HOLD INDIA ACCOUNTABLE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN KASHMIR
HOLD INDIA ACCOUNTABLE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN KASHMIR
The Issue
Kashmir, a region of contention between India and Pakistan is the most militarized region in the world.
In the Indian administered Kashmir, Armed Forces Special, the Public Safety Act and martial laws that give Indian troops complete impunity, have resulted in gross violation of human rights that have occurred under their watch, according to a United Nations report. These include gang rapes by military and mass disappearances of approximately 8,000 to 10,000 people. As many as 100,000 Kashmiris have been killed and several thousand wounded and blinded through torture tactics.
To put the extent of atrocities into perspective, recounting the events only from last week:
On 14th May, 2020, Peer Merajuddin, a 23-year-old, was killed when Police Force opened fire at his vehicle at a checkpoint on the Srinagar-Gulmarg highway in Kashmir on Wednesday. The officials of the police force, claim the civilian had allegedly sped past two checkpoints, prompting the troopers to open fire. However, an assistant sub inspector in J&K police, Shah, who was in the car with Merajuddin says he was murdered in cold blood.
On 20th May 2020, a dozen homes were reduced to rubble during a gun battle between ‘rebel’ commander, Junaid Ahmed Sehrai and Indian security forces in Srinagar, the main city in Indian-administered Kashmir. While justifying destruction in the name of collateral damage has become commonplace in Kashmir, some residents also accused Indian forces of intentionally setting civilian homes on fire and looting valuables, including cash and jewelry.
This is just a short account of the two ‘main’ events from last week in Kashmir, a land otherwise dotted with atrocities committed by armed forces. This petition calls to hold the Indian state accountable for the acts of brutality committed against civilians in Kashmir.
The Economist Intelligence Unit, in their Democracy Index ranking reported that India slipped 10 places to the 51st position in 2019. According to the report the main cause of the democratic regression was the erosion of civil liberties. The extent of these civil liberties violation is reflected in the Human Rights Watch report for the year 2019, a large part of which discusses Kashmir.
While in other parts of the country Kashmiri students and businessmen were beaten, harassed and forcibly evicted in India following a suicide attack on Indian troops by Pakistan-based militants, thousands of Kashmiris living in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, including activists, lawyers and journalists were detained without charge by the Indian state, following the revoking of article 370 in the state. The revoking of article 370 means stripping Jammu and Kashmir of the autonomy provided to it by the Indian constitution. Fearing Kashmiris might protest the revocation, additional military troops were deployed to the region and internet and phone services were shut down, resulting in the longest standing lockdown in any democratic country.
According to Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch, “Many of the thousands arbitrarily arrested – lawyers, shop owners, traders, students, rights activists – have now been released, but reportedly only after promising not to criticize the government. Police admitted at least 144 children had been detained.”
Being an Indian Muslim, this petition is not the easiest thing for me to file as several young Muslims continue being detained during the COVID-19 pandemic by the police for their alleged role in organizing protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which is considered discriminatory towards Muslims.
I have grown up seeing Kashmir being stripped of its Human Rights and confused my choice to stay silent with allegiance to my country, India and did it partly because of the horror of not being seen as an ‘acceptable’ Muslim.
But today I know— no fear is bigger than the pain and anger of Kashmiris and that patriotism is not a zero-sum game, your love for your country should not stop you from calling it out.
Sources and further reading:
- https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/india
- https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/01/17/india-failing-kashmiri-human-rights
- https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/india-falls-to-51st-position-in-eius-democracy-index/articleshow/73519661.cms?from=mdr
- https://apdpkashmir.com
- https://theconversation.com/call-the-crime-in-kashmir-by-its-name-ongoing-genocide-120412
- https://theconversation.com/how-to-be-an-ally-with-kashmir-war-stories-from-the-kitchen-121801
- https://www.trtworld.com/opinion/india-s-settler-colonial-project-in-kashmir-should-force-the-world-to-act-31848
7,349
The Issue
Kashmir, a region of contention between India and Pakistan is the most militarized region in the world.
In the Indian administered Kashmir, Armed Forces Special, the Public Safety Act and martial laws that give Indian troops complete impunity, have resulted in gross violation of human rights that have occurred under their watch, according to a United Nations report. These include gang rapes by military and mass disappearances of approximately 8,000 to 10,000 people. As many as 100,000 Kashmiris have been killed and several thousand wounded and blinded through torture tactics.
To put the extent of atrocities into perspective, recounting the events only from last week:
On 14th May, 2020, Peer Merajuddin, a 23-year-old, was killed when Police Force opened fire at his vehicle at a checkpoint on the Srinagar-Gulmarg highway in Kashmir on Wednesday. The officials of the police force, claim the civilian had allegedly sped past two checkpoints, prompting the troopers to open fire. However, an assistant sub inspector in J&K police, Shah, who was in the car with Merajuddin says he was murdered in cold blood.
On 20th May 2020, a dozen homes were reduced to rubble during a gun battle between ‘rebel’ commander, Junaid Ahmed Sehrai and Indian security forces in Srinagar, the main city in Indian-administered Kashmir. While justifying destruction in the name of collateral damage has become commonplace in Kashmir, some residents also accused Indian forces of intentionally setting civilian homes on fire and looting valuables, including cash and jewelry.
This is just a short account of the two ‘main’ events from last week in Kashmir, a land otherwise dotted with atrocities committed by armed forces. This petition calls to hold the Indian state accountable for the acts of brutality committed against civilians in Kashmir.
The Economist Intelligence Unit, in their Democracy Index ranking reported that India slipped 10 places to the 51st position in 2019. According to the report the main cause of the democratic regression was the erosion of civil liberties. The extent of these civil liberties violation is reflected in the Human Rights Watch report for the year 2019, a large part of which discusses Kashmir.
While in other parts of the country Kashmiri students and businessmen were beaten, harassed and forcibly evicted in India following a suicide attack on Indian troops by Pakistan-based militants, thousands of Kashmiris living in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, including activists, lawyers and journalists were detained without charge by the Indian state, following the revoking of article 370 in the state. The revoking of article 370 means stripping Jammu and Kashmir of the autonomy provided to it by the Indian constitution. Fearing Kashmiris might protest the revocation, additional military troops were deployed to the region and internet and phone services were shut down, resulting in the longest standing lockdown in any democratic country.
According to Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch, “Many of the thousands arbitrarily arrested – lawyers, shop owners, traders, students, rights activists – have now been released, but reportedly only after promising not to criticize the government. Police admitted at least 144 children had been detained.”
Being an Indian Muslim, this petition is not the easiest thing for me to file as several young Muslims continue being detained during the COVID-19 pandemic by the police for their alleged role in organizing protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which is considered discriminatory towards Muslims.
I have grown up seeing Kashmir being stripped of its Human Rights and confused my choice to stay silent with allegiance to my country, India and did it partly because of the horror of not being seen as an ‘acceptable’ Muslim.
But today I know— no fear is bigger than the pain and anger of Kashmiris and that patriotism is not a zero-sum game, your love for your country should not stop you from calling it out.
Sources and further reading:
- https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/india
- https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/01/17/india-failing-kashmiri-human-rights
- https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/india-falls-to-51st-position-in-eius-democracy-index/articleshow/73519661.cms?from=mdr
- https://apdpkashmir.com
- https://theconversation.com/call-the-crime-in-kashmir-by-its-name-ongoing-genocide-120412
- https://theconversation.com/how-to-be-an-ally-with-kashmir-war-stories-from-the-kitchen-121801
- https://www.trtworld.com/opinion/india-s-settler-colonial-project-in-kashmir-should-force-the-world-to-act-31848
7,349
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Petition created on May 23, 2020