of injustice primarily pushes the Kashmiri youth to make their choices within a choked space of absolute despair – to pelt stones, pick up the gun or carrying on with their mundane life.

Anger, alienation and despair finds manifestation in various forms. Many youngsters transcend their own personal and collective sense of helplessness to punctuate Kashmir’s chaos by charting a creative and imaginative narrative by writing and painting about Kashmir’s despair as well as by making positive interventions by organising relief work for those distressed by the conflict, documenting their tragedies or holding dialogues and workshops on conflict transformation or issues like Right to Information and Climate change on a smaller and low-key level.  On their shoulders, these young people keep aloft the simmering of hope that has no takers in New Delhi.   
     
The Indian government, which wants to believe that the problem is only “5 percent” stone pelters and militants operating in “three districts” of the Valley, turn a convenient blind eye to such positive energy. Recently, a documentary film, “Under the Shade of the Fallen Chinars”, show-casing artistic pursuits of students as an expression against the brutalization of Kashmir, was banned.

It does not suit the official narrative of denial about the causes of Kashmir’s anger and convenient naming of an enemy across the border that “engineers and motivates youth” to pelt stones or pick up the gun. Though motivation through religious radicalization and money cannot be out-rightly denied, there has to be enough sense of desperation to come out on the roads in protest with all the risks involved.  

As long as Indian government’s policy is locked in a grid of denial, obsession with Pakistan, military doctrine and ruling Kashmir through jackboots, disregarding not just the voices of protest but also the sometimes sage advice of the state government or other civil society members, Kashmir will continue to be locked in this vicious cycle of tragedy, pain, grief, brutality and violent reprisal. Only, it will continue to get worse.

(The author is Executive Editor Kashmir Times and a peace activist)
 

The post A year after Burhan Wani, Kashmir is Locked in a Worsening Cycle of Despair & Violence appeared first on SabrangIndia.

A Citizens fact-finding report on the continuing violence in the Kashmir has concluded that “the BJP government at the Centre and the PDP-BJP government in J&K are engaged in actions that amount to a complete violation of universally accepted human and democratic rights and of the very Indian constitution they claim to want to impose in the Kashmir valley”.

The executive summary of the report titled ‘Why are people protesting in Kashmir?’ released to the media in Delhi today has held government actions amount to:

• Violation of the right to life,
• Criminal intimidation,
• Violation of the principles of natural justice,
• Handing out collective punishment,
• Violation of every law and the international covenant that is aimed at protecting women from sexual and other forms of violence,
• Actions against emergency relief workers and health professionals in violation of international covenants and India’s own commitment to UN treaties,
• Violation of the right to freedom of religion,
• Violation of the right to freedom of speech and internationally accepted norms of freedom of the press.

While deploring such gross violations of rights and liberties of citizens, the report adds, “We are also distressed by the fact that senior members of the BJP government have made, and continue to make, inflammatory and provocative statements against the peoples of Kashmir. Regrettably, the parliamentary Opposition has lacked the political courage and will to call upon the accountability of government actions.”

“We also conclude that the actions of the BJP government at the Centre and the PDP-BJP government in J&K are acts of vengeance at forcing the people of Kashmir into subjugation by using every possible force available to the government for breaking the peoples’ resolve for a democratic settlement to achieve their aspirations.”

“As representatives of diverse peoples’ movements, trade unions and other organizations in India, and as Indian citizens, we can say without hesitation that the actions of the Indian state in Kashmir amount to profound violation of democratic and human rights”.

The fact-finding citizens group has called upon the Indian government to undertake immediate remedial measures including the following remedial:

1. Recognise the Kashmir dispute and accept that its resolution can only come through a political solution, not through military intervention and a suppression of all human and democratic rights;
2. Withdraw the army and other paramilitary forces including the Central Reserve Police, Border Security Force and Indo-Tibetan Border Police from civilian areas of Jammu and Kashmir;
3. Repeal the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978 and the Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act, 1990;
4. Release all political prisoners and, in particular, all prisoners arrested under the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978;
5. Grant access to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights for a UN fact-finding mission in Jammu and Kashmir;
6. Establish a judicial tribunal under the supervision of the Supreme Court to examine all cases of extra-judicial killings, including that of Burhan Wani;
7. Enter into an open and transparent dialogue, without preconditions, with all sections of Kashmiri peoples and their representatives in order to bring about a resolution of the Kashmir dispute that recognizes the aspirations of people to determine their own destiny through demonstrably democratic means.

The signatories to the report include, Amirtharaj Stephen (Photographer), Anuradha Bhasin (Pakistan India Forum for Peace and Democracy), Bilal Khan (Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan), Devisingh Tomar (Narmada Bachao Andolan), Gautam Mody (New Trade Union Initiative), Id Khajuria (Pakistan India Forum for Peace and Democracy), Jatin Desai (Pakistan India Forum for Peace and Democracy), Kavita Krishnan (All India Progressive Womens Association), Lakshmi Premkumar (Researcher), Madhuresh Kumar (National Alliance of Peoples Movements), Medha Patkar (Narmada Bachao Andolan), Mujahid Nafees (National Forum on Right to Education).

Read the full report.          
 
 
 

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Representational picture, Image credit: India Ink
 
Although the curfew – that was imposed in the valley on August 13 following the killing of militant Burhan Wani, has been lifted from Srinagar and rest of the Kashmir, there is no sign of life in the valley returning to relative normalcy in near future.  The schools that have been shut since their summer break in July are not likely to reopen or resume functioning any soon. 
 
In the last three and a half months, at least 20 schools have been burnt down, coaching centres have been targeted with stone-pelting and the Hurriyat Conference has refused to exempt schools from its protest calendar. 
 
A Hindustan Times report elaborated on this aspect of the crisis, claiming that at least one school in all the 10 districts of Kashmir was burnt and eight of the total 20 have been reduced to ashes. Police have managed to arrest none of the ‘miscreants’ in these cases and it has become extremely difficult to run the schools in the valley.
 
A senior retired official from the education department of Jammu and Kashmir state government told SabrangIndia, “This place is filled with so much uncertainty. The situation is extremely serious and it’s difficult to ensure safety of the students. To gradually move towards normalcy and regular functioning of the schools, first confidence has to be built. Many children have got injured and have suffered from the violence, and their parents won’t be willing to risk their lives by sending them to the schools.” 
 
He asserted that the schools won’t be reopened until the trust deficit is filled, among the people, but most importantly between the people of Kashmir, its state government and the government of India. It has also been reported that some of the parents from the valley have sent their children to Jammu or Delhi so that their schooling doesn’t get obstructed because of the unrest. “How many people can afford to that? Very few. Their number must be in the range of 0.0 –something. Kids of the rest of the people are all just sitting and home and are not studying,” he claimed. “Even the administrations of the private schools are not willing to take that risk. A meeting was conducted when they were asked to resume the schools, they asked us to communicate with Hurriyat, ensure safety of the students, then only they will consider reopening the schools,” he added.
 
Another retired bureaucrat from the valley told SabrangIndia, “Hurriyat first wants the release of hundreds of arrested students, as a pre-condition to the schools being re-opened. Only after there can be any talk of reopening the schools.”  SabrangIndia had earlier reported that there have been an inordinate number of arrests by the police and para-military in the state.
 
However, according to the news reports, exams for the students of Delhi Public School were conducted last week, following the state government’s decision to announce exams in a bid to get kids back to the school. The Indian Express had reported that even though the Hurriyat Conference leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani has called for total shutdown of the schools, his grandchild was one of the students, who appeared for the exams conducted.
 
 

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तीन पत्रकारो का यह दल 11 से 14 सितंबर के बीच घाटी में रहा और तमाम लोगों से उसने बात की। हक़ीक़त देखकर उनकी आँखें खुल गईं। अभय कुमार दुबे ने लौटकर मीडिया विजिल से साफ़ कहा कि कथित मुख्यधारा मीडिया कश्मीर के बारे में रात-दिन झूठ प्रसारित कर रहा है। उन्होंने बताया कि लौटकर उन्होंने तमाम चैनलों से संपर्क करके सच्चाई बताने की कोशिश की, लेकिन किसी ने रुचि नहीं दिखाई। उन्हें यूपी में समाजवादी पार्टी में जारी उठा-पटक पर चर्चा के लिए तो बुलाया गया लेकिन कश्मीर को लेकर किसी ने भी उनकी या वहाँ गये साथी पत्रकारों की बात प्रचारित-प्रसारित करने में रुचि नहीं दिखाई।

बहरहाल, एक बार फिर ईटीवी उर्दू ने उनसे चर्चा की। लगभग आधे घंटे के इस कार्यक्रम में तमाम ऐसी बातें हैं जो कश्मीर को देश नहीं उपनिवेश मानने वालों को बेचैन कर सकती हैं, लेकिन उपचार की पहली शर्त निदान है। और निदान तभी हो सकता है जब बीमारी की हक़ीक़त को स्वीकार किया जाए। ख़ैर मीडिया विजिल आपके लिए यह बेहद ज़रूरी वीडियो लाया है, देखिये, सुनिये और गुनिये—

Article was first published on Media Vigil

The post तीन कश्मीर-पलट पत्रकारों से जानिए वह सच जो भक्त-मीडिया छिपा रहा है ! appeared first on SabrangIndia.

हिंसा और जवाबी हिंसा की वजह से जम्मू-कश्मीर एक बार फिर सुर्खियों में है। हालात काबू करने के लिए फिर नए सुझाव सामने आए हैं। लेकिन आगे बढ़ने और भविष्य की शांति सुनिश्चित करने के लिए एक बार जमीनी हालत की पड़ताल जरूरी है।
राज्य में हिंसा का जो मौजूदा दौर है उसकी शुरुआत हिजबुल मुजाहिदीन के लोकल कमांडर बुरहान वानी की सुरक्षा बलों की साथ मुठभेड़ में मौत के साथ हुई थी। हिजबुल वो संगठन है, जिसने फिदाइन हमलों के जरिये कश्मीर को आजाद करने की कसम खाई है। (टाइम्स ऑफ इंडिया, 4 सितंबर 2016)। कश्मीर की यह अशांति सिर्फ घाटी तक सीमित है। यह इलाका पूरे राज्य के भूभाग का 7.1 फीसदी है लेकिन इसमें राज्य की आबादी का 54.9 फीसदी हिस्सा रहती है। 2011 की जनगणना के मुताबिक यह आबादी 68 लाख है। बहरहाल, मौजूदा दौर की हिंसा में घाटी में अब तक 70 लोगों की मौत हो चुकी है और हजारों घायल हो चुके हैं।

घाटी के इस बिगड़े हालात के खात्मे के लिए जो हल सुझाए जा रहे हैं उसके मुताबिक पाकिस्तान कश्मीर में शामिल हो जाए या फिर उसे भारत से `आजाद’ कर दिया जाए। तीसरा हल यथास्थिति बनाए रखने की है, जिसे अलग-अलग शर्तों के साथ सभी राजनीतिक दल बनाए रखना चाहते हैं।

पाकिस्तान के साथ विलय
पाकिस्तान के साथ विलय के सुझाव में दम नहीं है। इसकी सीधी सी वजह यह है कि अगर कश्मीर पाकिस्तान में शामिल हो जाता है तो घाटी के लोग वहां एक और अल्पसंख्यक समुदाय की आबादी के तौर पर जुड़ जाएंगे।  और पाकिस्तान में जातीय और अलग-अलग पंथों के अल्पसंख्यकों की हालत अच्छी नहीं है। मोहाजिर, बलूच, पख्तून, अहमदी और हाजरा जैसे अल्पसंख्यक समुदाय के लोग मुश्किल में हैं। बड़ी तादाद में इन समुदायों के लोगों को पाकिस्तान से बाहर भागना पड़ा है।
यूनाइटेड नेशन हाई कमीश्नर फॉर रिफ्यूजिज (यूएनएचसीआर) के ताजा आंकड़ों के मुताबिक यूरोपीय देशों में शरण मांगने वाले पाकिस्तानियों की आबादी खासी बड़ी है। सीरियाई, अफगानी और इराकियों के बाद शरण मांगने वालों में पाकिस्तानियों का नंबर छठा था।

वर्ष 2013-14 की ऑस्ट्रेलियाई इमिग्रेशन रिपोर्ट के मुताबिक मानवीय आधार पर वीजा ऑन अराइवल की मांग करने वालों में सबसे ज्यादा पाकिस्तानी थे।
( एलिब्रिट कार्लसन – 2014, ऑस्ट्रेलिया की संसद में पेश रिपोर्ट)

बलूचिस्तान में पाकिस्तान का मानवाधिकार रिकार्ड बेहद खराब रहा है। पिछले एक दशक के दौरान इस प्रांत से 18000 लोग कथित तौर पर गायब हो चुके हैं। वॉयस फॉर बलोच मिसिंग पर्सन्स के मुताबिक राज्य में 2015 में 157 लोगों के क्षत-विक्षत शव बरामद हुए थे। 463 लोग कहां गए इसका कुछ पता नहीं चला। (बलोचवार्ना न्यूज, 3 जनवरी 2016)। पहली नजर में इसके लिए सुरक्षा बलों को जिम्मेदार ठहराया जा रहा है।

पाकिस्तान प्रशासित कश्मीर की हालत भी इससे कोई अच्छी नहीं है। चीन-पाकिस्तान इकोनॉमिक कोरिडर के तहत ऊर्जा सेक्टर में 38 अरब डॉलर का निवेश होना है लेकिन गिलगिट-बाल्टीस्तान में दूसरे राज्यों के मुकाबले कोई निवेश नहीं हुआ है (डॉन, 12 मई 2016)। इसके उलट योजना मंत्री ने क्षेत्र के किसानों को यह कह कर धमकाया है कि अगर उन्होंने परियोजना का विरोध किया तो उनके खिलाफ आतंकवादी रोधी कानून लागू किया जाएगा। (टाइम्स ऑफ इंडिया, 18 अगस्त, 2016)

कश्मीर की आजादी
जम्मू-कश्मीर की आजादी के विकल्प में भी दिक्कत है। अगर राज्य के पांचों क्षेत्रों ने आजादी की मांग कर दी तो भारत और पाकिस्तान के रुख को देखते हुए यह संभव नहीं होगा। अगर जम्मू और लद्दाख के लोगों के नजरिये को दरकिनार कर भारत के हिस्से के कश्मीर की आजादी के विकल्प पर गौर किया जाए तो वह भी संभव नहीं होगा।

सिर्फ कश्मीर घाटी की आजादी की मांग में भी भारी नैतिक दुविधा है। घाटी में रहने वाले पांच लाख कश्मीरी पंडित लगभग निर्वासन की स्थिति में हैं। इस आजादी का नकारात्मक असर पड़ सकता है क्योंकि पुंछ, रजौरी और किश्तवाड़ में मुस्लिम आबादी बहुसंख्यक है जबकि उधमपुर और जम्मू में हिंदू बहुसंख्यक हैं। इससे राज्य में अस्थिरता और बढ़ जाएगी।

कश्मीर की आजादी की मांग करने वाला आंदोलन हिंसक रहा है और यह आतंकवाद को हथियार के तौर पर इस्तेमाल कर रह है और इतिहास गवाह है कि हिंसक आंदोलन एक सफल लोकतांत्रिक राज्य की स्थापना करने में नाकाम रहे हैं। हिंसक विचारधारा के सहारे लड़ने वाले अफ्रीकी देशों के आंदोलन में यह स्थिति देखी जा सकती है।

हाल के दिनों में ऐसी खबरें आई थीं कि कश्मीर में आंदोलनों के लिए मस्जिदों का सहारा लिया जा रहा है और वहां आईएसआईएस के झंडे लहराए जा रहे हैं। ( इंडियन एक्सप्रेस, 21 अगस्त 2016)। इस तरह के आंदोलन अगर आगे चलकर सफल भी हुए तो इस पर धार्मिक सत्ता हावी हो जाएगी और यह `कश्मीरियत’ की भावना के खिलाफ साबित होगी। पिछले कुछ सालों में घाटी में इस भावना को काफी चोट पहुंची है।

आगे का रास्ता
केंद्र सरकार घाटी के आबादी वाले इलाके में नागरिक आजादी बहाल करने के अपने संवैधानिक दायित्व से बंधी है। उसे वहां से अफस्पा जैसे कानून हटाने होंगे। सरकार को मानवाधिकार उल्लंघन के मामले में जिम्मेदारी तय करनी होगी। एक सुनिश्चित और पारदर्शी गवर्नेंस देना होगा। लोगों को आतंकियों के प्रभाव से मुक्त करने के कार्यक्रम शुरू करने होंगे और वार्ता के लिए घाटी के वास्तविक नेतृत्व की पहचान करनी होगी। अगर वह देश भर में जोर पकड़ रहे `केसरिया’ राष्ट्रवाद को काबू कर सके तो कश्मीर में शांति बहाली में यह बेहद मददगार साबित होगा। मानवता को तवज्जो देने वाले और लोकतांत्रिक कश्मीर की दिशा में अब यही कदम उठाने होंगे।

(पुष्कर राज मेलबोर्न में रहते हैं और कश्मीरी मूल के लेखक हैं। वह दिल्ली यूनिवर्सिटी में राजनीति विज्ञान पढ़ा चुके हैं और पीयूसीएल के राष्ट्रीय महासचिव रह चुके हैं। इनसे raajpushkar@gmail.com  पर संपर्क किया जा सकता है।)

The post नागरिक आजादी और मानवाधिकार बहाली के बगैर कश्मीर में अमन मुश्किल appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Jammu and Kashmir is again in the news for violence and counter violence. Again, several solutions are proposed. Any such exercise, however, needs a reality check if peace is to return in the state in the foreseeable future.

The present unrest began after killing of Burhan Wani, a local commander of Hizbul Mujahidin, an organisation that vows to liberate Kashmir by unleashing suicide bombers in Kashmir (Times of India, 4 September 2016). The unrest is restricted to the Kashmir valley comprising 7.1 percent of land and 54.9 percent of population of the state numbering 6.8 million (Census of India, 2011). In a fresh round of bloodshed over seventy people have died and thousands are injured.

To defuse the situation, among the solutions being offered is merger with Pakistan and 'freedom' from India. The third solution — status quo — is supported by the major political parties, though with differing caveats.

Merger with Pakistan

The merger with Pakistan is incongruous for the simple reason that Kashmiris will be an additional minority group in Pakistan that already has a disturbing record towards its ethnic and sectarian minorities including Mohajir, Baloch, Pashtun, Ahmadis and Hazaras. Many of these people are forced to seek refuge in other countries.

According to latest figures from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Pakistanis are the sixth largest group seeking asylum in Europe following Syrians, Afghans, Iraqis. Australian immigration report 2013-2014 reveals that the largest number of people who sought humanitarian visa on arrival came from Pakistan (Elibritt Karlsen: 2014, Parliament of Australia).

Pakistan's human rights record on Baluchistan has also been disconcerting. Since the last decade about 18,000 people have allegedly ‘disappeared’ in the province. According to the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons, 157 mutilated bodies were found and 463 people disappeared in the state in 2015. (Balochwarna News, 3 January 2016). The prime suspects in these incidents are the security forces.

Pakistan administered Kashmir is no better. Of the $38bn proposed investment in energy sector on the  China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, Gilgit-Baltistan has not received any allocation as compared to other provinces (The Dawn, 12 May 2016). On the contrary, the planning minister of Pakistan warned the protesting farmers of the region that the terrorism act would be invoked against them if they obstructed the project (Times of India, 18 August 16).

Freedom

The option of freedom for J&K is equally fraught with problems. If freedom is a demand for all the five regions of the state, then it seems a non-starter given the Indian and Pakistan position on it; and if it relates only to the Indian part then without taking into consideration the views of the people of Jammu and Ladakh region it is unlikely to move any farther.

The demand of freedom for only the valley of Kashmir is fraught with a moral dilemma in light of about a half a million Kashmiri pundits' virtual exile from the region. Besides, freedom for Kashmir will have a ripple effect in Muslim majority districts of Poonch and Rajouri, and Kishtwar and Doda, separated by Hindu majority districts of Jammu and Udhampur, which will further add to the instability in the region.

Another difficulty regarding freedom for Kashmir is the use of violence and terrorism as a method to achieve it. Contemporary history shows that a violent movement does not produce a sustainable democratic state as is seen in many African countries which were inspired by various violence based ideologies.

And finally, there are reports that mosques are being used for mobilisation of people and ISIS flags are being waved in rallies in Kashmir (Indian Express, August 21, 2016). Successful culmination of such a movement can only lead to a theocratic state that would be against the spirit of 'kashmiriyat', which has already suffered considerable erosion in the valley.

Way Forward

The central government owes it to the Constitution of India to restore civil liberties by withdrawing the laws like AFSPA from civilian areas in the Valley, ensure accountability for human rights violations, secure transparent governance, launch de-radicalisation programs and identify a genuine leadership in the valley for a dialogue. Nationally, toning down ‘saffron nationalism’ might greatly assist. It is the only way forward for a humane and democratic Kashmir.

(Pushkar Raj is a Melbourne based author of Kahsmiri origin. Formerly he taught political science in Delhi University and was the national general secretary of PUCL. He can be reached at raajpushkar@ gmail.com).
 

The post Restoring Civil Liberties, Respecting Human Rights the Only Way Forward in Kashmir appeared first on SabrangIndia.

In 2011, I had written an essay on Kashmir entitled: “The Militarized Zone,”which was published in an anthology on Kashmir (Verso Books).

What was apparent then is all too real now. I reproduce an edited fragment here today, in solidarity with Kashmiris who are being asphyxiated in their land and subjected to life under conditions akin to collective internment, and their allies across India who are being intimidated to conserve the silence. Speaking up on Kashmir is inevitably accompanied by fear for many even as silence is a betrayal of humanity.

From “The Militarized Zone” (2011: 105-109):
“If India fails to act, if Pakistan acts only in its own self-interest, and if the international community does not insist on an equitable resolution to the Kashmir dispute, it is conceivable that, forsaken by the world, Kashmiris will be prompted to take up arms again. If state repression persists, it is conceivable that the movement for non-violent dissent, mobilized since 2004,will erode. Signs indicate that it is already fraying. It is conceivable that India’s brutality will induce Kashmiri youth to move from stones to petrol bombs, or worse…

This policy of incitement is a mistake. Such legitimation of militarized rule will produce intractable conflict and violence. All indications are that in Kashmiri civil society dissent will not abate: it is not externally motivated but historically compelled. Repressive regimes tend to overlook that freedom struggles are not about the moralities of violence versus non-violence, but reflect a desire to be free. The oppressors forget that the greater the oppression, the more fervent the resistance. Violence is apt to reproduce itself in cycles. [The social and political consequences of repeated cycles of violence are horrific for all involved.]

Whether dissent in Kashmir continues as mass-based peaceful resistance or turns into organized armed struggle will depend upon India’s political decisions. Any future mobilization by Kashmiris would involve an even stronger mass movement than that which occurred in 1990 and between 2004 and 2007,led by youth whose lives have been shaped by two decades of militarization…

[Between 2006-2011], I travelled through Kashmir’s cities and countryside… I witnessed the violence that the military, paramilitary, and police perpetrate. I walked through the graveyards that hold Kashmir’s dead, and have met with grieving families. I listened to the testimony of a mother who sleepwalks to the grave of her son, attempting to resuscitate his body…In July 2010, I sat with witnesses and family members…who described how Indian forces had chased down and executed three of their friends who had been involved in acts of civil disobedience…[Pain and social suffering are profoundly present across intimate and social spaces throughout Kashmir.]

[Official discourse posits false equivalencies between the present actions of the stone-pelter, militant and military in Kashmir, serving to obfuscate structural injustices.] Despite various debates…the Indian government has made no commitment to rescind the series of impunity laws deployed in the administration of Kashmir or to reverse the special powers, privileges, and immunity granted to the Indian forces there… Legal impunity [seeks to shield] the moral impunity of Indian rule.”

(Angana Chatterji is a feminist scholar. This post has also been published in Kashmir Reader)

The post Kashmir, Summer 2016: Angana Chatterji appeared first on SabrangIndia.

An Indian Army officer who served in Kashmir writes his heart out:

I was trained to kill, and armed for it. My literature was bloody. 
As a preparation, I was not educated on the beauty the land was but on the contours of terror that prevailed within the landscape.
I would have loved to say — 'Yes, we are. We are all Kashmiris. We are all heaven dwellers.'
I would have wanted him to know–'We are here for you. We are your men.'
Geetu's DT (Dinesh Tiwari)
July 19 2016

I have been to Kashmir. No, not as a tourist.
I have lived there. I have worked there.

I was part of the heavy military instrument of the Indian State in the paradise, guarding it from the heaven dwellers themselves. And some mischievous neighbors too.

As a 21 year old, with the might of one of the biggest militaries in the world behind me and its command pinned on my shoulders, its determination manifested in the AK in my hand, I have roamed the towns and villages with authority which none of the Burhan Wanis or Bhatts or Wazirs or Bhans or Wattals or anybody else whose land it was, would have dared to.

Ironically, as a Citizen of Nepal, serving in the Indian Army, I was a bundle of contradictions myself.

When I led a group of armed men through a tense neighborhood, I could not help recall the state I was in myself as a teenager, back home in Nepal, angry and frustrated because of the curfew imposed in my hometown, from six in the evening to six in the morning every day for years.

When the Maoist insurgency was at its peak, I was a teenager. I have been frisked, violated, insulted; made to do pushups and squats just because I asked the police man at the check post to repeat himself when he instructed something and I did not properly hear.

There were regular visits to our houses– by police in uniform, by police without uniform, by a secret police who every one knew was a secret police; also from unknown people with weapons prominently hidden under wraps, meant to be seen and feared, demanding food, shelter, and money.

I was angry, very angry. I was angry at the then mysterious figure of Prachanda, whose only one picture in combat fatigues was public at that time. I was angry at the ideologue Dr Baburam Bhattarai — legendary nepal topper (Board First) and PhD from JNU — who was known to be the brain behind the movement.

I was angry at the people who marched in my town with weapons held high, after they blew away the local bank and the police station.

I was also angry at the policeman who frisked me, dragged me by my arm, threw my bag scattering away all my stuff on the floor and pinned me down to the ground and poked the back of my neck with a pointed object. It wasn't a stick. It was cold and heavy. I did not see it but a chill ran down my spine.

It blew up the anger. I was angry at the government. At the state, which had ignored so many people for so many years that they were ready to fight, and kill and die.

Also, I was angry at myself. Without knowing the reason, without a target, the anger was building up and building pressure and engulfing me.

I was lucky. I had options to flee. I fled at the right time.

When I looked at a beautiful Kashmiri child, who approached me with an innocent admiration and a genuine query, 'You must be Kashmiri, are you Kashmiri?', I was fumbling for an answer.
I would have liked to tell him — 'Yes, I am.'

I would have loved to say — 'Yes, we are. We are all Kashmiris. We are all heaven dwellers.'
I would have wanted him to know–'We are here for you. We are your men.'

I would have wanted to give him a smile, a nudge, pinch his cheeks, and ruffle his hair a bit and say, 'Yes, I am a Kashmiri. And I love Kashmir. And you.'

But I did not. Because I did not. I did not love Kashmir. And I did not love that child.
I was not a Kashmiri. And I was not a tourist.

Kashmir, for me was a duty. An assignment, an ardous task that had to be fulfilled to my utmost capability and most importantly, survived.

I did not pack a camera, few romantic novels and Faiz and Gulzar's poetry books before stepping on to the heaven.
I was trained to kill, and armed for it. My literature was bloody.

As a preparation, I was not educated on the beauty the land was but on the contours of terror that prevailed within the landscape.

I did not go through accounts of romantic unions in the scenic backdrops, but brainstormed over hundreds of case studies of bloody and fatal encounters in the terrain.

For me Kashmir was not to be appreciated, but assessed, analysed and acted upon, and survived.
For me the innocent child was not that innocent.

The images of children carrying messages, supplies and even weapons, read in the extensive case studies, immediately cropped up in my mind.

Even before noticing his sparkling beautiful blue eyes, pink apple-like cheeks, and loveliest smile,
I had to scan through his whole body to know what was hidden.

Images of children blowing themselves away in front of security forces flashed before me even before I could comprehend the emotions in his voice.

Even before I could think of extending my hand to ruffle his hair, the grip on the AK tightened automatically and my trigger finger was alert.

No, my friend, I am not a Kashmiri. I could not be one. I was not expected to be one.
Therefore, I was not educated to be one. I was not trained to be one.

And I do not love you and your Kashmir. I could not. I was not expected to. I was not educated to. I was not trained to.

I was fumbling for an answer. I did not reply.
The child's mother came running, lifted him up and dragged him away hurriedly, slouching a bit, without even looking at me.

Today, he must be Burhan's age. And we don't love him still. And that is one of the reasons why Kashmir burns.

Meanwhile Dibyesh Anand on Facebook has also stated that other pro Kashmiri Voices and Videos are also being blocked:
Dibyesh Anand on July 27, 2016 On Facebook censorship of pro Kashmir voices (AJE)
 
While FB claims it is only blocking support of terrorism and accepts "error" in some cases, in the two sentences I had, I made it clear it is censorship. 
Some of the things I had said in the pre-recorded interview that was left out included:

1. If FB has to censor profiles and posts supporting terrorism, it should start with banning pages of military and in this context, profiles of all those Indians who are supporting violence and terror of their armed forces. 
2. FB is failing in its vision of providing alternative space and hence in this case is complicit with state atrocities against Kashmiris 
3. FB refuses to delete/block profiles that have sent death threats, threat of rape, etc but found perfectly reasonable and sensible posts on Kashmir objectionable.
4. If FB takes side this blatantly, it should expect us to not accept it with resignation.
 

The post The Post That Facebook Blocked appeared first on SabrangIndia.