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72 days of silence, and now come a series of peaceful protests

Wed, 16 Oct 2019 04:03:00 +0000

Amidst some relief in wake of the partial lifting of the communication blackout in Kashmir, also emerging are several heartbreaking stories. Meanwhile, voices of dissent are growing louder.

Post paid mobile services were restored in Kashmir on Monday after the state was placed under a communication black out for over 72 days. However, on the same day SMS services were stopped at about 5 PM, reportedly as a “precautionary measure”. Officials told Times of India that over 25 lakh prepaid mobile phones and other internet services including WhatsApp remain deactivated.

Meanwhile, in a heartbreaking Facebook post journalist Irfan Rashid shared how he was finally able to establish contact with a dear friend after 70 days, only to learn she had died 40 days ago!

Rashid’s post went viral eliciting condolenses and support, but in his grief it appears Rashid is taking a break from social media as his profile is no longer visible.

Voices of dissent
Women’s groups held a protest at Pratap Park near Srinagar’s Lal Chowk, but the police swooped in and detained the protesters. Among those detained included former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdulla’s sister Suraiya Abdullah and daughter Safia Abdullah Khan. Suraiya told reporters, “On August 5, we were locked inside our homes and Article 370 was abrogated. This is a marriage by compulsion which won’t work.”

Though the protest in Srinagar was stopped by the police, many similar peaceful protests are being organised by different civil rights groups and students across India. For instance, a protest is being planned at Jantar Mantar on the 75^th day since the abrogation of Article 370. At this Saturday’s peaceful public protest, poetry will be read and music played.

The post 72 days of silence, and now come a series of peaceful protests appeared first on SabrangIndia.

“Go back to India and cover every statue of Gandhi so that he doesn’t have to face this shame”: Kashmiris mark the 150th anniversary of Gandhi’s birthday with Satyagraha

Mon, 14 Oct 2019 05:13:58 +0000

“Go back to India and cover every statue of Gandhi so that he doesn’t have to face this shame”: Kashmiris mark the 150^th anniversary of Gandhi’s birthday with Satyagraha

We visited the Kashmir Valley between 5^th and 9^th October 2019. We spoke to a cross section of people in three different regions.

Srinagar

We visited the journalist centre, courts, markets, and a few localities in Srinagar

Taxi driver – 2

Auto drivers – 3

Houseboat owners: 2

Lawyers: 2

School and College teachers: 2 (1 each)

Shopkeepers: 5

Street Hawkers: 2

Hotel owner: 1

Waiters: 2

Journalists: 6

Bureaucrats: 1

Families of minors taken by police: 2 families (approx. 10 people)

Total: 38 approx

Shopian/Pulwama

We visited 4 villages as well as the Shopian fruit mandi

Parigam village, Pulwama: 3-4 persons (including torture victims);

Class XI female student

Karimabad village: 3-4 persons, including 3 women (family relatives of detenues)

SS village: Families of children who were arrested

SB village: Families of children arrested

One Pandit family (2 old couples)

CRPF jawan

Apple growers: 2 men

25 approximately

Sopore/Kupwara

We visited two villages as well as the Sopore fruit mandi

Sopore fruit mandi: 4-5 Mandi officials

Village Pringroo: 5-6 villagers

Village Bhandi: 5-6 people: Sarpanch and other villagers, mother and uncle of youth who died in police custody, son of PC district president who is in jail in Agra under PSA.

15 approx.

Overall Impressions

Of the approximately 75 plus people we spoke to in these five days, not a single person we met was happy with the reading down of Article 370 and abolition of Article 35A, as well as the conversion of the state into a UT. Almost every single person wanted azadi, though what they mean by this varies between full independence, i.e not being with either India or Pakistan, to full merger with Pakistan. The constituency for Pakistan has increased drastically, along with those who regard Hurriyat leader Geelani as their main leader. There are no takers for the so-called full integration that the Government of India is promising post-370, especially given that this promise has come with a communication blockade, heavy military presence, severe repression, and the denial of fundamental rights which are in theory available to every Indian citizen.

We met one old Pandit man who had stayed back in the valley who was ambivalent about azadi, saying “My children are in Delhi so I can’t stay apart from them”. But he added, “the people here will never accept in their hearts being part of India.” He too was unhappy about the abrogation of 370, though he felt “the Government may be able to ride it out, since Pakistan is not a match for India.” One group of NC supporters in Handwara felt ‘normalcy’ may return if Article 370 is restored, but they also said, “who doesn’t want azadi?” A Gujjar sarpanch, who recognized that they were a minority as STs in Kashmir said, “even animals want azadi.” One shopkeeper in Srinagar said that 370 had been so hollowed out that it made little difference, but “still, it was our identity.” Regardless of their specific views, however, everyone felt they had lost their identity, and had been humiliated by not being consulted on their own future.

People are resisting in the only way possible – through satyagraha or non-violent civil disobedience. There is a complete hartal across the state, despite severe economic and educational losses. Since the entire leadership is in jail – from mainstream parties to the separatist parties, this satyagraha is being carried out by the people themselves. There is some societal coercion, but by and large, this is entirely voluntary. This is not happening on the direction of militants, contrary to the advertisements now being run by government.

People compare the situation in 2019 to that in 2016 after the killing of Burhan Wani. The major differences are that first, now there is no leadership and people are acting on their own, second, the resistance is across the valley (earlier it was mostly South Kashmir), and third, even those who were earlier with the Indian government are now completely alienated. The Government claim that the major difference is that there is no open resistance and no loss of life is a.) untrue, since people have been killed even if fewer, b.) temporary – till the people figure out new strategies. The communications blackout and the mass arrest of mainstream leaders is new and unprecedented.

While people hate the Indian government, they displayed enormous hospitality and graciousness to us as ordinary Indians. They have no problem with Indians, so long as they are not from the media. The Kashmir press is heavily censored, with Orwellian claims that everything is normal and people are happy. The Government runs full page advertisements every day telling people the benefits of not having 370. The national television media is simply a disgrace since they are collaborating with the government in the pretence that everything is normal. The correspondents for national media report abuses and torture faithfully but the news is not always carried. They remarked that in over two months, there has not been a single editorial in Kashmir on Article 370. Everyone feels that they are being pushed back to the stone age without phones and internet.

The High Court is hardly functioning. Lawyers told us that some 300 habeas corpus petitions had been filed but the court gave generous time to the government by which time the petitions became infructuous. There were hardly any private lawyers.

Even a cursory visit to Kashmir’s villages show a level of prosperity that is much higher than many parts of India. The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Ujjwala Yojana, Housing Schemes etc. are quite un-necessary here, since everybody already has pukka houses, toilets, gas cylinders etc.

In the long run it appears that the Modi government’s precipitous step will result in a long term Palestine-like occupation, with heavy costs not just to the Kashmiris but also to the Indian economy and polity, unless there is enough international pressure to introduce some changes.

The mainstream leadership is by and large completely discredited. Repeatedly we heard that if the government can jail even their favoured stooge, Farouq Abdullah, then what is a common person to expect. They also repeatedly pointed out that the government had not even spared Hindu religious sentiments by sending back the Amarnath yatris midway. There is no going back from this step.

Economic Losses

People are facing huge economic losses due to the curfew-turned-hartal. Although there are now officially no restrictions, the uncertainty over where the government has re-imposed restrictions continues. For instance, journalists informed us that the government announces that they have removed restrictions from 20 police precincts without specifying which ones, so people are never fully certain. The heavy deployment of the military also continues so people feel unsafe.

One taxi driver who was earlier employed at Rs 8000 pm is now earning Rs. 5000. “370 knocked 3000 of my monthly income” he said. An auto driver said he used to run a hotel with 16 rooms but since there were no tourists he was now driving an auto.

Shops are open only from 7-9 am. The hartal is largely voluntary but there is also some social enforcement. For instance, we were told that a vegetable seller in Soura who kept open all day found his shack burnt down, a milk man was given a “last warning” for keeping his shop open half day, an apple grower who sold his fruit found six trees cut overnight. An auto driver said he no longer drives downtown for fear of random stones, so he parks his auto at night at his in-laws and walks home 2 km to downtown. He plies only for a short while in the evening.

On the 9^th, we found a couple of establishments (restaurants) had started staying open all day. It may be that people will slowly inch back to keeping open their businesses, out of compulsion. However, one apple grower we met said he was “willing to lose 9-10 lakhs every year by not harvesting and selling his apples, if it gets us azadi.” (see section on apple trade)

Houseboat owners, workers and everyone dependent on tourism have been particularly badly hit. One houseboat owner with a five room houseboat said he lost 7 lakhs this year. A shopkeeper who sells perfumes sourced from Gujarat to tourists on houseboats said that due to the communications blackout, he was not able to contact his suppliers, and anyway, what would be the point since there were no buyers.

Weddings are going on, but the amount of food consumed and numbers invited are much lower than usual. The head of one NGO, Aash, which organizes mass weddings for orphans, said that last year they had served biryani, this year they could only serve kahwa.

Several people, in both Srinagar and the villages, told us that Kashmiris are able to survive the blockades and hartal because of community traditions of support and co-operation, which get strengthened in conflict situations. Those who cannot afford it are helped with rations. In places like Aanchar in Srinagar where they have barricaded themselves in, many people are agriculturists and have enough paddy stocks.

Apple Trade

We visited the Shopian and Sopore fruit mandis. The Shopian fruit mandi was completely closed with not even trucks parked outside. One grower we met said he was prepared to lose lakhs if the hartal helped to get azadi.

The Sopore fruit mandi was also closed, but the Horticulture dept office where NAFED was purchasing fruit was open. The NAFED officials said that while normally 300 trucks leave the Sopore fruit mandi per day, they had managed to send out only 3 trucks since September 15 when the Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) was announced. However, they said that a.) those who had already signed agreements with traders from Azadpur mandi were sending it directly, b.) that some informal trading was taking place outside the mandi. Inside the mandi, however, it is clear that there is complete hartal.

Last year the mandi turnover was 1000 crore. Only 586 farmers out of 94,000 farmers in District Baramulla had registered with NAFED to sell. Out of these 586, only 46 growers had actually sold. This came to 30 metric tonne which was sent out in 3 trucks (as mentioned above).

While MIS is pitched as beneficial for apple growers, in practice because of the sorting into different grades they are losing out. Earlier each crate contained a mix of grades, which were sold at the highest grade.

In Handwara, people are fulfilling their agreements, but those who had not made agreements are suffering. They have to sell their apples against the challans of their neighbours with agreements, and since there is no communication have no idea what rates they are getting for their apples.

Religious Restrictions

This year Eid was hardly celebrated. Around Qalamabad in Kupwara, the police went around villages and told people not to gather in Idgahs and not to use loudspeakers. People offered eid namaz in their local mosques. There was no namaz in the Qalamchakla Idgah either.

Educational losses

While schools are technically open, no children are going to school. The teachers mark attendance for a couple of hours a day, sometimes 2-3 times a week. A six year old girl in Soura Srinagar said she was scared to go to school because “police uncle goli marenge”. Parents don’t want to send their children to school with such heavy militarization and without phones. We were told that the CRPF had occupied SP Higher Secondary school since August 5th but could not personally verify this.

Rural schools are shut. Even if it’s within the locality, the armed forces are everywhere and people are scared they may be some incident/shootout.

An 11^th standard girl in Parigam village, Pulwama who was studying for medical entrance tests in a coaching college in Srinagar had now returned home to her village. Exams have been announced for end November but she said she didn’t know how they would do it since they have not been taught the course; they could only revise whatever had been covered, the new material was difficult to study on their own. She didn’t know how she would be able to give the entrance test.

One school teacher in a middle class Srinagar school said they distribute assignments to all those children whose addresses they have but don’t know how to reach the rest.

A college teacher said that she and other colleagues have been going periodically to college but no students come. On 9 October when colleges officially opened, there were almost no students that we could see. There is no public transport so it is hard to see how school or college students would get to the educational institution.

Arrest of children/minors

Small children, some as young as six years, are being picked up and kept for a day to several days, or asked to report morning to evening for several days. Most often there is no record of their detention. In most cases, their fathers or other relatives are asked to report every day to the thana, as some kind of surety/hostage. Children are picked up on charges of playing resistance taraanas through mosque loudspeakers or pelting stones. This has happened even before August 5^th as one of our cases showed but the pace has intensified.

Both in Pulwama and Srinagar, we were told that children are scared to sleep in their own homes at night lest they are picked up. They sleep at a grandmother’s or other relative.

For a year or more, the army has been carrying out a census of households in villages. After August 5^th, it was thus easy for them to target families with youth.

We met the following cases:

SS village, Shopian district

20 children (approx.) between the ages of 12 and 20 were picked up and kept for 15-20 days. One 12 year old child, SN, class VII, was picked up on August 10 and released on September 25 to a juvenile justice home. There are 6 cases against him – of stone pelting, damaging houses and vehicles. We were unable to meet his parents and get the exact details.

Other children detained from the village include:

1.) SAM, age 14/15; class X student

2.) ABS, age 14/15years; class X student

3.) AF, age 16 years

4.) IAP. He is from a poor family, so was doing mazdoori.

They were picked up from their houses on 10^th and 20^th August around 2 am. They were released in batches of 2-3 from 20th to 25^th September. Apart from SN, none have been charged.

The police charged their families Rs. 100 per day for food while the children were kept in the thana. They were allowed to meet their families for 10-15 minutes every day. There is huge overcrowding in jails, making it difficult for the children to lie down and sleep.

We did not meet the children themselves – we were told they were out plucking apples (which may or may not have been the case), but we met members of their families and village elders.

SB village, Shopian district

In this village, children had been picked up in May 2019 and released. We met some of them and their parents.

<>1.2.3.4.1.2.3.1.2.3.Nadeem Mohd Sheikh

On 3^rd September the police came to their houses and told them to come to Qalmabad PS in connection with an FIR of 2018. When Mohd Shafi Mir went with his father they were told he was wanted for stone pelting and attending the funeral procession of Manan Wani. His remand kept being extended.

Zahoor Ahmad, age 25 was wanted by the police. Since he wasn’t home, they picked up his 17 year old brother Danish and kept him in the thana for 3 days till Zahoor came. Zahoor was inside for 18 days before he was released. He was accused of sloganeering.

Srinagar

Arrest of OM, age 18, studies in class 12 Govt High School. 2^nd October. OM was released on October 8^th.

We met OM’s family. 17 police cars came to the locality and the police jumped over the courtyard gate and forced the door open when they need only have knocked. They beat the women present with rifle butts and forcibly took away OM who was going upstairs to get his ID. OM’s father was shoved to the wall and cracked his forearm and chest. The police also used pepper gas and tear gas.

Community bond system: Once a person is arrested, people in the community are asked to give surety. In OM’s case, 20 elders from the area were summoned on a daily basis. Their IDs are taken and they have to spend 1-2 hours, sometimes the whole day in the police station.

Arrest for speaking to media

Inayat Ahmad of Soura, shopkeeper, was arrested on 29^th August for speaking to Al Jazeera and participating in protests. After 15-16 days in the thana he was taken to Srinagar central jail where he has been charged under PSA. The chargesheet said that he was involved in stone throwing on 7^th August, which is not at all likely since he is the father of two kids. The first FIR was filed on 7^th August (for stone pelting); A second FIR was filed on 30 August 2019 for participating in procession and shouting pro-Pak slogans.

Custodial Death

3^rd September 2019: Death of Riyaz Ahmad Thickri, Nandpora Bhandi ward of Bhandi village. Age approximately 20 years.

Bhandi is a Gujjar village and there are many forest cases against the Gujjars here. The villagers say the forest staff take bribes of 10-20,000, plus they have to pay the lawyers Rs 500 per appearance. With travel etc. it comes to Rs 1000 per appearance. One man said he has been attending court since 2005. Since 2010, the forest department has barred Gujjar routes with barbed wire.

Riyaz Ahmad had just returned from labour in Ladakh when the police came on 2^nd September and summoned him to the thana in connection with a year-old timber smuggling FIR. On the 3^rd the police went to his uncle, Jamaldeen Shabangi’s house and took him to the PS. There they informed him that his nephew had committed suicide with the drawstring of his salwar.

Jamaldeen and others, however saw that Riyaz’s nose was broken and the right side of his body from shoulder to hip was blue and bruised. A post mortem was conducted in Handwara hospital but the family has not been given a copy.

Riyaz’s mother, Shirina Begum, is blind. He has three brothers, two younger who are now doing mazdoori. He was the main bread earner.

After Riyaz died in police custody there was a procession from Heral to Varpura, Qalmabad, but the police fired tear gas. They then seized the dead body and forcibly got it buried near his home before anyone could come. His uncle Jamaldeen was hit on the face during the protest.

Conclusion

Had the Supreme Court intervened earlier – and it may still do so – to restore Article 370 and revert J & K to its former status as a State of the Union, some of the anger may have been assuaged. However, like everyone else in Kashmir and outside, we are uncertain as to what the future will hold for Kashmir and India.

Nitya Ramakrishnan (Advocate) and Nandini Sundar (Sociologist)

First published on https://nandinisundar.blogspot.com/

The post “Go back to India and cover every statue of Gandhi so that he doesn’t have to face this shame”: Kashmiris mark the 150th anniversary of Gandhi’s birthday with Satyagraha appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Protest letters to President, PM from prominent citizens: Kashmir situation ‘unacceptable’

Mon, 07 Oct 2019 07:16:22 +0000

A group of 284 eminent Indian citizens – including academics, journalists, political leaders and others – have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind, calling the current clampdown in Kashmir “unacceptable”.The signatories have said the Centre’s decision to read down Article 370 and bifurcate Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories was taking without consulting locals, “and we still do not know how the people of Jammu and Kashmir feel”.

They also quoted a recent Kerala high court decision which said that the right to internet is a fundamental right, and said that internet services must be restored in the Valley on humanitarian grounds.

The full text of their petition and the list of signatories is below.

The people of the Kashmir valley and parts of Jammu have been under a security, political and communications lockdown since August 5, 2019. Thousands of troops man the entrances and exits to their homes, schools and universities. Hundreds of political leaders, including former Chief Ministers and legislators are under ‘preventive detention’. Mobile phones are blocked and internet snapped. Businesses have lost thousands of crores.

At the same time, our government has removed Jammu and Kashmir’s special status under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution and divided the state into two Union Territories. Both steps were taken without consultation with the people of the former state or their elected leaders. It has been 68* days since the lockdown and we still do not know how the people of Jammu and Kashmir feel. We are unable even to speak to our friends and relatives in the valley.

On humanitarian grounds, we find this situation unacceptable. The government should restore mobile and internet connections, which were declared a fundamental right just recently by the Kerala High Court.

On democratic grounds, too, we find this situation unacceptable. If the government can take away freedom of expression and the right to debate legislation that affects their lives in Jammu and Kashmir, what prevents them from doing so across the country?

It is not too late to roll-back the lockdown, hold legislative assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir and let the people decide on Article 370 and statehood. We appeal to the government to do so.

*When the petition was first started the count was 52 days. This figure has been updated to the date of sending the petition.

Signed:

Ammu Abraham Mumbai, India
Rekha Achuthan Hyderabad, India
Anivek Abrol Chandigarh, India
Leela Acharya Toronto, Canada
Faisal Adil Tucson, Arizona, US
Imtiaz Ahmad New Delhi, India
Swaminathan Aiyar New Delhi, India
Mani Shankar Aiyar, Delhi, India
Jamila Akhter North Brunswick, New Jersey
Shabnam Ali Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Shuaib Amin India
Arvinder Ansari India
MM Ansari India
Andrew Late.T. Arulappan Chennai, India
Vidya Das Arora, India
Minoo Awari Kodaikanl, India
Zarreen Babu Kodaikanal, India
Vijay Badami New Delhi, India
Nandita Baig India
Niloufer B Mumbai, India
Zarine Bath Delhi, India
Ishanjli Barla India
Zuhaib Bashir Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Champak Basu Kolkota, India
Poonam Batra India
Eijaz Bazaz India
Selena Bedi Kapurthala, India
Sharad Behar Bhopal, India
Madhu Bhaduri Bangalore, India
Prabha Bhalla Kolkata, India
Gulzar Bhat India
Shahnawaz Bhat Mumbai, India
Indra Bhatia India
Saumyajit Bhattacharya Delhi, India
Raju Bhosale Vadodara, India
Neera Burra India
Rani Day Burra India
Sundar Burra India
Pankaj Butalia Delhi, India
June Carvalho Bangalore, India
Suhas Chakma Delhi, India
Ramesh Chand New Delhi, India
Satish Chand India
Sara Chanda Delhi, India
Paul Chandhok Albuquerque, India
Neera Chandoke Delhi India
Anjana Chandra Singapore
Anupama Chandra Delhi, India
Feroze Chandra Mumbai, India
Prabha Chandran Delhi, India
Partha Chatterjee New York, US
Kalyani Chaudhuri India
John Cherian Delhi, India
Subramoni Chidambar India
Subhash Chopra Harrow, UK
Mona Das Delhi, India
Shiwani Das Bharu, India
SK Das India
Sreela Das India
Surjit Das India
Vibha Puri Das India
Vidya Das Arora India
Arundhati Datta India
Pradeep Deb Jaipur, India
Devasahayam MG Kanyakumari, India
Antara Dev Sen India
Jasmine Dellal Ambur, India
Anita Dighe Noida, India
Shephali Dighe Surat, India
A Sunil Dharan India
Susan Dhavle Pune, India
Roopa Dhawan New Delhi, India
Vijaylakshmi Dikshit Gurgaon, India
Rosemary Dzuvichu Kohima, India
Achla Eccles New York, US
Zea Fareed Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Tanweer Fazal New Delhi, India
Sumit Ganguly Bloomington, Indiana, US
Mridu Garg Delhi, India
Dolly George Kodaikanal, India
Lathika George, India
Sagarika Ghose Delhi India
Jayati Ghosh New Delhi, India
Monica Ghosh India
Astri Ghosh India
Gulab Grewal Ludhiana, India
Seema Guha Gurgaon, India
Supriya Guha Biel-Benken, Switzerland
Meena Gupta Hyderabad, India
Zoya Hasan India
Roomana Hukil Hamilton, Canada
Ayesha Iyer Bangalore, India
Suhasini Iyer Delhi, India
Swaminathan Kalidas Iyer Goa, India
Serena Jacob Singapore
Devaki Jain Hyderabad, India
Nikhita Jain Greenvale, India
Priya Jain New Delhi, India
Rajesh Jain Ludhiana, India
Leela James Gurgaon, India
Kanchana Jayachandran Udupi, India
Prem Shankar Jha India
Radhika Jha Athens, Greece
Jha Rajiv India
Rishi Jha Delhi, India
Seema Jha Hyderabad, India
Vineet Johnson Sudbury, Canada
Bhupendra Joshi Delhi, India
Bascal Leo Joseph India
Kamalnayan Kabra Gurgaon, India
Kiran Kairab Ashburn, Virginia, US
Kavas Kapadia New Delhi, India
Kapil Kak Noida, India
Nayana Kathpalia Mumbai, India
Anita Katyal New Delhi, India
Jaspreet Kaur Delhi, India
Manleen Kaur India
Rupinder Kaur India
Mahnoor Yar Khan Hyderabad, India
Navi Khan India
Nyla Khan Edmond, Oklahoma, US
Rasika Khanna, New Haven, Connecticut, US
Swarn Anand Khanna, India
Snowber Khan Mumbai, India
Alpana Kishore London, UK
Beulah Kolhatkar Chennai, India
Anuradha Krishnamurthy Mumbai, India
Lakshmi Krishnamurty Bangalore, India
Bala Krishnan India
Viswanathan Krishnan Tennessee, US
Joginder Kular Ludhiana, India
Arun Kumar Balaramapuram, India
Avinash Kumar New Delhi, India
Jayashree Kumar Kodaikanal, India
Radha Kumar India
Sasi Kumar Trivandrum, India
Tulika Kumari Delhi, India
Karoki Lewis, UK
Primila Lewis Oxford, UK
Swapna Liddle Delhi, India
Sankar Lingam India
Himani Madan Shimla, India
Sasha Madan Simla, India
Tahir Ahmad Magray Dammam, Saudi Arabia
Joe Gouri Shankar Mahendra Chennai, India
Nayeema Mahjoor Sutton, England, UK
Rajesh Malhotra Gurgaon, India
Nitin Malik Delhi, India
Preet Malik India
Subhash Malik New Delhi, India
George Mathew India
Ajay K. Mehra Noida, India
Arjun Mehta Delhi, India
Ashok Mehta Noida, UP
Avanti Mehta Mumbai, India
Janet Mendonca Kuwait
Nivedita Menon Delhi, India
Naaz Mir Delhi, India
Mir Dafiq Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Nivedita Mishra Noida, India
Renuka Mishra Delhi, India
Shubranshu Mishra Cornwall, UK
Udayon Misra India
Pramod Mital India
Devendra Mohan India
Jyoti Motihar Delhi, India
Aditya Mukherjee Delhi, India
Nita Mukherjee India
Srila Mookherjee Kolkata, India
Rekha Murty Mumbai, India
Sachin N New Delhi, India
Karthika Nair France
Rajasree Nair New Delhi, India
Nalini Nayak New Delhi, India
Ranganath Nayak Belmont, Massachusetts, US
Mudasir Noor u din Delhi, India
Amitabha Pande Noida, India
Shradha Parashari New Delhi, India
Gulzar Ahmad Parry Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia
Arif Pasha Bangalore, India
Sujata Patel Shimla, India
Vince Patram Morristown, New Jersey, US
Lynda Paul Pune, India
Gopal Pillai India
Sonali Pinheiro Kuwait, Kuwait
Subbarao Prabhala India
Anita Prabhu New Castle, Pennsylvania, US
Lavanya Raghavan Montclair, New Jersey, US
Sujata Raghavan New Delhi, India
Alok Rai Allahabad, India
Anil Rai New Delhi, India
Badri Raina Delhi, India
Rajagopal K Trivandrum, India
Aruna Rajkumar India
Akhileshwari Ramagoud Hyderabad, India
Rajesh Ramakrishnan Chennai, India
Vasanthi Raman India
Goda Ramana Visakhapatnam, India
Lalita Ramdas Alibag/Secunderabad, India
Vani Ramkumar Shimoga, India
Maya Rao Delhi, India
Mohan Rao Bangalore, India
M Y Rao Trivandrum, India
Komal Rashid Lorton, Virginia, US
Zeba Rashid India
N Ravi Hyderabad, India
Amit Rawat Pune, India
Vibhor Relhan Delhi, India
Jaya Retnakumar India
Aditya Roy India
Supriya Roychoudhury India
Jehangir Rustomji India
Anand Sahay New Delhi, India
Mimansa Sahay New Delhi, India
Sushila Sahay India
Varun Sahni Pune, India
Jane Samuel Allahabad, India
Kim Samuel Salem, India
Vijai Sankar Chennai, India 2019-09-28
K Satchidanandan Delhi, India
Ratna Sarawgi Kolkata, India
Vetri Selvan Singapore
Aatreyee Sen Dharamsala, India
Rajat Sen India
Debjani Sengupta Delhi, India
Sushmita Sengupta India
Minoopriya Senthilkumar India
Manisha Sethi New Delhi India
Shah Aamir Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Abid Shah Ghaziabad, India
Amit Shah Somerville, Massachusetts, US
N D Sharma Bhopal, India
Nidhi Sharma Delhi, India
Natasha Sharma El Paso, Texas, US
Prateeksha Sharma Delhi, India
Shamim Sherwani India
Deepak Shukla India
Sonia Shukla Delhi India
Angad Singh P India
Charan Singh Granada hills, California, US
Geetbani Singh India
Kanishka Singh India
Tanya Singh Delhi, India
Updesh Singh Reading, England, UK
Rekha Sinha Mumbai, India
Manali Bhandare Singhal India
Nusrat Sohail East Brunswick, New Jersey, US
N Sriram Bangalore, India
Antony Stephen Coimbatore, India
K R Subash India
Arun Subramanium Bangalore, India
Jeanne Subramaniam Bangalore, India
Kadayam Subramanian New Delhi, India
Aparna Sundar Toronto, Canada
Nandini Sundar Delhi, India
Lawrence Surendra Bangalore, Delhi
Aarti Susan Delhi, India
Manzoor Ahmad Tak India
Brij Tankha India
Kamini Tankha Delhi, India
Ravni Thakur Delhi, India
Catherine Thankamma Cochin, India
Sheela Thomas India
Sunder Thomas Bangalore, India
Shom Tiwari Elizabeth City, North Carolina, US
Adil Tyabji India
Hindal Tyabji India
Khalid Tyabji New Delhi, India
Jesus Ubald Chennai, India
Ullekh NP New Delhi, India
Vineet Vashishtha India
Vinita Varghese Kuwait
Samera Vaseer Edmond, Oklahoma, US
Saraswathi Vedam Vancouver Canada
Shashank Vira London, England, UK
Sudhakar Vira India
Swati Vira Gurgaon, India
Udayan Vira Dehradun, India
Neena Vyas India
Mudassir Wani Dammam, Saudi Arabia
Shahid Wani Delhi, India
P Yesuthasen Chennai, India
Muhammad Nadeem Yousuf Venice, Italy
Snober Zaffer Ludhiana, India

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“I denounce what India is doing to Kashmiris”: Canadian MP Jagmeet Singh

Tue, 01 Oct 2019 04:49:04 +0000

The leader of the New Democratic Party said that he stood in solidarity with the people of Kashmir

Addressing a small gathering of people in the run-up to the elections in Canada, Canadian MP Jagmeet Singh vehemently opposed the Indian government’s abrogation of Article 370 which accorded special status to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

Speaking of the evident communications blackout, he said, “They shut down cellphones, they shut down telephone services, they block the media.”

He continued to say, “Anywhere in the world, if the cellphones are being blocked, telephones are being shut down and if the media is not allowed to go there, I can assure you there are human rights violations happening,” emanating a “yes” chant from the small crowd.

Expressing solidarity with the people of Kashmir, the leader of the New Democratic Party said, “If there is any injustice against anyone, it’s an injustice against our principles. I stand with people against this injustice that’s happening.”

MP Jagmeet Singh had also issued an official statement on August 6th on the Status of Human Rights in Kashmir where he said that such actions provide more fertile ground for more human rights abuses.

Singh is among a handful of international leaders and countries that have criticized India over its handling of Jammu and Kashmir.

Beijing also said that New Delhi should avoid actions to “unilaterally change the status quo” of the state, and termed the decision to reorganise Ladakh as a union territory as “unacceptable”.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, too, had accused India of invading and occupying Kashmir.He said despite UN resolutions, Jammu Kashmir has been “invaded and occupied.”

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No time to hear Kashmir petitions, will hear Ayodhya matter first: SC

Mon, 30 Sep 2019 10:55:08 +0000

On Monday, the SC postponed petitions related to issues in Kashmir. Constitution bench will take them up.

A Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi, deferred petitions on the Kashmir issue citing lack of time. It said that the court had to hear the Ayodhya matter on a daily basis and posted the Kashmir hearings to be taken up by a Constitution bench on Tuesday.

A bench headed by Justices Ramanna, Sanjay KishanKaul, Subhash Reddy, B R Gavai and Surya Kant will now hear all the petitions related to the matter.

“We do not have the time to hear so many matters. We have Constitution bench case (Ayodhya dispute) to hear,” said CJI RanjanGogoi.

Petition Details
A total of 14 PILs on Article 370, were listed for hearing before a bench of CJI RanjanGogoi, SA Bobde and S Abdul Nazeer on Wednesday, August 28, 2019.
The litigations arising out of the changes to Article 370 can be divided into three types:

Habeas Corpus petitions challenging the validity of detentions
Petitions pertaining to the access to communications
Constitutional challenges to the changes made by the Parliament on August 5, 2019

A petition filed by Anuradha Bhasin, executive editor of Kashmir Times, published from Jammu and Srinagar said that the Centre should relax its restrictions and allow journalists to “to practice their profession and exercise their right to report freely on the situation prevailing in J&K after clampdown on entire State on August 4, 2019”. The first hearing of this petition took place on August 16. On September 5, an order was passed saying that the final hearing of the petition would take place on September 16. The court then adjourned the petition to September 30 and now citing lack of time, it has been deferred one more time to Tuesday, October 1.

Child rights expert Enakshi Ganguly and the first Chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Prof Shanta Sinha’s PIL on the alleged illegal detention of children in J&K was assigned to the Juvenile Justice Committee for a report two weeks ago. It has also been deferred and will be taken up by the Constitution bench on Tuesday.

The habeas corpus petition filed by CPI (M) General Secretary SitaramYechury for release of former J&K MLA M Y Tarigami also stands referred to the Constitution Bench.

Meanwhile the habeas corpus petition filed by MDMK leader Vaiko seeking the release of former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah who had been detained under the Public Safety Act has been dismissed.

No Response from the Centre
Even as Jammu and Kashmir enters the 58^th day of its lockdown and communication blockade, the Centre is yet to file counter-affidavits with regards to the petitions filed in the Supreme Court questioning its actions.

When the invasion of the civil liberties of the people is in question, the Government is required, under law and the Constitution, to explain the statutory basis for any measures it takes and how they are justifiable. The Government must also show the proportionality of these measures and make it clear why a lesser degree of infringements will not meet the government’s stated objectives.

Unfortunately, even after several weeks, no explanation has come forward by the Government.

The court had asked the Centre and State of J&K to file their ‘respective affidavits’ to the petitions on September 16. However, it did re-iterate this in an order –directing that affidavits are filed before referring matters to the Constitution Bench —on September 30.

SuhrithParthasarathy, Advocate of Madras HC and commentator on constitutional matters expressed his apprehension about the delay and said, “If the government believes its decision on Article 370 is justified, then it should be able to justify it on the basis of an expeditiously filed response.”

Constitutional law scholar, Advocate Gautam Bhatia said, “By failing to put its reasons on record, the government is styming constitutional accountability. The court should not indulge it any further.”

Setting the Right Priorities?
The decision of the Supreme Court to hear matters of a religious dispute over sensitive life and liberty matters related to Kashmir have not only come as a rude shock to the people but also have shaken up their trust in the judiciary.

With liberty and the right to free speech being severely limited, with the restrictions on travel and movement of Opposition leaders and journalists, the repressive characteristics of the move show that the courts are allowing the government to violate fundamental rights in the name of national security.

Related Articles:

Abrogation of Article 370: SC refers petitions to Constitution Bench, issues notices to Center
Vaiko moves SC, asks where is Farooq Abdullah?

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Indians ‘need to place themselves’ in position of Kashmiris to understand their travails

Mon, 30 Sep 2019 05:18:45 +0000

When the former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Farooq Abdullah was absent in Parliament on the day when the state’s fate was being decided on August 5, 2019, Home Minister Amit Shah informed Parliament that he had chosen on his own will not to come to the Parliament. He even went to the extent of saying that he can’t bring Farooq Abdullah to the Parliament on gun point.

Farooq Abdullah

Farooq Abdullah had claimed that he was under house arrest. When Rajya Sabha member Vaiko, who wanted to invite Farooq Abdullah to a programme in Tamil Nadu, moved a habeas corpus petition seeking production of Farooq Abdullah before the court to set him free, the government imposed Public Safety Act on the 81 years old politician on 16 September finally formally detaining him.

This implies that Farooq Abdullah was under illegal detention for over a month and the Home Minister lied to Parliament. Two other former chief ministers of state Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti are also under similar house arrest.

Amit Shah has also claimed that three families have looted J&K implying that the act of abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A was in effect freeing the people from the clutches of these families. If what the government claims about situation being in J&K being normal and everybody there being happy with its decision, such behaviour of the government only betrays its insecurity about its inability to handle the situation once the restrictions are lifted.

Farooq Abdullah happens to be the son of Sheikh Abdullah, easily the most popular mass leader of J&K till date. Even though Sheikh Abdullah was fighting against the Maharaja of J&K to free the people from his autocratic rule and was sentenced for imprisonment by the Maharaja, when the Maharaja signed the Instrument of Accession with Governor General Lord Mountbatten he informed the Governor General that he intended to set up an interim government and sought Sheikh Abdullah’s help in assisting his Prime Minister in the emergency situation.

Lord Mountbatten also expressed satisfaction that the Maharaja had invited Sheikh Abdullah to be part of the interim government. Sheikh Abdullah was appointed as the head of emergency administration with the consent of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru and the Maharaja and his Prime Minister left for Jammu virtually leaving it to Sheikh Abdullah to defend Srinagar.

The series of events highlights the important role of Sheikh Abdullah in accession of J&K to India. Sheikh Abdullah having received his education in different parts of India, was inspired by the progressive values of freedom struggle and played an important role in aligning J&K with the leaders of Indian freedom struggle rather than with Pakistan. Mohammad Ali Jinnah had laid a claim on J&K because of its majority Muslim population.

By subjecting Farooq Abdullah to humiliation the historical role played by Sheikh Abdullah and Jawaharlal Nehru is bringing J&K to India’s fold is being sought to be negated by the Bhartiya Janata Party government at the centre. This humiliation of people of J&K can never be understood unless the people of India who support the Narendra Modi government’s decision on J&K place themselves in the position of people of J&K.

Imaginary scenario

Let us imagine that in a meeting of the Security Council of United Nations, United States and England decide that the Government of India is unable to administer the country on the count of having lost control over law and order or the economy going bankrupt and an administrator needed to be sent to govern it.
An administrator arrives from England to India purportedly to help the Indian government administer the country. Along with him also arrives UN Peacekeeping force. Security personnel belonging to different nationalities comprise this force. As they are not familiar with the citizens of India they enforce a regime where they require every citizen to produce an identity card to identify themselves when out in open.

Citizens of India are subjected to routine questioning and examination. The security forces also enter houses for search. At times there are human rights violations by the security forces. When the local population resists pellet guns are used on it in which sometimes even children caught in the crossfire lose their eyes.

Some idealistic youth inspired by historical characters of Bhagat Singh or Chandrashekhar Azad, when try to counter the forces through militant means, are declared as terrorists. They are arrested and tried or sometimes even summarily executed which are described as encounter deaths. The elected government feels helpless in the presence of an outside administrator and the security forces.

By subjecting Farooq Abdullah to humiliation, historical role played by Sheikh Abdullah and Nehru in bringing J&K to India’s fold is being negated

When the revolt crosses a threshold limit, the foreign administrator recommends to the Security Council that Government of India had lost all control over the country and needed to be dismissed. Although Russia and China could have vetoed this decision but they keep quiet as they’re more sympathetic to Pakistani interests. The administrator’s status is now enhanced to Governor General. He promises early elections but keeps postponing them on one pretext or the other.

Suddenly, one day the quantum of UN force is increased, all communication network within the country and with outside world are disrupted, all institutions shut down, all foreign tourists advised to return to their countries and important leaders of all political parties, including Narendra Modi and Sonia Gandhi, are placed under house arrest.

A resolution is passed in the British parliament that India’s independent status as a country is being revoked and henceforth it would be treated as a British colony. For the record consent of the Governor General is taken as the representative of the people of India. The Queen of England becomes its sovereign.
There are some murmurs from around the world but because of the of the management of media all dissenting voices emanating from within India or from outside are muffled. Some Indian citizens are produced on national and international media who support the unilateral decision arguing that British rule was far superior to the Independent Indian government’s rule which essentially allowed the politicians in power to loot the country. All local politicians are painted as villains and British rule is projected as something in the interest of the common people of this country.

If any citizen of India feels indignation with this above described imaginary scenario then s(he) should feel empathy for the people of J&K.
—
*Magsaysay award winning social and political activist. Contact: ashaashram@yahoo.com

First Published on https://www.counterview.net/

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