Image courtesy Danish Renzu

One can’t ignore them. One can’t simply shut them up, put them behind bars and stifle their voices. The true story of Kashmir and its people must be heard. Kashmiri voices cannot be suppressed and snatched away by force. It’s inhumane, unjust, unnatural and catastrophic at the same time. Yet it happened. And we can’t allow it any longer.

I left everything in the States to return to Kashmir, so that I could tell stories from Kashmir. I realised there was so much that hasn’t been depicted on the big screen. The culture, the music, the tradition, the language, and of course the pain of Kashmiri people who have been living through conflict for over seven decades. I had a dream to revive cinema back in the valley, so that stories of Kashmir can be heard. There were so many untold narratives, in every gully, in every kocha and in every mohalla. A story of a commoner who has been indirectly or directly affected by the conflict in Kashmir, and they have been forbidden to come out and tell their story. I realised cinema is the strongest medium to bring these stories to worldwide audiences: stories of local Kashmiri people’s day to day life, their hopes and their dreams. They dream for a conflict free Kashmir. They live in fear and uncertainty, under suffocating curfews. The hartals, demonstrations and killings continue. So many of them simply want to be able to have a meal with their family and just live another day. Their story must be heard.

As I explored more, I came up with my first feature Half Widow set in Kashmir with a cast of Kashmiri actors. Doordarshan still owed them dues from the last six years, so they were craving for work and recognition as artists. When I auditioned them, I was surprised by the emotions they carried and how they understood the nuances of tragedy and pain. We’re all connected by pure human emotion of pain and sorrow. All Kashmiris had it in them, and I hoped that this film could bring this out. They would be able to express this through dialogues and by no dialogues, through emotional scenes we crafted, by wearing their own clothes and by filming in real locations. I was able to capture plethora of real emotions while we shot the film with actors and non-actors. The story depicted the plight of a local Kashmiri woman who had lost her dear one in the conflict and was living a life of limbo, hoping that he’ll return one day, hoping for that day when she would hold his hand and go for a walk again. Perhaps he’s alive. But years pass by and there is no sign of her beloved. She lives in limbo and the only way she was able to express her plight is through writing. Through speech and by finding her voice, she is free again. She is able to forget the tragedy and pain and become complete again. Such was the narrative and such is the story of every Kashmiri. They’re people who’ve lost so much in this conflict: Their loved ones, their homes, their identity their opportunity to grow and learn and their opportunity to become a strong voice. I just realized they’re actually artists. They’re artists looking for a platform to express their plight and their values, what they’ve gained and what they’ve lost. They’re artists. They’re born to it.

The last few days brought back how the situation was in the 90s. Kashmir is disconnected from the rest of the world and nothing can go or come out of the valley at the moment. Troops are everywhere. Roads are closed. Voices are snatched away from the people and they’re not allowed to share their plight. Their birth-rights have been snatched away. They should be able to speak up and express their, their frustrations and their will. It’s their basic freedom of speech that should not have been snatched away from them. They’re a people who’ve suffered for too long.  They shouldn’t have to suffer anymore. They will suffocate if not allowed to speak or to breathe or to be who they are. They are being caged, when they’re meant to be free. One can’t imprison a voice forever. It’ll find a way out. It’ll find a way and become a revolution. The artist in one can never die, and they eventually do find a way to perform. Their stories will be told. 

The rise of artists from Kashmir in film, music and visual media industry is a revolution of its own. Artists from Kashmir have finally found a platform to vent out their pain, be it through pictures, poetry, films or music. In every cafe you’ll find Kashmiri youth holding a guitar, or a mic or even a camera. The rise of social media has only made it easier for them to share their talent with the world and tell their stories. The rise of artists in Kashmir has given rise to a new revolution. We hope that stories from Kashmir reach out to the world so that they understand what Kashmir is really about. How long are they going to be banned? The true story will definitely come out and it’s the core responsibility of filmmaker’s like us that we never fail the narrative of Kashmir. It must speak the truth yet to empower and free the artist in us all.

Bio: A native of Kashmir and alumnus of UCLA, film director Danish Renzu hopes to inspire a new generation of Kashmiri filmmakers to practice their art as a force for unity in the region. He has directed several short films including the award-winning “In Search of America, Inshallah” (2014). His first film Half Widow (2017) showcases the plight of a Kashmiri half widow and received rave reviews worldwide when it premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival. The Illegal (2019) stars Academy winning Life of Pi star Suraj Sharma in the lead. It explores the life of an immigrant in Los Angeles and his journey towards the American dream. His upcoming film Pashmina, set for release next year, tells the tales of several Kashmiri lives upended by decades of strife.

Courtesy: Indian Cultural Forum

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Briefing the media about “the unfortunate incident”, Director General of Police (Law & Order) Anand Kumar and Additional Director General of Police (Lucknow) Rajeev Krishna, said they had arrested the accused, who were identified as Bajrang Sonkar, Amar, Himanshu and Anirrudh.
Sonkar, who was arrested earlier, is affiliated to the Vishwa Hindu Dal (VHD) and has a dozen criminal cases registered against him including one of murder, Senior Superintendent of Police Kalanidhi Naithani said.

The attackers were initially booked under the Indian Penal Code, but non-bailable offences have also been included now, he added.
The officials also said that the victims have been assured of security to carry out their business and have been provided medical care and compensation for the losses they incurred.

The attack took place on Wednesday when a group of saffron-robed youths came out of a car and pounced on the Kashmiri men who were selling dry fruits on the Daliganj Bridge. The vendors were beaten up mercilessly, witnesses said, and their wares were thrown around.
The attackers called the victims “stone-pelters” and asked them to produce their Aadhaar cards. The Kashmiris obliged but the attackers continued to beat them.

No one came to the rescue of the victims. It was only after someone called the police that the Kashmiris were saved.

Two of the injured vendors went away before police arrived there but a third, identified as Afzal, was taken to the local police station. Afzal was questioned for over an hour before an acquaintance vouched for him.

No FIRs were registered against the attackers initially. It was only after a video of the incident went viral on the social media that police did so.
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah condemned the brutality. “Nothing will do more damage to the idea of India in Jammu and Kashmir than videos like these,” he said in a series of tweets along with the video post.

“Keep thrashing Kashmiris like this on the streets at the hands of RSS/Bajrang Dal goons and then try to sell the idea of ‘atoot ang’ (unbreakable part), it simply won’t fly.”

He called upon Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who is also the Lucknow MP, to punish “those guilty of this assault”.

Courtesy: Two Circle
 

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A group of childrens offering funeral prayers of a militant in Kashmir. PIC Kamran Yousf

No one has an easy life in Kashmir, but can we even begin to imagine the kind of pressure, anger, disbelief, frustration and general helplessness that a school student in Kashmir undergoes? A student in a town like Shopian, for example, might consider himself lucky just to be alive: they have seen their friends being shot, injured, and arrested. As a Kashmiri teenager, what do you do? Not protest against the occupation? That might still get you caught in a crossfire. Keep quiet and focus on your studies? How do you do that when there is an encounter happening right next to your house? Or when tear gas shells land inside your house?

In December, two teenagers–Saqib Majeed and Mudassir Paray–became another statistic in Kashmir. They were killed in an encounter with security forces and Indian media barely noticed the fact that the two ‘militants’ were 17 and 14 years old It made no difference. What forces a 15-year-old to pick up a gun? What forces a 12-year-old to pick a stone to hurl at security forces? What makes a 17-year-old believe that death at the hands of Indian forces is a better option that living a ‘normal’ life?

In this 6-part series, TwoCircles.net’s Kashmir correspondent Auqib Javeed looks at all the aspects of being a teenager in Kashmir: a militant, a protester, a mere bystander and a victim. If you pick a gun, you will be labelled a militant and shot; if you pick a stone, you will be labelled ‘anti-India’ and arrested and put in juvenile homes. If you are lucky, you will only be beaten up a little; if you are not, you will end up with bruises that will never leave you. And if you do neither, you still stand a very high chance of ending up being arrested or killed.

In the last of the six-part series, Javeed speaks with Dr Arshad Hussain, one of the leading psychiatrist of the Kashmir. Dr Hussain, who has been practising for over two decades, warns that the ongoing conflict is having a severe and irreparable damage of the minds of the teenagers. The following are the excerpts:

Dr. Arshad Hussain

Just as we provide good nutrition to our children for their physical development, we also need to provide an environment of love and carefree of abuse and violence for their normal mental development. The environment free of violence will lead to the making of good humans. Any kind of abuse to children, be it physical, sexual or verbal has the worst impact one can imagine on their mental health. It traumatises them, and many times to an extent that they are not able to live beyond this trauma. It leaves them with a permanent scar on their lives. If adults get traumatised they usually manifest: either they will cope (carry on) or they might succumb (post-traumatic stress) but in case of children, it damages their development, which actually means what kind of person they become later on depends upon how they processed their traumas.

What is the outcome of these traumas on the children?

When humans face trauma generally there could be three kinds of outcomes, a positive outcome, a negative outcome and a neutral outcome. In most cases, we find a neutral outcome- which means kids are traumatised but they try to move on with family support, peer support, social networking and bonding. Culture provides an important buffer from helping them not to slide into the black hole of trauma. It remains a scar they don’t forget it but they modulate it in a way that they still live a normal life.

However, in many cases, trauma leads to mental health problems. Some of them become complex in nature; where they re-enact their own traumas by traumatising others, hence having serious consequences for societies putting them into a vicious cycle of trauma the whirlpool from which they are not able to emerge unscathed.

What has been your experience in dealing with the children in Kashmir?

The current environment in Kashmir is unfortunately filled with traumatising events which are not good for the development of a child. This is an atmosphere of fear and for children, there is trauma and violence being played over and over again. I hope and pray that our kids imbibe this fear and trauma and modulate and process it in a way that they fight for justice without the need for vengeance and don’t fall into the dark hole of trauma. But if my optimism doesn’t come true, we are looking at serious mental health morbidity.

What needs to be done according to you?

As a mental health professional, I hate violence. If we want a non-violent society we have to work towards the same. You have to create that kind of atmosphere. You can’t dream of a peaceful society when you use non-violent methods. We can discuss, debate, agree to disagree and incentivise peaceful modes of protest. History has taught us that trauma begets trauma. If you traumatise now you are investing in a violent future. You can disagree with others, but what is wrong with listening? You use violent methods you will get it back. If we want a peaceful atmosphere we have to incentivise peaceful methods of dissent.

Courtesy: Two Circle
 

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In a passionately penned letter to President Ramnath Kovind, in the aftermath of the Pulwama massacre, Admiral Ramdas, former chief of the Indian Navy has urged restraint and sagacity in dealing with the aftermath.  Recognising that there is anger after the loss of over ‘forty precious lives’ of the jawans,  he has deplored the attacks on innocent Kashmiris all over India. In the strongest terms he has condemned the war hysteria being whipped up by television channels especially the ‘war hysteria’ against Kashmiris our own people.
 
Appealing to the Indian President as Head of the Nation and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, he has stated in no uncertain terms that we cannot afford a war. ” It is imperative that the situation should not be allowed to escalate into greater hostilities which it might not always be possible to contain. As the Supreme Commander, you must caution our own leaders about the very real dangers of the present standoff escalating into a war situation – and quickly going beyond a conventional engagement – given that both India and Pakistan are two nuclear armed countries.”
 
The entire test of the letter may be read here. It was despatched to the Rashtrapati Bhavan four days ago and is being made public now. Two days ago, at a meeting held by Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) and Indian Muslims for Secular democracy (IMSD) in Mumbai Admiral Ramdas had, similarly called for both justice and peace.
 
Dear Shri Kovind ji,
This is Admiral Ramdas –‐ former Chief of the Naval Staff, writing to you yet again – this time on the tragic deaths of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Jawans in the IED attack on their
convoy in Pulwama on Feb 14th 2019 and subsequent events. Over forty precious lives, belonging to the CRPF were lost in the service of the Nation on February 14, 2019. This was indeed a despicable act, and a tragic event, and those guilty must be punished.

While the event has understandably evoked strong and angry reactions from every corner of the country and all sections of the people, it is also clear that such an event should never have happened on such an important strategic highway, especially in view of some reports that speak of there having been some intelligence reports to this effect in possession of the police and Intelligence agencies.

It is reported that this attack was planned and executed by the Jaish e Mohammed [JEM].There are questions as to how and why a lone vehicle packed with RDX was able to penetrate a convoy and wreak such havoc, these and many more questions will no doubt be the subject of internal inquiries both by the CRPF and other agencies of the State. As a former head of the Navy and Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, and also someone who, after retirement in 1993 has devoted most of his time in the pursuit of peace with Pakistan by pushing for a people to people dialogue, my concerns, are listed below.
 
1. We must resolve the Kashmir problem through dialogue which must involve all three partners to the dispute – namely, the people of J&K, India and Pakistan. This is a position I have advocated for several decades now – after having studied the intractable nature of what is popularly called the K word, but which has continued to extract a heavy toll on both countries and above all on the suffering of the unfortunate people of Jammu and Kashmir.
 
We continue to proclaim that they are an integral part of India. If indeed that is so, then they must be treated as such, as equal citizens –‐ be they in Jammu, the Valley or in Ladakh . Had we done that we would have been less likely to see the levels of alienation, especially of young people.
 
2. If both countries are willing to engage each other on the Kartarpora corridor – then why not on the LOC, and other core concerns around Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). The sooner we make it known that we are open to dialogue with all stakeholders and begin this process in all seriousness and sincerity, the more likely we are to make some headway with the people in J&K.
 
3. If a young Adil can blow himself up in the cause of freedom, Aazadi or the long promised autonomy for Kashmir, it is the strongest indicator yet of the levels of anger and alienation that the youth of the state are experiencing today. No amount of force as part of the avowedly “muscular” Kashmir policy can quell this. We must act now and sit across the table and have an honest dialogue with all parties concerned. It might already be too late.
 
4. The most serious fallout of this attack on our jawans in Awantipora has been the unprecedented outbreak of harassment, mob violence, attacks, insults and abuse levelled at many Kashmiris across the country. Soon this might spill over to Muslims across India. We CANNOT allow this to continue and spread with dire consequences which are hard to assess.
 
5. The only solution is political and not military. And a political solution must involve a genuine and continuous dialogue with the people of Kashmir – including dissidents and separatists; the Govt of Pakistan and the Govt of India.
 
WHAT CAN BE DONE – IMMEDIATELY
 In your capacity as the Head of State and our Supreme Commander, and the oath you have taken to uphold the Constitution, I urge you to take steps as outlined below, which is entirely within your command, and a part of your duty and responsibility:–‐
 
a. It is imperative that the situation should not be allowed to escalate into greater hostilities which it might not always be possible to contain. As the Supreme Commander, you must caution our own leaders about the very real dangers of the present standoff escalating into a war situation – and quickly going beyond a conventional engagement – given that both India and Pakistan are two nuclear armed countries.
 
b. The decisions on next steps must be taken with due diligence, and weighing all the options and their implications . We cannot allow the hysterical media anchors and social media anger to influence or pressurise decisions at the highest level. The atmosphere at present is by no means conducive to decisions being taken in a calm and considered manner – with emotions and reactions being inflamed and incited in an often deliberate and irresponsible manner.
 
c. Let India take the high moral ground by declaring an unconditional Hold Fire – pending detailed enquiries into the attack on the convoy in Pulwama . This way we will ensure that the facts are investigated, and the truth behind the attack be established without delay. I am sure that this will have a salutary effect and ensure seamless actions further ahead.
 
d. We must immediately put a halt to the terrible media war being waged on innocent Kashmiris who are going about their business quietly in towns and cities across the country . This message must come from the highest level – and the Honorable Prime Minister must be advised that he can halt this current backlash in minutes if he so chooses, by issuing stern and clear warnings against any violence and threats and harassment against citizens – be they Kashmiri or indeed Muslim citizens. , through every channel, cadre and social media. To avoid aggravating the present situation of fear and insecurity and preventing further bloodshed, action on this must be taken with utmost speed.
 
e. Enable an impartial and independent Judicial Enquiry . This group should comprise serving judges of the Supreme court.
 
The Nation as a whole seems to be going through a lot of uncertainties especially about the threats of retaliation. Such posturing, especially between two nuclear armed states, is highly risky. This time around we may not be able to contain this to the conventional type of warfare. The situation is even more delicate given the impending elections, communal disturbances and fears of breakdown of law and order.
 
We must not allow any of the above to happen. We have a lot of strategic and human interests in (J&K) and the country as a whole and we must protect both these. This can only happen by winning the hearts and minds of the people , especially of Jammu & Kashmir. Let us remember that Military Force can never erase an “IDEA”. We need to do some serious reflection of our own policies and conduct these past 70 years.

With regards
Yours sincerely
L.Ramdas
P.S. Admiral Ramdas held his position with the forces with distinction.  He has been awarded the prestigious PVSM, AVSM, VrC, VSM Medals of Honour for Bravery besides also being a Magsaysay Awardee for Peace
 

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Breaking his 32-day long silence on Kashmir, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made a statement which is full of empty political rhetoric, lacking substance to address the real issue concerning political aspiration of Kashmiris.

“It is said that boys who should be holding laptops, cricket bats have been handed stones in their hands,” Modi said while addressing a rally in Madhya Pradesh’s Alirajpur district. This irresponsible and juvenile statement stereotyped Kashmiris as gullible and naïve who are ready to pick up a stone at someone’s behest.

“Every Indian loves Kashmir. The freedom that every Indian has also belongs to every Kashmiri. We want the same bright future for every youth in Kashmir,” he said. Bright future after blinding them forever with pellets! In which place other than Kashmir have the government forces killed 60 civilians, injured 6,000 and made over 300 blind in a span of 30 days, he wouldn’t bother to explain.

“Whatever Kashmiris want for betterment of their livelihood, the Centre will help. We want development for Jammu and Kashmir. Be it the J&K government under Mehbooba Mufti or the central government, we are finding solution to all problems through development,” he added. The development of pellet guns and bullets, perhaps!

For rhetorical purpose alone, Modi again invoked Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s famous words to end up saying nothing concrete how to address the Kashmir dispute politically: “There are ways, including dialogue, to resolve issues in a democracy. My government believes in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's mantra of "insaniyat, jamhuriyat and Kashmiriyat (humanity, democracy and Kashmiriyat)."

Modi’s silence over killings of 60 unarmed Kashmiris, grave pellet-and-bullet injuries to over 6,000 civilians and blinding of over 300 youths in the Kashmir Valley since July 9 is least surprising to most Kashmiris.

Modi’s silence over killings of 60 unarmed Kashmiris, grave pellet-and-bullet injuries to over 6,000 civilians and blinding of over 300 youths in the Kashmir Valley since July 9 is least surprising to most Kashmiris.

After all, it has been India’s ‘standard operating procedure’ (SOP) to speak to Kashmiris in a language of power since 1947 with a sole aim of criminalising their political struggle. In this endeavour of delegitimising Kashmiris’ struggle for the right to self-determination, understanding the language of India’s corporate-owned media and the armed forces operating in Kashmir becomes very critical.

For instance if 50,000 common Kashmiris, including women and children, will gather at a place to demonstrate peacefully for their political rights, the Indian media will use the word “miscreants” for such a huge assembly of people. Mind you, this is being done deliberately to mislead the common Indians that people in such colossal numbers have assembled at the behest of Pakistan, and, therefore, any amount of force used by government forces against them stands ‘justified’.

If everything in Kashmir is happening at Pakistan’s behest it is a telling remark on India’s own standing in Kashmir.

For the sake of an argument, if everything in Kashmir is happening at Pakistan’s behest it is a telling remark on India’s own standing in Kashmir. That is, however, another story.

Not only this, when the trigger-happy Indian paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and accountable-to-none armed forces open direct fire on peaceful and unarmed protesters, the injured are described as “stone pelters”, “miscreants”, “agitational terrorists” and “terrorist sympathisers”. This colonial language is employed by vast sections of the Indian media, especially television channels, and government forces to justify India’s colonial practices in Kashmir.

Here is an example. A statement issued by the J&K police media centre on August 8 reads: “….It is clarified that a mob of more than 2,000 miscreants assembled at main chowk Langate (north Kashmir) and started heavy stone pelting on deployment and police post Langate, due to which 38 police/security personnel were injured. While dispersing the mob, 11 miscreants were injured, most of them due to stampede out of which three of them were referred to Srinagar. The condition of all of them is stable…”

Now look at this statement carefully and focus on the choice of words. First, the police use the term “mob” for common people. Secondly, they are described as “miscreants”. Thirdly, they are then accused of “stone pelting” on deployment and police post, Langate in north Kashmir.

These are all blatant lies. The number of people participating in a demonstration is reduced by design. The people are shown as “perpetrators” and police as “victim”. Then derogatory terms are used to describe people and their actions or lack thereof. Police never comes up with solid evidence to prove that their men are indeed injured. If they are injured, they should be in the hospitals undergoing treatment. But that is not the case.

The question that arises is this: from where do the government forces gather such courage to peddle lies after lies in public domain? State’s shameless backing to violence against common people and a draconian law, which acts as a shield against persecution, are the two major factors behind this audaciousness.

When Omar Abdullah, former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir and working president of the pro-autonomy National Conference (NC), was running a coalition government with the Congress from 2009 to 2014, more than 117 persons, mostly boys in their teens, were mercilessly killed by government forces during the summer mass agitation. Not a single guilty armed forces person was punished till date.

This became possible because the armed forces enjoy impunity and a license to kill in Kashmir under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, AFSPA, which is in force in Jammu and Kashmir since 1990. The fact that hardly any perpetrator is punished only emboldens the armed forces to go berserk and enjoy a free run.

Even in 2008, when Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Congress were running a coalition government, more than 60 Kashmiri civilians, most of them in their teens, were killed when they were protesting against sanctioning of 99 acres of land to Amarnath Shrine Board.

Having said that, it may well be very convenient and politically very smart for the junior Abdullah to ask New Delhi whether “it has declared a war on the people in Kashmir*” at a juncture when the PDP is heading a coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir, but the fact remains that he too could not prevent civilians killings when he was at the helm of affairs in 2010.

"To blame Pakistan for the unrest or to delude ourselves into thinking this is a law and order situation is criminal. There is an extreme sense of resentment and disenchantment among the youth of the Valley and that is the basis of this unrest.” (Omar Abdullah)

On August 6, Omar Abdullah told this to India Today: “Has New Delhi declared a war on the people in Kashmir? Hundreds of young boys and girls have potentially life-changing injuries, most of them caused by pellet guns. Thousands of youngsters have sustained injuries in this unrest. To blame Pakistan for the unrest or to delude ourselves into thinking this is a law and order situation is criminal. There is an extreme sense of resentment and disenchantment among the youth of the Valley and that is the basis of this unrest.”

Indian media is at liberty to dub Omar Abdullah as “Pakistan sympathiser” for making a statement that he has made as an Opposition leader.

Look at another statement made the same day by yet another pro-India legislator Hakim Yasin, Peoples Democratic Forum (PDF) chief and MLA Khansahib Budgam, who said that the Indian forces were repeating Jallianwala Bagh massacre* in Kashmir on a daily basis.

“The way British used brute force on unarmed protesters at Jallianwala Bagh in 1919, forces in Kashmir are repeating the same in Kashmir every day. Why are unarmed protesters targeted by the forces in every nook and corner of Kashmir,” Hakim Yasin told the local media.

The Kashmir story that the corporate-owned Indian media won’t tell the ordinary Indian audiences is precisely this: Since July 9, 2016, at least 60 unarmed Kashmiris have been killed in cold blood by Indian armed forces; inflicting pellet and bullet injuries on 6,000 unarmed Kashmiris. Besides, more than 1,500 Kashmiri youth have been arrested, some in nocturnal raids for participating in demonstrations. At least 1,030 FIRs have been registered by the police for further persecution and harassment of the youth. And, the fact that Kashmiris are suffering under strict curfew and unprecedented restrictions enforced by the PDP-BJP government since July 9 along with a ban on mobile and data internet on all cellular services except the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), and with no outgoing call facility available to pre-paid mobile phone customers!

Last Friday, August 5, was Kashmir’s Bloody Friday. More than 400 Kashmiris received serious pellet-and-bullet injuries after government forces acted violently to stop people from demonstrating against the state violence across the length and breadth of Kashmir. Doctors at Srinagar’s Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) hospital told me that at least 324 youth, hit with the pellet guns, are on the verge of losing their eyesight permanently. Doctors said that most boys have been hit in the eye which has damaged their retina beyond repair. “We have performed as many as 65 surgeries until Monday morning,” Dr Raashid Maqbool said.

Dr Ruveda Salam, a lady IAS officer from north Kashmir working as assistant commissioner at ministry of finance, government of India, could not stop herself from speaking against the state violence.

On August 3, Dr Salam took a dig at chief minister Mehbooba Mufti and her PDP by writing this on her Facebook timeline: “From wooing voters while wearing colour #green to painting #red the same valley streets, and then they question the credentials of the same religion whose symbols they used to mask their evil deeds” #hypocrisy couldn't get worse than this !”

In response to her post, she was harassed by a senior police officer who also made a misogynist remark by dubbing Dr Salam as “ignorant lady”. Police officer Harmeet Singh Mehta threatened Dr Salam of government action as if he was the PDP’s spokesperson. “Government (PDP-BJP coalition government) must take action against you (Dr Ruveda Salam) as a civil servant spreading so much venum (venom) against state. Better resign and join some separatist group.”

Following the assassination of popular tech-savvy Hizb commander Burhan Wani on July 8 under mysterious circumstances in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, the massive Azadi rallies are being organised on a daily basis across the Kashmir Valley since. According to moderate estimates, at least 3,00,000 people had gathered in south Kashmir’s Tral, hometown of Burhan, to participate in his funeral. Such a huge assembly had already made a statement that India was losing a battle for narratives in Kashmir.

There are many in Kashmir feeling scared of India as a Hindutva project, this time led by a right-wing prime minister. Kashmiris feel under severe attack as they are victims of politics of invasion aimed at crushing their identity as Kashmiris and Kashmiri Muslims under a PDP-BJP coalition government.

There are many in Kashmir feeling scared of India as a Hindutva project, this time led by a right-wing prime minister. Kashmiris feel under severe attack as they are victims of politics of invasion aimed at crushing their identity as Kashmiris and Kashmiri Muslims under a PDP-BJP coalition government.

Even after 60 civilian killings and injuries to 6,000 Kashmiris in last 30 days, the state unit of the Hindu nationalist BJP has asked the government to deal with the current situation in the Kashmir Valley decisively and with an “iron hand”. State BJP spokesperson Virender Gupta said that there was no option for the government other than meeting the challenge posed by the “separatists and terrorists supported by Pakistan decisively and with an iron hand otherwise the situation will deteriorate further and it may not be possible to bring back normalcy in the Valley.”

At present the morale of the state police, CRPF and other security forces have gone down because of the recent happenings where lot of restrictions have been imposed on them,” Gupta told a news agency.

This is Kashmir’s story. And this Karbala is Kashmir’s ‘normalcy’ for which the Indian media obviously has no time. It will relentlessly debate cows, cow protection and cow vigilantism and how Modi beats the drums in Kenya, but will not gather moral courage to narrate Kashmir’s story with a human heart and an unbiased journalistic approach, shedding jingoistic spectacles and hyper-nationalistic binoculars. After all, India is a democracy and its image can’t be tarnished for the sake of 7.5 million Kashmiris!
 

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