Amna Razzaq
Kashmir has been witnessing brutal attacks from Indian army since long. Human rights violation in Indian-administered Kashmir is the ongoing lingering issue. Human abuses and human rights violations range from mass killings, torture, forced disappearances, rape and sexual abuses. The latest imposition – Kashmir’s modern history is bookmarked by chapter after chapter of sieges and martial-law like curfews – came soon after Mohammad Afzal Guru was hanged by India for his involvement in the attack on India’s parliament in 2001 in which nine people were killed. It was not just the hanging but also the manner of it – executed while the world slept, in secret and in great haste, as thieves do when they embark on their dark deeds – that makes this execution a symbol of the deep moral rot at the heart of the Indian state. Indian authorities chose not to inform Afzal Guru’s family prior to the hanging and quietly buried him in prison. In a case widely criticized for its dodgy investigation, the absence of a fair trial and most crucially, the lack of evidence beyond reasonable doubt, the supreme court of India, upholding sentences of lower courts, sentenced Afzal Guru to a double death sentence in 2005. The hanging of Afzal Guru, who was convicted for the 2001 attack on the Indian parliament, has raised many unpalatable questions. Was it vengeance or justice? Was it a surrender to “the collective conscience of the nation” or a failure to honor the human rights of a man who was punished for dissent, despite the insistence by many that he was not involved in the crimes for which he was accused? There was only circumstantial evidence against him, the court admitted, but the “collective conscience of society” could only be soothed with this execution. As soon as what many call a miscarriage of justice was performed in Delhi’s Tihar Jail, the Indian government effectively shut off the Valley from the world. It was almost automatic, a reflex, and why wouldn’t it be, for the powerful and increasingly militaristic Indian state is well rehearsed in dealing with the oppressed and weak of Kashmir.
It is impossible to ignore questions being raised regarding legitimacy of capital punishment awarded to Afzal Guru. These are based on the view that there was not sufficient evidence to prove that Guru had planned the terrorist attack against Indian Parliament in December 2001. Even if it is accepted that Guru was a party to the conspiracy, because of which Parliament was attacked by terrorists in December 2001, it cannot be ignored that he was not caught red-handed. Guru was not present at the site. Even if one of the terrorists, who had participated in the attack against the Parliament, had been awarded capital punishment, it would not have been questioned on any legal ground. None of them survived the brief battle with security forces. Guru was arrested later and charged with involvement in a conspiracy to attack India. Tension in Kashmir has exposed yet another face of Indian politics. Thousands of Kashmiris have been targeted by bullets for decades. Even today, an ordinary Kashmiri’s life is held at stake by guns. Innocent Kashmiris have been labeled as terrorists innumerable times. However, ever since the Indian media have started paying serious attention to this issue, there has been a notable decline in this trend. The Kashmiris’ opposition to Guru’s death also indicates their attempt to assert that even today they remain deprived of a fair trial, justice and freedom to fully exercise their democratic rights. Capital punishment for Guru, from their angle, is a proof of Kashmiris being denied their rights. When it is election time, Kashmiris have started coming out in increasing numbers, displaying their courage to exercise their right to vote. They are guided by the hope of receiving their due share in Indian democracy. But if Guru’s death was decided by political factors, it only indicates the manner in which a Kashmiri Muslim’s life is still played with in the capital city.
Another question arises that does the world’s so-called largest democracy really want to be seen as a nation reveling in a retrograde, made-for-TV bloodlust? This political one-upmanship is harming the cause of peace in Jammu and Kashmir and chokes the liberal voice in the valley. There is strong sentiment in the state that justice has not been done in the case of Guru, who has become a scapegoat. In this atmosphere of anger, fringe elements have a greater chance to influence the youth of the region. Afzal Guru was a Kashmiri freedom fighter. Like it or not, Pakistan supports the Kashmiris’ right of self determination. While India has strangled every means of voicing their concerns for the Kashmiris, Pakistan will continue to raise its voice against Indian atrocities in Kashmir and on the innocent Kashmiri people. The secret execution and burial, the denial of the family members to meet Guru and failed to fulfill democratic values highlighted the Indian regime and Indian actions that are not democratic and inhuman. India is the worst human rights abuser in South East Asia, continues to terrorize the innocent Kashmiris and collaborated with the Sri Lankan regime that alleged to have committed genocide of the Eelam Tamils and continues to deny international independent human rights investigation. India cannot boast itself as the largest democracy anymore! In Guru’s case, the Valley has been affected. Restrain has been exercised on local media and other means of communication to prevent the situation from turning volatile. This further proves that till today, Kashmiris are not able to fully enjoy their democratic rights. If Guru’s capital punishment was decided by political factors then the Congress-led government has erred by giving Kashmiris a reason to be agitated.
