INDIAN CITIZENS' STATEMENT ON KASHMIR JULY 12 , 2016
CITIZENS' STATEMENT
ON KASHMIR
JULY 12 , 2016
JULY 12 , 2016
We write this in
anguish at another alarming spiral of violence in Kashmir, when a discredited
old playbook has yet again been deployed to wreak havoc with civilian life. Kashmir’s escalating
violence follows a familiar pattern: a killing, a funeral where rage is vented
through slogans and stones, and volleys of lethal gunfire in response. In 2010,
this cycle rolled on repeatedly through four months, claiming over 110 lives,
mostly of Kashmiri youth, including a number who were too young to know.
Nothing has been
learnt from that year of catastrophe. The trigger for the current surge of
unrest in Kashmir was the killing on July 8 of Burhan Wani, a militant of the
Hizbul Mujahedin. The circumstances of Wani’s killing are yet to be fully
explained. It is nonetheless ironic that it occurred on the very day the Indian
Supreme Court issued a far-reaching judgment in the context of fake encounters
in the state of Manipur, emphasising the illegality of the use of excessive and
retaliatory force by the army, security forces and police. These strictures
apply even in disturbed areas under AFSPA. Kashmir is an arena where the
Supreme Court’s observations that the rule of law would apply “even when
dealing with the enemy”, and that indeed, whatever the challenges, “the country’s
commitment to the rule of law remains steadfast”, are breached on a daily
basis.
Available accounts of
Burhan Wani’s life in militancy indicate that he was as a 16-year old,
embittered and radicalised during the 2010 turmoil by the casual humiliations
heaped on ordinary Kashmiris by the mass deployments of security personnel. He
witnessed repeated violent incursions into his home and the harassment of near
relations in what are called “crackdowns”, in terminology that has entered the
youth argot of the valley. The death of his brother in a police encounter, when
he had nothing to do with the militancy, is believed to have further hardened
his resolve.
Burhan Wani’s life
story should be cautionary warning that the heavy-handed, militaristic Indian
approach to Kashmir, has only led to a quarter century of siege and growing
alienation. Wani’s funeral on July
9 in the southern Kashmir town of Tral witnessed a gathering of several tens of
thousands. As protests broke out in this and other locations, security forces
responded with maximum force. The death toll of thirty in a matter of three
days, tells its own grim story.
Excessive and
indiscriminate lethal force continues to be used for purposes of law
enforcement. This is in brazen contempt of the U.N. Basic Principles on the Use
of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, which do not allow for
departure even in exceptional circumstances such as internal political
instability or public emergency. Pellet guns, introduced in 2010 for crowd
control, purportedly on the ground that it injures and does not kill, have
caused permanent injuries and irreversible loss of eyesight to at least 92
young men.
The upsurge of civil
unrest comes after a long sequence of intelligence reports that flagged rising
discontent at the new political arrangements in Jammu and Kashmir. The BJP’s
arrival in the portals of power and its determined pursuit of a majoritarian
agenda, have much to do with this.
Curiously, the
intelligence warnings have focused on widening access to the internet and
social media as a disruptive influence. This diagnosis which focuses on the
symptoms rather than underlying realities, has fed directly into the shutdown
of internet services in Kashmir, the thirteenth such closure in three years.
Certain recent
observations of the Supreme Court, though made in reference to Manipur, bear
repetition as general principles. Mass deployment of the army and security
forces in aid of civil authorities always is predicated on the premise that
“normalcy would be restored within a reasonable period”. If normalcy is not
restored for a “prolonged or indeterminate period”, it would be firm evidence
of the “failure” of the civil administration or of the armed forces, or both.
Whatever the case, an unending state of unrest could not “be a fig leaf for
prolonged, permanent or indefinite deployment of the armed forces as it would
mock at our democratic process”.
The time is long past,
if ever there was one, when a solution to the Kashmir problem could be achieved
through force. Continuing recourse to this option and the prolonged and bloody
stalemate that has ensued, have fuelled a mood of anger and despair in Kashmir.
But with firmer iterations of the military option from the highest political
leadership, a dark mood has taken hold in the rest of the country, a doubling
down on the current strategy and a tendency to brush off every manifestation of
failure with hateful and intemperate rhetoric directed at the people of
Kashmir.
We recall the
statesmanship shown by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in 2003, when he
went to Srinagar during a particularly dark time, held out a “hand of
friendship” to Pakistan and said that the dialogue on Kashmir would be
held within the paradigm of humanity (insaaniyat ke daayre mein).
It is particularly unfortunate that no Union Minister has visited Kashmir in
this crisis and that the state leadership and elected legislators are
reportedly too insecure to venture out among the people.
We call for urgent
steps from the Central and State government to prevent civilians being killed
and injured, and immediate steps towards demilitarisation of the Valley
and an inclusive political initiative. This has to go along with an urgent
review of AFSPA, leading to its repeal alongside the entire constellation of
special security laws that reward atrocities on civilians and encourage
impunity. We urge all political parties to pressure the Government to open a
political dialogue in good faith with all relevant parties to ensure that the
bleeding wounds of Kashmir are staunched.
ABDULHAFIZ LAKHANI.
EDITOR GUJARAT SIYASAT. AHMEDABAD
ABHA BHAIYA, FOUNDER
AND DIRECTOR, JAGORI RURAL
ALI JAVED, PWA
AMAR KANWAR
AMBARISH RAI, NATIONAL
CONVENOR, RTE FORUM
AMIR RIZVI,
COMMUNICATION DESIGNER, MUMBAI
AMITADYUTI KUMAR, WORKING
PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION FOR PROTECTION OF DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS (APDR)
ANAMIKA PRIYADARSHINI,
PHD, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, COUNCIL FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
ANGANA CHATTERJI
ANITA GHAI, PROF IN
AMBEDKAR UNIVERSITY DELHI
ANJALI MONTEIRO PROF.
TISS, MUMBLE
ANJUMAN ARA BEGUM,
HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST, GUWAHATI, ASSAM
ANNIE NAMALA - SOCIAL
ACTIVIST
ANURADHA CHENOY, PROF.
JNU
ANURADHA KAPOOR,
SOCIAL ACTIVIST
APOORVANAND, PROF.
DELHI UNIVERSITY
ARUNA ROY
ARUNDHATI DHURU- NAPM
ASAD ASHRAF,
JOURNALIST
ASHISH KOTHARI, PUNE.
AYESHA KIDWAI, PROF
JNU
AZIMA, SOCIAL
ACTIVIST, GUJARAT
BABLOO LOITONGBAM
BIRAJ PATNAIK
BRP BHASKAR
CHAMAN
LAL, RETIRED PROF. JNU
CHAYANIKA SHAH
CLIFTON D' ROZARIO,
MANTHAN LAW, BENGALURU
DHRUVA NARAYAN,
MANAGING EDITOR, SAMAJIK
DINESH MOHAN
DR. AFTAB ALAM, DU,
ACADEMIC
DR. S. ANANDHI
DR. SANDEEP PANDEY
DR. UMAKANT,
INDEPENDENT SCHOLAR, NEW DELHI
DR. WALTER FERNANDES,
SENIOR FELLOW, NORTH EASTERN SOCIAL RESEARCH CENTRE
DUNU ROY, ENGINEER
FR CEDRIC PRAKASH,
HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST
GAUTAM CHAUDHURI
GAUTAM MODY, GENERAL
SECRETARY, NEW TRADE UNION INITIATIVE
HARSH KAPOOR
HASINA KHAN
HENRI TIPHAGNE HRDA _
INDIA
INDIRA JAISING
JAMES DABHI, SOCIAL
ACTIVIST, GUJARAT
JASHODHARA DASGUPTA,
SOCIAL ACTIVIST, NEW DELHI
JAVED MALICK
JAYA MENON, ARCHAEOLOGIST
JAYATI GHOSH, PROF JNU
JOHANNA LOKHANDE -
INDEPENDENT
K. M. SHRIMALI, FORMER
PROFESSOR, DELHI UNIVERSITY
K.P. JAYASANKAR PROF.
TISS, MUMBAI
KAMAL CHENOY, PROF.
JNU
KAMAYANI BALI MAHABAL,
FEMINIST AND HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST
KARTHIK BITTU,
UNIVERSITY OF HYDERABAD
KARUNA DIETRICH
WIELENGA, RESEARCHER, CHENNAI
KAVITA PANJABI, PROF.
JADAVPUR UNIVERSITY
KETAKI CHOWKHANI, PHD
STUDENT, TISS, MUMBAI.
KUMAR SUNDARAM, CNDP
MADHURESH, NAPM
MADHUSREE DUTTA,
FILMMAKER, MUMBAI
MAITREYI KRISHNAN,
MANTHAN LAW, BENGALURU
MALINI SUBRAMANIAM
MANISHA SETHI, JAMIA
MILLIA ISLAMIA, NEW DELHI.
MANNIKA CHOPRA,
MANAGING EDITOR, SOCIAL CHANGE
MANORANJAN MOHANTY,
RETIRED PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF DELHI
MANSI SHARMA, DELHI
MAZIN KHAN, PHAROS
MEDIA & PUBLISHING
MEENA GOPAL PROF. TISS
MIHIRA SOOD, LAWYER
MOHAN RAO
MOHD
AZAM, ENTREPRENEUR, HYDERABAD
MONISHA BEHAL
MUNIZA KHAN,
RESEARCHER CUM ACTIVIST, GANDHIAN INSTITUTE OF STUDIES
NAGMANI RAO, PUNE
NANDINI RAO, WOMEN'S
RIGHTS ACTIVIST, NEW DELHI
NANDINI SUNDAR,
PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY
NAVAID HAMID,
PRESIDENT ALL INDIA MUSLIM MAJLIS E MUSHAWARAT
NEELANJANA MUKHIA,
FEMINIST ACTIVIST
NEERAJ MALIK
NIVEDITA MENON
OVAIS SULTAN KHAN,
ANHAD
PREETHA NAIR,
JOURNALIST IANS
PROF ROOPREKHA VERMA,
LUCKNOW
RAHUL ROY
RAJNI ARORA, SOCIAL
ACTIVIST
RAVI NAIR, SOUTH ASIA
HUMAN RIGHTS DOCUMENTATION CENTRE
ROOP REKHA VERMA
(SAAJHI DUNIYA)
RUDOLF C. HEREDIA,
INDIAN SOCIAL INSTITUTE
SABA DEWAN
SHABNAM HASHMI, SOCIAL
ACTIVIST, ANHAD
SHASHANK KELA, WRITER,
CHENNAI
SHEHLA RASHID SHORA,
JNU
SHUDDHABRATA SENGUPTA,
ARTIST, RAQS MEDIA COLLECTIVE, DELHI
SUDHIR PATTNAIK
SUJATA PATEL,
PRESIDENT, INDIAN SOCIOLOGICAL SOCIETY (2016-17)
SUKHIRAT ANAND,
PUBLISHER, PUNJAB
SUKUMAR MURALIDHARAN,
JOURNALIST
SURANJAN SINHA,
SOCIOLOGIST
TAPAN BOSE,
DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER
TEESTA SETALVAD
THOMAS PALLIITHANAM
UMA CHAKRAVARTI
VAHIDA NAINAR
VANI SUBRAMANIAN,
SAHELI
VIDYA BHUSHAN RAWAT,
SOCIAL ACTIVIST
VINEET TIWARI, WRITER,
PWA
VIRGINIA SALDANHA
VRINDA GROVER, LAWYER
ZOYA HASAN, PROFESSOR
EMERITUS JNU