Afia Ambreen
Recently, Global human rights watchdog Amnesty International released a report titled, The State of the World’s Human Rights, analysis of the situation in 159 countries and has criticized India for using excessive and arbitrary force on demonstrators after the killing of Mujahid commander Burhan Wani in occupied Kashmir on July 8, last year. The Amnesty International in its 2016 and 2017 report on human rights, which was released in London, said that more than 80 people, mostly protesters, were killed in clashes and thousands were injured. It said that hundreds were blinded by forces’ use of pellet-firing shotguns, which are inherently inaccurate and indiscriminate.
It is important to mention that the report also mentioned the killing of a lecturer Shabbir Ahmad Monga, who was beaten to death by army soldiers in August, last year. The report said that the authorities imposed a curfew which lasted over two months. Private landline, mobile and internet service providers suspended their services for weeks on orders from the authorities. The communications shutdown undermined a range of human rights and residents reported being unable to reach medical assistance in cases of emergencies. The Amnesty also made a mention of ban on the publication of local newspapers in Kashmir for three days and arrest of human rights defender Khurram Parvez for over two months on spurious grounds. The report said that hundreds of people, including children, were placed in administrative detention. Repression in occupied Kashmir features prominently in the Amnesty International’s 2016-17 report, claiming that the Indian authorities are using repressive laws to curb freedom of expression and silence critical voices.
The Indian security forces have been given virtual immunity to commit human rights violations in Kashmir in the form of Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA) and Public Safety Act (PSA). AFSPA permits the armed forces to arrest anyone and enter any property without a warrant. They are authorized to fire upon or otherwise use force against peaceful protesters. The people in Indian occupied Kashmir have suffered massive human rights abuses and since 1947, so far more than 200,000 Kashmiris have been killed by the Indian forces, more than 10,000 people are missing, around 22,826 Kashmiri women have been widowed, 10,717 Kashmiri women have been gang raped and about 107,591 children have been orphaned. Besides, there are an estimated 1500 half-widow wives whose husbands have disappeared but not yet declared as dead.
Since the commencement of Kashmiris’ freedom struggle in 1989, the IHK has become one of the world’s most densely militarised zones as 1 million Indian security forces have been deployed there to crush the freedom struggle. Since 1989, around 65 per cent Kashmiris have witnessed explosions, 39 per cent witnessed damage to personal property, 85 per cent Kashmiris witnessed cross fire, 64 per cent Kashmiris are suffering from anxiety, 87 per cent Kashmiris have been frisked by security forces, 48 per cent Kashmiris think they are not safe, 99 per cent have witnessed crackdowns, and 75 per cent have undergone torture while in detention. Moreover, nearly, 12 per cent of Kashmiri women have suffered violation of their modesty (associated with an act of sexual assault that varies from rape to inappropriate touching). Indian security forces use rape as a tool of subjugation through humiliation and retaliation against civilians. Moreover, Indian security forces are responsible for the disappearance of more than 8000 people and 6000 unknown and unmarked mass graves. One out of every six persons has been tortured. There have been almost 200,000 tortured victims since 1990 and in the same period there are 1 million physically tortured survivors, 95 per cent of whom are non-combatants. According to Action Aid’s recent survey, more than 30 per cent of Kashmiri men and women are found to have severe mental health illnesses. The most common health illness suffered by Kashmiris is depression. Conflict related depression in Indian-held Kashmir reveals that the prevalence of depression in Kashmiri population is over 55 per cent. The Srinagar Psychiatry Hospital was visited by more than 100,000 patients last year as compared to 1700 patients in 1989. The Kashmiris have been struggling for their inalienable right to self-determination and India has used brute force to suppress their struggle for the last 68 years. Indian authorities have been enforcing inhuman laws like Public Safety Act (PSA) and AFSPA to suppress the indigenous Kashmir freedom movement. The Amnesty International latest report has exposed the real face of India. It is time New Delhi realised the ground realities in Kashmir. The United Nations should take steps to stop Indian atrocities and make efforts to resolve the Kashmir dispute in the light of the UN resolutions.
