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Mohammad Sayeed Malik
(from kashmirtimes)
Trapped between political disconnect between Delhi and Srinagar on the one hand and suffocating homeground-hostility on the other, mainstream political parties in Kashmir Valley are getting squeezed into a tight corner. The ‘nationalist’ portion of their agenda is already a casualty in the face of a radical shift in the local discourse. The setting is such that even mere talk of (assembly) elections sounds grossly incongruent, if not blasphemous. One has yet to find anyone willing to stand up and be counted unambiguously. It has never been so hazardous for them; not even in the run-up to the 1996 polls when militancy was at its peak. Obviously, collective sense of emotional hurt, fuelled by brazenly militaristic response to largely peaceful upsurge of protest, is politically more lethal than the fear of gun. Mainstream politics has been totally immobilised along with its ideological agenda although every Tom, Dick and Harry in that category is protected by hordes of state-provided gun-men. ‘Protected’ species is feeling like the most endangered species. Main reason being that Delhi’s inexplicable non-political attitude, smeared by perceived sectarian double standard in dealing with identical situations, is catalysing an over-powering social cohesion that is incompatible with mainstream politics.
Confused and confusing utterances of some of the mainstream ‘stars’ relating to topical issues, as also their body language, is quite revealing. It depicts the trajectory of conversion from an ‘Indian-Kashmiri’ to ‘Kashmiri-Indian’ and down to ‘Kashmiri’. Though vastly different in size, reach and stature, National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party, two main propellers of the mainstream politics in the Valley, more or less equally symbolise the predicament of surviving a hostile homeground. Their style of functioning is so cramped that it is difficult to determine their respective bearings in relation to key issues like elections and the prevailing ground situation. Positions keep changing, depending on time and space. Unfortunately for them both, times are getting worse, not better, and space is shrinking too, thanks to Delhi’s militaristic attitude.
This aspect of Delhi’s attitude is somewhat puzzling. Deliberately provocative conduct of the CRPF in dealing with the situation in the Valley suggests that there is method in the madness. Hospital sources confirmed that about 90 per cent of causalities were found with bullet wounds in and above abdomen, implying ‘shoot-to-kill’ orders. The ‘free hand’ given to paramilitary forces includes licence to vandalise private property, desecrate places of worship and humiliating local population. If the objective was to force ‘anti-national’ protestors into submission, the result is just the opposite. It is the ‘nationalist’ mainstream political camp which is feeling the squeeze.
With each passing day the resemblance between their body language and that of the ‘anti-national’ lobby is growing. Perhaps no one in Delhi is interested today in calculating the political cost of such adventurism which might have found some justification vis-a-vis armed insurgency. The ground situation in the Valley has changed qualitatively but Delhi’s response seems stuck in old grooves. Separatists cannot thank ‘India’ more for such a precious gift. Conversely, a right thinking ‘nationalist’ cannot curse them more for being denuded and left high and dry at a time when they were going great guns for the elections. That, however, is history now.It would be no surprise if, in the present adventurist mode, Delhi feels tempted to taking the suicidal course of holding assembly elections. The last two or three months have virtually laid out a graveyard for electoral politics.
It would be interesting to see how Delhi, which in Kashmir is synonymous with ‘India’, demolishes the fragile political assets it had painstakingly created over the past decade or so. Restoring partial credibility of electoral system with a respectable level of popular participation was one such asset. The difference between perception of what it was like way back in 1996 when assembly polls were held after a long pause and what it is today 2008 is that between the impact of non-state terrorism then and state terrorism now. Harsh analogy! But an unavoidable honest depiction.
(from greaterkashmir)
Srinagar, Sept 11: Fifty-year old Rafiq Ahmad felt nothing when a bullet fired by the CRPF troopers him in the shoulder, because, he says, he was numbed by the sight of the CRPF troopers savagely beating a man protecting his child from blows of the troopers.
Rafiq Ahmed was playing chess on August 25 in front of his home in Malbagh, Fateh Kadal when CRPF personnel trooped into the area and started beating up everyone who came in their way. Rafiq is diabetic and suffers from chronic back pain. Thus he was slow to respond to the onslaught of the troops.
But when I tried to run I couldn’t move because I was moved when I saw that a man was protecting his child from their blows. Then CRPF men saw me and made a sign to his colleague who shot at me, Rafiq said.
Whenever I recall that moment, when that father was saving his child, I forget my pain. The faces of the father and the son haunt me, Rafiq said.
Courtesy and Copyright of Greater Kashmir. com [link]
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Sister asked to show I-card
Arshad Me’raj
(from greaterkashmir.com)
Wagad, (Tral), Mar 11: “Show me your identity card and I will allow you to move forward,” an Army officer asked Parveena Akhter, sister of Majid Jehangir who was killed by troops at Aripal.
Parveena, wailing and weeping, was stopped by the troops at a barricade outside Aripal village. She had come from her husband’s home in Pampore to see the face of her brother for the last time. For an hour the troops did not allow her to enter the village.
Beseeching the Army officer with clasped hands, she said, “I want to see my brother.”
The officer however asked her to show that if she was carrying any identity card. “Don’t you know that it is obligatory to carry an I-Card with yourself in Kashmir,” he told Parveena.
“They have killed my brother and are now denying me to move,” Parveena told the reporters who were waiting near the barricade for army’s permission to enter the village.
On the persistent insistence of the media persons, the officer allowed Parveena and two of her family members to go ahead by foot.
The barricade was crowded with people who couldn’t make it to their homes last night due to the cordon maintained by the troops. “I went to relatives place and spent the night there,” a government employee wishing anonymity told Greater Kashmir adding the troops didn’t allowed to go yesterday.
Many women were seen waiting near the erected barricade and repeatedly urging the troops to allow them to go to their respective homes. “Our children are alone there, please allow us to go,” the women said.
The people waiting for the go ahead expressed apprehensions saying that army might harm their family. “The troops have been harassing us for long and this time they might harm our families,” they said.
Copyright and courtesy of Greater Kashmir. com [link]
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Tags: Freedom Struggle, Human Rights, Indian Army, Innocent Killings, Kashmir, Kilings, News, Police, Terrorism, Terrorism in Kashmir
Army’s killing spree continues–Murder two more youth at Tral
(from kashmirobserver.com)
SRINAGAR, MARCH 10 (KONS) |50 RR personnel posted at Aripal village in Tral shot dead two cililians after they failed to trace out a youth they were looking for on Saturday evening. The deceased have been identified as Jehangir Ahmad Khan and Ghulam Mohammad Mir, both government employees.
Eyewitnesses said that people urged the army men to release them but instead they pumped bullets into their bodies killing them instantly. After killing them in cold blood, the fleeing jawans fired several rounds into the air to disperese the angry mob. The bodies lied at the spot for several hours. People assembled again carrying the bodies while chanting of slogans against the army. The army blocked all points leading to the main road. It is learnt that army has made it mandatory for the people particularly the youth of Aripal village to attend the camp daily for forced labour. “They (Army Personnel) come to our houses if we fail to turn up for the labour,” said a youth who looked terrified.
The defence spokesperson however said that the civilians were killed in militant firing.The Tral town and its adjoining areas are shut under a protest strike over the civilian killings.
Copyright and courtesy of Greater Kashmir. com [link]
Copyright concern? email: media.kashmir [at] gmail.com
Tags: Freedom Struggle, Human Rights, India, Indian Army, Innocent Killings, Kashmir, Kilings, Massacre, News, Police, Terrorism, Terrorism in Kashmir
Valley’s youngest missing in custody still untraceable
Govt says he was killed; family demands body
Arif Shafi Wani
(from greaterkashmir.com)
Srinagar, Mar 7: Muhammad Iqbal Shah holds an unenviable distinction in the Valley of woes: he was 14 when BSF soldiers arrested him, never to return. Thus, he’s the youngest among thousands of Kashmiris who disappeared in custody.
Iqbal, a student of Wagoora Varmul, was working hard to pass his matriculation examination when troops of 163 battalion of paramilitary Border Security Force arrested him on March 13, 1995. “He was brutally tortured and all our attempts to rescue him proved futile,” his father Muhammad Yousuf said.
Though troops released his two classmates who were arrested a day before him, but there was no trace of Iqbal. The family approached the BSF camp but they denied his arrest.
“The assurances of the then Senior Superintendent of Police Muneer Khan, Deputy Commissioner and Lt. Gen M A Zaki, advisor to Governor, too proved futile,” Yousuf said.
Shattered, the family filed a Habeas Corpus petition in the High Court for locating the Iqbal’s whereabouts. On July 16, 1996, it directed the District and Sessions Judge Varmul to hold an inquiry.
After receiving the report, which confirmed the arrest of Iqbal, the Court finally disposed off the case on April 6 1999, with the direction to conduct an investigation and conclude the same in accordance with the law.
On Court directions a case under FIR no 88/99 under sections 346 RPC was registered at Police Station Varmul. Acting on court directions, District Magistrate Varmul formed a four-member committee comprising Additional District Magistrate Varmul as its Chairman, Deputy Superintendent of Police Varmul, Tehsildar and SHO Police Station Varmul as members.
“During the course of investigation all the legal formalities were completed, statements of witnesses were recorded and it was established that M C Heldar Deputy Commandant and J N Singh Assistant Commandant of 163 Battalion BSF are involved in the case and offence Sec 346 (abduction) has been proved against them,” the committee in its report said.
The Committee quoting a report of Director General of Police addressed to Principal Secretary on September 8, 2000 said, “On March 1995 personnel of BSF’s 163 battalion raided the house of Muhammad Iqbal, Muhammad Ibrahim and Ghulam Mohiuddin Mir of Wagoora. All of them were ruthlessly beaten in BSF vehicles towards Anantnag (Islamabad). Two of them namely Muhammad Ibrahim and Ghulam Muhammad were left in serious condition at unknown places whereas whereabouts of Muhammad Iqbal were not known.”
“After taking into consideration all aspects and reports received from different headquarters, we reached at the conclusion that Muhammad Iqbal Shah son of Muhammad Yousuf Shah of Wagoora, who was a student of 10th class is presumed to be killed and his dead body has been disposed off somewhere,” the report said.
“Despite the declaration that my son was killed by the BSF men, neither has his body been handed over to me nor the accused punished,” his father said.
“We have suffered enough for the past seven years, now we want justice,” he said.
Copyright and courtesy of Greater Kashmir. com [link]
Copyright concern? email: media.kashmir [at] gmail.com
Tags: Custodial Killing, Enforced Disappearance, Human Rights, Indian Army, Innocent Killings, Kashmir, Kilings, Terrorism, Terrorism in Kashmir
