Inception, Introspection

There one skill that we, the Kashmiris, as a nation, can always claim to have: protesting.

We protested the Gujarat riots, the hanging of Saddam Hussein (who, as India’s ally and friend, always stood against Kashmir & Pakistan. 98% of the Iraqis won’t even know what or where Kashmir is). Global events or not, news or rumors, true or wrong, by our own free will or under the cloud of threats and warnings, with or without consequences for Kashmir, we have stood up for every invitation to protest by anybody and everybody who either is somebody or a nobody. We have emerged as one of the finest protesting nation in the history of the world. Kashmir, let alone the issue of Kashmir, might not be well known globally, but we have given the world the Islamic Rage Boy. In the early 90’s

5 Years of Blogging

5 years ago, this blog started with just a single sentence:

Ah! Kashmir: so near yet so far!

Kashmir, the dream of a Free Kashmir, remains so near yet so far today, as it did 5 years ago. It is near, for every Kashmiri breathes it and feels the pain of this geographical piece of land called Kashmir. These words may appear poetic, but they are not. The pain of Kashmir is felt, just like a cut by a sharp knife. This pain is as much physical as it is emotional. The images of Kashmir embedded in our memory are not, as most Indians might think and want to believe, of honeymooners, neither are they of a Kashmiri boatman selling shawls by the banks of Dal Lake. The images are of death. They are

JacKal Police

As Srinagar burns protesting the killing of a 17 year old by the JacKal Police (formerly the JK Police); how far the government has reigned them in, is obvious from this picture:

A policeman carrying an AK rifle is stopped by his colleague from CHARGING AT A WOMAN who was raising anti-police slogans on seeing policemen committing ‘atrocities’ against the protesting youth in Chattabal area of Srinagar. Srinagar remained under siege and angry youth defied restrictions and clashed with police to protest against the killing of teenager Tufail Ahmad Matoo. At least 15 persons including eight policemen were injured in fresh clashes. (Courtesy of Rising Kashmir)

This picture is a testimony of the powers they have courtesy of the state government. If the government was really serious about the innocent deaths in the valley, we would see restrain from the JacKal Police, but that obviously is not the case. We rather hear ridiculous statements from the government. They really are losing grip of their senses.

From a previous post on the JacKal Police:

The Jammu and Kashmir Police has turned over the past decade and a half from an organization supporting the freedom struggle to a people more than happy to kill innocents and it will continue to grow evil. It has already graduated from beatings innocents to killing them, now they just need to expand their reach and increase the innocent death toll. Once India is confident that the police have been trained well to behave as colonial masters, as is the attitude of the army at present; it can reduce the presence of the army, flash a happy face to the world, confident and satisfied at the thought that the same role is being played by someone else. Lessons from the colonial masters, the British, has always inspired India: import officers who can act and behave as colonial masters, obtain the major chunk of the force from the local population and impose evil through them…more

And, the meaning of JacKal in the context of the JK Police:

Old World nocturnal canine mammal closely related to the dog; smaller than a wolf; sometimes hunts in a pack but usually singly or as a member of a pair.

Cherries & Chairs

Greater Kashmir, a revolutionary newspaper once upon a time, is now creeping with tabloid journalism. It is ready to report anyone and anything as long as its needs are met.

Now, it is mostly about cherries.

And, the APHC should really buy a few chairs:

Both images courtesy of Greater Kashmir.

The 420 Rulers

A recent government figure justifies a post, published September 2006, whether Srinagar deserves being called a city at all (The post is reproduced below).

A survey has revealed that Srinagar is the 420th cleanest city in India (seeing the glass half full) among the 423 cities ranked. Whether there was some clever manipulation of the ranking to make sure it wasn’t ranked 419 or 421 – one can not tell. Coincidence or otherwise, 420 is an apt number for the rulers of Kashmir.

Jammu, the Cry Baby that never stops crying injustice – ranks at 186, giving us a decent indicator of where the money is being spent.

And why? The answer can only be guessed: the forever fear within the administration and rulers that they will eventually have to give up Kashmir. And that is good news.

And, as the government mulls outsourcing sanitation, one fails to understand what is this government capable of. Recently it had shown helplessness to construct parking lots and was therefore considering privatising prime locations of the city to Non-Kashmiri corporates, including Palladium Cinema. Public Private Partnership is another buzz word – and an idiots playground to jump into for a state torn by conflict.

And the post of September 2006:

Bells And Bullets

Bells

Bullets

They said the “leaders are human beings with personal problems.” (greater kashmir)

I was always made to believe that leaders are not ordinary human beings. I was told wrong.

But there is something that resonates true every time:

“…remember that as resistance decreases, suppression increases and the peace offered by suppressive regimes is often no more than the peace of prison or of the grave…” (niccolo machiavelli)

 

Then The World Would Mourn, Then It Would Forget

–Farhat Rukhsar–

A minute mourns and then forgets

My heart to my Kashmir indifferent seems

And while thou native were riddled with bullets

My long dead soul was chasing dreams

While blood oozed and they watched unconcerned

While thou were gasping for each labouring breath

While we joked in colleges in Mughal gardens sauntered

In Dalgate youth approached its untimely death

Riddled by Central Reserve Police Force

Then dropped a grenade in thy bag

This is the Heaven’s secret curse

An Angel given terrorists tag

How long on that pavement thy body bled?

How long resembling humans had their fun?

Thou went left dreams, parents half dead

Dark earth and sky, gone is their sun

Time has ceased what Happy New Year?

Mirth has left the home in paradise

Home were empty eyes look for their dear

Home where walls still echo with painful cries

Home where mere pain Eid would bring

Home where sacrifice already has been done

Home where thy memories forever would cling

Home where celebrations for Eid would be none

But killing innocents has a reward of its own

One lakh rupees and promotion I fear

And in my time conditions have honed

And protesters get killed everywhere

Thou college student and so am I

Though thou shot dead, I am not – yet

Tomorrow they might then they will lie

Then the world would mourn then it would forget.

(In Memory of Ghulam Mohammad Sheikh, 22; Riddled With Bulets on 9th August 2006, click here to read the post)

(poem courtesty of greater kashmir)

Kashmir Government Not Powerful Enough To Name An Airport

Although there should have been no hesitation in naming it after the saint, as Sheikh ul Alam does not represent any radical political belief concerning the Kashmir politics; he being a character that belongs to an era when there was no India, no Pakistan and of course no Kashmir conflict, forms a benign symbol.

If this symbol of Kashmir’s national being is disallowed expression at a place which is supposed to be visited by people around the globe, it strengthens the suspicion that India is always scary of Kashmir emerging as an entity that has its own history and symbols of national being.

Difficult to reconcile that if PDP passed a resolution and sought clearance from the then Prime Minister, A B Vajpaye, why Airport Authority of India did not respond to it? If for such an ordinary and harmless thing it takes concerned authorities in India so long, in case they really are unaware of the whole matter, then how is Kashmir going to solve its bigger problems through an institutionalised mechanism that is in place in the shape of state administration! The reluctance of certain sections at Delhi as alluded to by some sources, smells of the traditional politics of Delhi to disallow any kind of expression to Kashmir’s collective self. It is here that the right wing Sangh Parivar and ‘secular’ Congress finds a reason to join hands.

Both NC and PDP talked of sub-nationalism in their political campaigns in the recently concluded Assembly elections, if they cannot get an Airport in their state named the way they want it, they better stop talking about bigger things like demilitarisation, cross LoC trade, autonomy, self rule etc. It only makes a laughing stock of them.

(etalaat editorial)

Nothing Ground Breaking, It Was Expected Years Ago

From a previous post, I Can Kill Everybody , of this blog, written October 25, 2006:

Killing in Kashmir is not uncommon but gradually it appears that the police and the army see themselves as reincarnations of God on earth. Be it the illiterate gun totting policeman or his superior office, they both think that they are the Greater Beings, created to maim and kill the children, the young, the old and the women of Kashmir.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police has turned over the past decade and a half from an organisation supporting the freedom struggle to a people more than happy to kill innocents and it will continue to grow evil.

It has already graduated from beatings innocents to killing them, now they just need to expand their reach and increase the innocent death toll. Once India is confident that the police have been trained well to behave as colonial masters, as is the attitude of the army at present; it can reduce the presence of the army, flash a happy face to the world, confident and satisfied at the thought that the same role is being played by someone else.

Lessons from the colonial masters, the British, has always inspired India: import officers who can act and behave as colonial masters, obtain the major chunk of the force from the local population and impose evil through them.

The new Chief Minister hinted at increasing the role of the Jammu and Kashmir police as if that were a respite to the Kashmiris. Their deployment has already started and 20 police companies are ready to take charge of the Srinagar city- which already has enough respite as compared to the towns and villages of Kashmir that bear the burnt day in and day out. Once the police passes, what the Director General of Police called a litmus test, the Jammu and Kashmir police will then be the only force at the forefront. No surprises the police is all too eager to pass the litmus test! And Kashmir will remain, for sometime to come, a low intensity conflict zone – simmering within.

One may recall that one of the election planks of the PDP in 2002 was the disbanding of the Special Task Force in Kashmir. They were disbanded by being absorbed into the local police, which will now be taking charge of Kashmir.

A person with a gun will remain dreaded for Kashmiris, the name tag matters the least.

Mere Rhetoric

The Prime Minister of India while speaking in Kashmir:

“We cannot change the borders, we can make them irrelevant,”

“We seek the normalization of our relations with Pakistan. A solution of all issues that cause estrangement, including Jammu and Kashmir, through dialogue and peaceful negotiations in an atmosphere free of violence.”

“There are real winds of change in the subcontinent today. Economics, technology and travel are altering older mindsets of suspicion, fear and hostility. It is undeniable that much has changed between India and Pakistan in past few years,” Dr Singh said.

“I feel sad that curfew had to be imposed on many occasions causing lot of problems to the people.”

“If any separatist group wants to meet us we are ready. I have already met them earlier. Kashmir is an integral part of India.”

“The recent incidents in the state show that there is some resentment towards the government among a section of the youth here on certain issues. It has always been our belief that even the most difficult issues can be resolved through dialogue. We started a series of round table conferences and government will welcome dialogue with all sections of people.” Rediff

Mere rhetoric!

 

Section 144 Imposed In Kashmir

Section 144 has been imposed in Kashmir effective 5th October 2008, in view of the upcoming Massive Protest March planned for the 6th of October. Last time a massive curfew was imposed in the Valley to prevent a similar rally. The protests had started way back in the month of June against an order effecting the transfer of land in Kashmir to a Hindu Shrine Board. This time it appears that either the government and the separatists have come to an understanding or the government is quite confident of handling the situation better than it did the last time. It is pertinent to mention here that the Indian Armed Forces occupied the vale of Kashmir illegally in the October of 1947 by flying troops to the Srinagar Air Field, that one act was to change the destiny of Kashmir. Will this October Rally herald a new beginning for Kashmir?

 

Yes, I Am A Daemon, But Kashmir Scares Me

India, the largest Daemon-cracy of the world, continues it repressive, suppressive and oppressive policies in Kashmir, not realising you can’t kill a Kashmiri – he will live and continue demanding his right – that of freedom!

Here is a Round up of latest news reports from Kashmir, or rather of news that can be reported since there is an embargo on news in Kashmir, Ambulances are being targeted by the Army, Little Kids beaten to death and Water is a scarce commodity!

Yes, We Want People To Die Of Starvation

They said the team wanted to distribute about 5000 litres of apple juice to people at Dalgate this afternoon, but the troopers stopped them from doing so saying that distribution of any eatable or beverage amounts to violation of curfew.

Addressing the troopers, the group of journalists shouted, “Do you want people to die of starvation?”

And pat came the reply: “Yes”

The Peace Of Graveyard

Any conceivable object that came the way of the troopers formed the road blockade. From logs of timber on Jammu-Srinagar highway at Khanabal, Botingoo, Bijbehara to CI pipes at different places along the road at crossings, to Concertina wire and CGI sheet fencing on different openings to Lal Chowk in Srinagar and between Khwaja Bagh and Khanapora in Varmul town, has been used to prevent the milling crowds, or call it swarms of people, from reaching the historic Lal Chowk, the venue of the sit-in called by pro- freedom parties last Monday.

Ban On Ambulance Movement

A woman from Bapora in south Kashmir’s Shopian district died last evening after the police and paramilitary CRPF troopers didn’t permit her to proceed toward a hospital.

Indefinite Curfew Continues

With the death of one more person in the hospital Tuesday morning, the toll in Monday’s firing by Police and CRPF troopers on processionists in the valley mounted to eight. Authorities didn’t give any relaxation in curfew on third consecutive day,today,leading to massive shortage of essential commodities in the Valley. Uneasy calm prevailed in Kashmir as there were reports of people trying to defy curfew in some parts of south Kashmir.

Trust No Kashmiri

Sleuths of Counter Intelligence Kashmir (CIK) Tuesday raided posh areas of Hyderpora, Peerbagh, Rawalpora and Airport Colony to get a clue about the absconding leaders including Shabir Ahmed Shah and Nayeem Ahmed Khan.

The Murder of A six Month Old

“CRPF troopers barged into our home yesterday night. After breaking all the windowpanes and abusing the inmates they beat us with bamboos. My wife was trying hard to save Muskan in her lap. She took several hits on her shoulder to avert any assault on the child but somehow Muskan received a powerful bamboo smash. She cried fiercely and then fell unconscious,” Tariq Ahmad of Pandach, a suburb in Ganderbal district, told the doctors attending the tender Muskan on Tuesday.

Die, O Ye Kashmiri!

A senior consultant in SKIMS said an ambulance that actually belonged to Wakaf Board, a government body to look after Muslim religious estates, which was ferrying the injured persons from Pulwama to SKMS, was damaged on way by the “unruly” CRPF personnel. Since Sunday morning, when the curfew was clamped across Kashmir, nearly a dozen ambulances have been damaged by CRPF.

Dr Mir wondered why the troopers manhandled doctors, beat up attendants of the injured and damaged the vehicles. “The authorities had already made it public through official TV and Radio that the ID Card of doctors or paramedics would be considered as curfew pass. But the way our people have been treated is shocking.”  He expressed concern over the ban on ambulance movement and said the persons injured in far off areas are treated locally and not being shifted to Srinagar for fear of CRPF. “It’s dangerous because we don’t have such an advanced surgical facility in peripheries.”

Begging For Water

Most worrying part of this tragedy is that dozens of orphanages across Srinagar and in parts of Islamabad, Baramullah and Kupwara are in a pitiable condition. The girls-only orphanage at Gopalpora used to get daily dose of water supply through a water tanker of state’s Public Health Department. “We are begging for drinking water. The area is already facing shortage of drinking water. Some neighbours are helping right now but the problem is grave,” said a warden at the orphanage, which is managed by the famed Yateem Trust.

Hear! Ye India, You Can’t Cow Us Down!

Jammu Kashmir Coordination Committee (JKCC) on Wednesday said the arrest of pro-resistance leaders will not cow them down. Condemning the arrest of pro- resistance leaders Muhammad Ashraf Sehari of the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat and Duktaran-e-Millat (Daughters of Faith) Chairperson Asiya Andrabi, JKCC spokesperson Masrat Alam said: “The arrest of our leaders will not break us. Our resistance will continue. Freedom movement is not dependent on individuals.”

And Scared Ye Are!

Sakooter, A Kashmiri Blogger Writes:

The world’s largest democracy is scared. The irony of it, it isnt scared of armed gunmen, but of unarmed peacefull protestors who would just want to go out in the streets and tell the world that they want “Azadi” or freedom from India.

Kashmiris want their right to freedom. That is what they wanted to tell the world and that is what the curfew imposed stopped them from doing — partially, for there have been men who dared the gun and got gunned.

Maybe the world is scared. But what makes me glad for once is the fact that India is scared. Scared that the truth will come out…

Source: Sakooter Speaks

[News Sources: Greater Kashmir, Kashmir Observer, Rising Kashmir]

Can I Still Visit Kashmir?

An update to two previous posts, How Safe Is Kashmir For A Tourist? and Is Kashmir Still Safe? It is advised not to visit Kashmir and to put on hold any plans of visiting Kashmir in the near future.

Massive non-violent protests have erupted against the illegal Indian occupation. On Friday, the 22nd of August 2008, 1 Million people assembled and demanded Complete Freedom.

On Monday, the 25th of August 2008, an Independence Rally has been planned and people are bound to come out in massive numbers and will be undeterred by the indefinite curfew that has been imposed or the reinforcement of the already 0.7 million strong Armed Forces.

Go India Go! We Want Freedom!

Authorities imposed the indefinite curfew ahead of a separatist rally planned for Monday, but thousands of people defied the order in the latest in a series of demonstrations against Indian rule in the disputed Himalayan region.

In Srinagar, Kashmir’s summer capital, a 60-year-old man was killed and his son critically wounded when police fired at a group of protesters, police said.

On Saturday evening, hundreds of Muslims took to the streets in Srinagar carrying torches and shouting: “Go India go! We want freedom.”

Reuters

No Photoshop This!

A Million Kashmiris Demand Complete Freedom! No Photoshop this!

You Can Only Understand It If You’re Kashmiri Or Have Lived There

There is just one photograph in this blog that has not been credited with the name of the photographer, the photograph captured by Ami Vitale, is this blog’s avatar. This photograph captures the true essence of Kashmir. It is a mixture of contrasts: clear yet hazy; full of hope despite the pale of gloom enveloping it, much like the contrasts of Kashmir; the boatman is paddling to a barely visible distant shore: the shore of freedom, of peace, of dignity, of all that eludes Kashmir, many of these themes are central to the idea of this blog.

At last!

Photo courtesy and copyright of Ami Vitale

FRONTLINE World’s flashPOINT is showcasing Ami Vitale’s photographs . It is an indispensable and striking journey across the varied faces of Kashmir, of hope and fear, of celebration and pain. It expresses the emotions bottled up within Kashmiris in a manner I have never seen elsewhere.

Towards The Heavens!

This child looks for helps towards another someone, who has probably lost the someone she would look towards.

Stay Away!

The obvious seething anger towards the system, the government, the occupying force.

Knight In Shinning Armour!

Or the face of Occupation.

Ami Vitale has captured the tragedy of Kashmir both at the hidden personal level and the obvious larger scale or the contrasts within the society of Kashmir. In the audio narration, I was stuck by how Ami Vitale has observed the blending of the Pheran (the long robe worn by Kashmiris in Winter) and Kashmiri Poplar Trees (Kashmiris poplars are not akin to the evergreen European Poplars as I have learnt) and showing a not too obvious connection between land and man.

The stories of women sufferings in Kashmir have been criminally neglected by the people of Kashmir, which has not augured well for anything in Kashmir. The women in Kashmir by suffering in silence gave the strong foundations needed for a movement and possibly this is the story Ami wants to tell through her photographs:

I spent a lot of time with women and inside homes, and I think a lot of the work shows their suffering. I don’t think it was intentional. It was just that I spent the most time with Kashmiri women, and I felt that they needed their voices heard, because they have one of the more difficult positions. They have to quietly endure their suffering.

Source: FRONTLINE/World

Like many other neutral observers to Kashmir, Kashmir has changed her as a human being:

I think it’s obviously changed me as a human being — I look at everything differently.

Source: FRONTLINE/World

And has understood the perils of being a Kashmiri

They’d say, ‘When I leave home in the morning, I have no guarantee of returning alive.’ It’s so real, to understand that kind of fear… I think you can only understand it if you’re Kashmiri or have lived there.

Source: FRONTLINE/World

However, not surprisingly, the comments from Indians in the showcase are no different than what a Kashmiri should expect and anyone trying to showcase Kashmir’s truth is yet another suspect, like all other Kashmiris. Ami Vitale was not in Kashmir to take pretty pictures:

I’m not there to make pretty pictures. It’s really to convey something and hopefully affect at least one other person. Those people have allowed me to be there, and that’s something I respect and honour. You can’t betray them. There are so many moments when I see great pictures, but I won’t take them because it feels wrong.

Source: FRONTLINE/World

Flawed History

While as FRONTLINE/World has done a commendable job of reporting Kashmir through the Showcase of Ami Vitale’s photographs and Anuj Chopra’s Dispatch, it has failed to give a clear view of Kashmir’s history in the Background, which is a flawed and simplistic version of Kashmir’s history, possibly because it has been taken from various web sites and is not a FRONTLINE feature:

By the time of partition in August 1947, Singh had not decided which country to join. In October 1947, in an attempt to take control of the region, armed tribesman from Pakistan’s northwest frontier province invaded Kashmir. The maharaja requested armed assistance from India, and in return, he acceded to India.

Source: FRONTLINE/World

This is a totally simplistic depiction of a critical historical event, a lot more happened preceding the Mahraja’s alleged accession to India and thereafter.

and recommended a referendum to debate Kashmir’s accession to India. Decades later, the referendum has yet to occur, and the status of Kashmir remains in dispute.

Source: FRONTLINE/World

The referendum as suggested by the United Nations is not to debate Kashmir’s accession to India, but a referendum allowing the people of Kashmir to voice their choice between India, Pakistan and Independence (the clause of Independence mysteriously vanished from future Security Council Resolutions, due to the efforts of Pakistani envoy to the United Nations).

By 1989 the clash over Kashmiri identity and independence had slowly morphed into a religious battle, pitting Islam against Hinduism and drawing religious radicals into the fray.

Source: FRONTLINE/World

Another totally wrong notion of the Kashmir Conflict, the roots of Kashmir conflict were never in religion, it was the state oppression, the failure of Sheikh Abdullah, the unceasing mistrust of Delhi for Kashmiris that helped open the cork of the anger that was building within. The 1987 rigged elections proved a turning point. Honesty from Delhi (read Indira Gandhi) was overdue for long and the people could no longer be lured with empty and broken promises. Dignity had been denied to them for long. It was Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (found in the 1970’s in Britain) that led the war against oppression which was not much different than rebellion against the Maharaja of Kashmir in 1931, much before rest of the sub-continent woke to the concept of Freedom. Hizbul Mujahideen’s entry into the Kashmir rebellion was a well thought of move by Pakistan, which was already losing what it had gained in Punjab. Such important series of events requires a much more critical understanding than a simple paragraph.

Kashmir: The Disappeared.

I Am A Muslim And I Have A Beard. Right?

On the way to the hotel, two soldiers stop us.

“He’s a tourist,” one of the soldiers says, glancing at me. No one asks for my credentials and I’m told to step aside.

The other passenger and the driver, both wearing pherans, are aggressively questioned and searched.

While the passenger grows more agitated, Abdul, the driver, exudes a gentle radiance, patiently responding to their interrogation.

“I’m a Muslim, and I have a beard. Right? That makes me a suspect,” he tells me, after we are finally allowed to move on. “I’m used to this harassment.”

Source: Kashmir: The Disappeared

For Ami Vitale’s personal website, click here

60 Years!

As India celebrated its 60 years of Independence, Kashmir shall have, in October, survived 60th years of  forced occupation, state oppression, humiliation, torture, arrests, rapes and killings.

I salute Kashmir for surviving and for still believing in a free  Kashmir, a Kashmir free from the clutches of state terror whether in form or in policy.

An Indian Who Lived In Illusion

To,

The people of Kashmir,

All these years I have lived in illusion. An illusion that Kashmir, the Valley of my dreams, is very much a part of my country. I took great pride in it, and I believed you did too. But, a few days ago, I had raw exposure to your lives, much troubled lives.

I might never be able to think by, what they say, stepping into your shoes. I might never be able to empathise entirely with your tears. I will never be able to comprehend the torture you face, the wars you wage every day and night – to rise and to sleep, to step out of your homes into your own “motherland”, and then to step back in.

I will never understand the terror that grips you, even in the shelter of your humble abodes. I shall never possess such lack of faith in my protectors, lawmakers and administrators. I will never realise how it feels to be questioned at every breath taken, dictated at every step taken. I cannot fathom the countless defeats that greet you, everyday, at the hands of “authority”. And then, rise up boisterously again at the taste of dispiritedness. I shall never discover what your hearts are made of.

I will never feel the depth of angst in your voices which cry for freedom or “Azadi”. But, I only wish to lend my feeble yet determined voice to join yours. I only wish to make the people of my country feel the way I do.

Yours truly,

An Indian

A letter addressed to the people of Kashmir by Gyatri – a member of a group of ‘adventure junkies,’ who traveled across Kashmir and interacted with students and people.

 Its heartening to see that some Indians are not blinding themselves either to the bitter truth about Kashmir or the lies that blindia is feeding them.

Riya, a student from Mumbai, while writing about The Many Faces Of Kashmir has this to say about the Indian Media:

We believe the lies that the media feeds us.

Do not miss to read Riya’s poem Another World.

Read the reflections on Kashmir of WCNCinc, a group of enthusiastic and adventure junkies and nature freaks here.

Apples, Apricots And Almonds

The economic system of Kashmir was totally shattered by the militancy claim many a learned people since it destroyed the back bone of Kashmir’s economy- the tourism industry, employing not more than 20,000 families. Yes, not ever Kashmiri is a Shikarawala or a Shawl-seller, there are others as well. Those learned people also praise the Indian government for doling out billions to the people of Kashmir in subsidies and aid. Those learned people though forget to mention that those billions for meant for the upkeep of the 0.7 million Indian security forces, busy fighting the 1,500 deadly militants.

Facts and figures tell us that the economy of Kashmir is not totally dependent on tourism and that the traditional industries in Kashmir have done very well during the last seventeen years, helping Kashmir survive and once again it is not the billions doled out to Kashmir by India or just blood money that’s circulating in Kashmir.

Exports

Exports in 1989-90	Exports in 2005-06	Expected in 2006-07
Rs. 1.5 Billion (150 Crores)	Rs. 11.50 Billion (Rs 1,150 Crores)	Rs. 15 Billion (Rs. 1,200 Crores)

 

Handicrafts

Turnover in 2005	Turnover in 2006	Expected in 2007
Rs. 9 Billion (Rs. 900 Crores)	Rs. 11.5 Billion (Rs. 1,150 Crores)	Rs. 15 Billion Rs. 1,500 Crores

 

Fresh and dry fruit

Revenue in 2006	Revenue in 2007
Rs. 19 Billion (Rs. 1,900 Crores)	Rs. 21 Billion (Rs. 2,100 Crores)

And the Kashmir government’s much promoted Wazwaan is not bringing in any money. 

Technorati Tags: Kashmir, Srinagar, Development, Indian Army, India, Handicrafts, Jammu and Kashmir, Economy, Conflict

Subjugation And Torture That Thrills And Excites

Suffering humiliation at the hands occupying forces is a part and parcel of the Kashmiri life be it in Kashmir or a railway compartment somewhere in the plains of India. Kashmiris have realized and understood well that all Indians (with rare exceptions) are oblivious to the sufferings of Kashmiris even though the same Indians share the pain and are even over sympathetic to the issue of Kashmiri Pandits, who when they migrated from the Valley in 1989 formed not more than 3% of the total Kashmiri population.

The Indians cry hoarse about the Kashmiri Pandit issue but they are quite, as if someone pressed the mute button, when it is proved beyond doubt that the Indian forces do kill innocents in Kashmir.

The reasons have baffled many a Kashmiris for long, one reason could be that the Indians feel ‘thrilled’ and ‘excited’ about the presence of guns-and-goons in the form of Indian security forces in Kashmir.

An Indian woman who had recently traveled to Kashmir had this to say about the presence of security forces in Kashmir:

the security presense (sic) is there everywhere it is thrilling and mostly exciting.

This is what The Toronto Star wrote on 25th January, 1991, about the Indian armed forces.

“Subjugated, humiliated, tortured and killed by the 650,000-strong Indian army, the people of Kashmir have been living through sheer hell for more than a year, the result of an increasingly brutal campaign of state repression. India hides behind its carefully-crafted image of “non-violence” and presents itself in international forums as a model of democracy and Pluralism.”

The role, behavior and actions of the security forces has not changed much since 1991, it’s just that today their presence is ‘thrilling’ and ‘exciting’ to the Indians.

A further look at what the Indian security forces who thrill and excite Indians do to the Kashmiris, as documented by the Human Rights Watch.

I was only a boy at that time. They would strip me, make my lie naked on the floor, kick and beat me, split my legs wide apart and leave me tied up like that for hours. When I thought I could not bear any more pain, they would give me electric shocks. Then they would let me go and a few weeks later, again. The same thing.

The men were from the army but they were in plainclothes. I was taken to a Rashtriya Rifles camp near my house… My hands were always tied behind my back. I was beaten and kicked. Twice, I was made to lie down on the floor with my hands and legs stretched out and tied up. I was badly beaten.

The soldiers were brutal. I was kept blindfolded most of the time, unless I had to go to the toilet. My hands were tied with rope at night. I was tied to a chair and questioned. They asked if I knew this militant or that. I kept saying I was innocent…I wish I could tell you how much I suffered. They cut my thighs open with a knife and then they would keep poking at the wound to try and make me talk.

The thrills and the excitement!

Technorati Tags: Kashmir, Indian Army, India, Srinagar, Army, Torture, People, Politics, Conflict, Jammu and Kashmir, Human-Rights, Torture in Custody, Terrorism, State-Terrorism

The Terrorists Of Al-Qaeshmir

The Indian state and blindia (the blind Indian media) have been working tirelessly to brand Kashmiris as Terrorists and Fundamentalists and the Kashmiri Freedom Struggle as Terrorism. These endless campaigns have been successful within India, where people at large see the Kashmiris as terrorists and the human rights abuses the Kashmiris have to suffer at the hands of the Indian Army as the outcome of supporting the terrorists being pushed from across the border, conveniently coined as the Cross Border Terrorism (CBT).

Bollywood has lent a further helping hand by portraying Kashmiris as terrorists whenever and wherever they can. The most recent attempt was seen in Sarhad, starring Sanjay Dutt, in which the terrorist drives a vehicle with a Kashmir number plate. Both the Indian and the Pakistani armies are trying to neutralize the terrorist, the reference possibly being that Kashmiris are a bother for both nations.

Even though the smear-campaigns have worked in India, they have no takers in the west. The western media still sees Kashmir as a disputed territory. BBC, Encarta, CNN, Encyclopedia Britannica, National Geographic et al still refer to Kashmir as Indian or Pakistani controlled Kashmir as the case maybe. The issues of National Geographic on sale in India usually have an ugly rubber stamped on the maps of this region:the boundaries shown are not correct. Stamp or no stamp, it is not going to change how west sees Kashmir. Sending back or destroying copies of encyclopedia Britannica will effect no change in the policy of the west, that of Kashmir being a disputed territory pending final settlement.

 The people in the west  are still struggling to understand the difference between Kashmir and Cashmere Shawls. The following conversation from Orange County (Season2, Episode 53) pretty much sums up the confusions still surrounding the word Kashmir.

Abigail Stevens: I was saying that what’s happening in Kashmir just shows us–

Summer: I know! Pashminas this season were so cute. I don’t go anywhere without my Cashmere purse!

The conversation continues with Abigail telling Summer that they were discussing the conflict in Kashmir and whether Kashmir should be independent or remain with India and then ask Summer her opinion!

Western Experts On Kashmir

 

 Kashmiris are not seen as terrorists by the west, not even extremists. These are the thoughts of an expert, Professor William Baker, on Kashmiris and their struggle:

On Kashmiris not being radicals:

Professor William Baker, who heads the California-based organization, Christians and Muslims for Peace, and is the author of Kashmir: Happy Valley, Valley of Death, says that people who live in the valley of Kashmir are not Islamic radicals out to establish a separate Islamic state.

“The people of Kashmir – those in the valley of Kashmir – are not radical Islamists wanting an Islamic state; they do not.”

On what the Kashmiris want:

“These people are extremely educated and open and free-minded and I’ve never met any Kashmiris in the valley who did not say that they don’t want to be owned by either country (India or Pakistan).”

 On the Indian/Pakistani occupation:

 “If one is an enemy if you oppose injustice, if one is an enemy is you oppose occupation, then okay, I am an enemy of anybody who occupies another country illegally or tortures or anything else, including my own country.”

The real threat, as the world perceives it, is from the Hindu extremists in India and not the Kashmiris Muslims.

  Noam Chomsky

On the dangers of Hindu extremism

There are real dangers. The Hindu nationalist danger is certainly serious.

On the Indian Diaspora’s being more extreme 

…what I’ve seen of the Indian Diaspora … is that it tends to be more extreme, more pro-BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] than the native population would. At least that’s what I’ve seen.

The threat does come from Hindu extremist elements,the recent ban on Orkut is an example of the low level of tolerance for free speech. This news though has not been as widely covered by the blindia as was the ban by some militant groups in Kashmir last year on Music channels during the holy month of Ramadhan, yet another example of the working of blindia.

The Indian Army who are mostly seen as saviors by the Indian population are not perceived as such by the western experts.

 K Alan feels:

There was something oppressive about the security presence in Srinagar and even out in the countryside. You really couldn’t get away from it. It’s like you were reminded, everywhere you looked, that there was a security problem. I could see how the people there might even feel like there was an occupying army because I do know some people feel that way.

History is witness to how India and its slaves in Kashmir ridicule Kashmir and Kashmiris- when innocent Kashmiris are killed in fake encounters, the government promises enquiries or rewards the killers; when innocent girls are exploited by the highest seats of government, the government shifts the case to a court outside Kashmir and reinstates the officers involved in the scandal; when people ask for roads they are shown the palaces the rulers will occupy and when people protest against the army – the Chief Minister promises the army utmost support. Despite all this, the international media and experts still do not buy India’s argument of Kashmiris being Terrorists and Kashmir a hot-bed of Islamic Terrorism. Frustrated, the Government has recently tried something more unique, more digital but even that will fall flat on their faces. The government of India is attempting to establish Al-Qaeda presence in Kashmir, which in their opinion should help them garner the much required American support. In the coming months we might see reports of Osama Bin Laden hiding in Kashmir and then we will see American Apache helicopters burning down the forests of Kashmir. The Chief Minister of Kashmir as well as the United Jihad Council has ruled out the presence of Al-Qaeda in Kashmir. UJC spokesman has said that Kashmiris know how to fight the war of freedom and there was no place for Al Qaeda whatsoever on Kashmiris’ soil.  However one needs to remain cautious as the government of India will go as far as it has to to cry out loud to the world that Kashmiris are terrorists and Kashmir a terrorism hot spot, but none of that will succeed, not today, not tomorrow.

Technorati Tags: Kashmr, India, Al-Qaeda, Jehad, Terrorism, Srinagar, Indian Army, Politics, Noam, William Baker, Alan Kronstadt, Congress, Cross-Border-Terrorism, Human-Rights, State-Terrorism

The Slave Who Wants A Palace

Kashmir is a unique place, unique in all manners. For an Indian it is a hotbed of Terrorism – worth destroying every inch of; for a Pakistani it is the centre of Jihad or freedom struggle -which they believe they are dying for; for an outsider it is the centre of nuclear focus and to some a beautiful valley which merits a visit and for a Kashmiri it remains what it has been for centuries- a home.

Then there is yet another breed of people who belong to no land and to no people. They only belong to their masters and it matters not who their masters are because as long as the master throws a bone their way they are more than glad to wage their tails, even when kicked. And, unfortunately such breeds of slaves rule the roost in Kashmir. The latest addition to this group of  opportunists and sycophant is the present Chief Minister of Kashmir and the pet-slave of Delhi- Ghulam-e-Dilli (Salve of Delhi) aka Ghulam Nabi Azad. In all the years that Kashmir has been ruled by a slave, this slave beats them all hands down. Maybe it is the good fate of Kashmiris (if they have any at all)  that his tenure is of three years for if he had six years the number of innocent Kashmiris arrested, tortured, maimed, raped and killed in custody or fake encounters would have been far greater than a human mind could fathom. His Mr. Clean image gets buried under the debris of pain that he has inflicted on the hapless Kashmiris and one just needs to take a broad view of the events to understand the devil that delves beneath the Karakuli cap.

This fool of a person in an attempt to justify the innocent deaths in Kashmir compares Kashmir to Bihar and has the guts to claim that the number of people killed in Bihar is far higher than in Kashmir. Only an idiot would compare deaths by state sponsored terrorism to deaths due to road accidents. Perhaps he wants to send a direct message to Kashmiris that they should embrace deaths at the hands of the military as a part and parcel of their lives  that will continue as long as Delhi survives in Kashmir, courtesy of slaves like him.

Azad does not stop at that, in his attempts to feel the powers bestowed to him by his masters he wants a palace for himself. Better infrastructure and roads are not needed in Kashmir, the requirement of the moment is a 60 room palace that shall cost the state 11 crore rupees, the palace shall be complete with 15 presidential suites overlooking the Dying Dal Lake. The suits are yet another attempt to blind the visiting dignitaries, by soaking them in the ambience, calm and quite that would surround them- deodar wood panelled walls, Khatamband ceilings, snow capped mountains overlooking a vast lake, to the truth about Kashmir- that its inhabitants continue to die because they dare to call it their home, their paradise.

Technorati Tags: Kashmir, Development, Terrorism, Palace, Dal-Lake, Azad, Kashmiris, Srinagar, Government, News

Thy Name Is Development!

Words indeed speak a thousand words;
in Kashmir they probably speak a hundred thousand words!

The Largest Daemon-cracy

Daemon-cracy

India might claim to be the largest democracy of the world, an economic super power on its way to become the next super power of the world but for Kashmir and Kashmiris it is a state that rewards killing of innocent Kashmiris with money, more power and commendations. The fact that India does indeed reward its forces for killing innocents was reflected in an earlier post and now we have official endorsement that indeed innocent Kashmiris are being killed for rewards.

For long the people of Kashmir have been claiming oppression at the hands of Indian Forces. However this fact is fiction for the majority of Indians, who in their naivety sitting and living miles away from the reality of Kashmir believe or want to believe that the army is stationed in Kashmir for the protection of Mother India. For them, it is the 700,000 troops which will sanctify the land from terrorists (read Kashmiris). It is the Muslim Kashmiris who are evil, it is the Kashmiris who threw out and murdered the Hindus of Kashmir. It is the Muslims of Kashmir who are the reason for all the evils of India, everyone else and everything else is holy but Kashmiris. The Indians want us to wail and cry for the Hindus who were allegedly prosecuted a thousand years back by Muslim invaders and ignore the killings of our brethren in our courtyards.

Indian Army, the people of India would want you to believe, is one of the most disciplined armies of the world, they are re-incarnations of the Gods, thus can not commit wrong. If you were to prove that the army does commit atrocities, they would call it collateral damage! Collateral damage they say is unavoidable. They say. We suffer. How can our death be collateral? Indeed, it is easy to label innocent deaths as collateral damage or better still brand innocent people as Foreign Terrorists and there you have the world endorsing your view. The world might endorse it, but the Kashmiris will not. They know the truth, the reality of the Indian state. India and Pakistan might buy our so-called leaders, but they can never buy a Kashmiri.

The blindia media

The Indians are not interested in the realities of Kashmir. When told the reality of Kashmir, they call it anti-national. For long the Kashmiris have seen the Indian Media distort the truth of Kashmir for their own cause. For long we have seen the Indian Media create false stories of prosecution by militants and for long we have seen the atrocities of the Indian Army brushed under the carpet.

Does the blind Indian Media (blindia) feed lies to the Indians because that’s what the Indian media (aka Government) wants or is it because the Indians are unwilling to accept the truth? It could be both ways or it is possible that after years of tuning the minds to think in a particular way (that a Kashmiri is a militant till and until proven otherwise) the government has succeeded and the Indians can no longer accept anything other than what they have been tuned to think and that is what the media will keep on feeding them. The people in India want to hear good things about their country. They can not even fathom the idea that the Indian Army can do any bad. For them, the Indian Army is a re-incarnation of God and whatever it does is right. It is always the Kashmiris, the God-damned Muslims who are evil. Kashmiris deserve death. Whether or not we Kashmiris deserve death, we sure are getting it.

The burnt black bear

The burning of a wild bear by some people in Kashmir revealed the hypocrisy and obsession with anything that is ant-Kashmiri of the Indian media and people. A wild bear was burnt by some people in a village in Kashmir. The reaction of the media and the people of India was enormous. The India media and the people wanted answers; they wanted to know how such a ghastly act could be committed by people. It reinforced and justified their already pre-tuned minds that Kashmiris are anything but humans. The Indian Media played its part by covering the ‘atrocity’ extensively. The people asked, they shouted and they wanted the people who committed the gravest of gravest atrocities behind the bars. Syed Ali Shah Geelani sometimes speaks total sense and this was one of those times:

“A month ago when a wild animal was killed by the people at Pulwama, people in Delhi resented the killing of the wild animal and said that wild animals in Kashmir are not safe, but the on other hand the innocent Kashmiris are being killed on the orders of the same people who are worried about the safety and security of wild animals in Kashmir,” he said adding that the series of the custodial killings are “worst kind of state terrorism.”

The Killing of a bear shocked India, the killing of innocent Kashmiris lulled India to sleep.

We need a kill, operations have dried up

“I am a carpenter. Farooq (Constable Farooq) knows. Please don’t kill me,” Abdul Rehman Padroo shrieked in fear, his hands folded. “Don’t listen to him. He is a dreaded Pakistani terrorist,” shouted Deputy Superintendent of Police Bahadur Ram. Then Padroo was shot.

courtesy of indian express

And the kill was Ghulam Hassan Padroo , a carpenter murdered by the forces since the killing fields had dried up.

Quite accidentally, an investigation into a missing man, revealed the truth about the security forces in Kashmir. The truth of murdering Kashmiris and branding them as foreigners. The truth that killing a Kashmiri and branding him as a foreigner does reward . The truth that the thousands of Kashmiris who have disappeared might have been killed by the army.

The accidental investigation and the consequent revelation that innocents were being murdered by the government in Kashmir opened the Pandora’s Box, many more bodies were exhumed and more graves were uncovered. The killing fields of Kashmir were revealed and 18 more fake victims identified. Graves were found in abandoned army camps and somewhere in Kashmir, 30 people lie nameless in a graveyard. The opposition claimed that 6 more encounters were fake and the police discovered another scam within its rank. The families demanded death to the killers; the government suspended four cops, arrested two senior officials and ordered an investigation. An investigation in which the Indian government run BSNL is not cooperating. The army and the CRPF have started separate investigations. Investigations in Kashmir mean cover up and a continued license to the forces to kill.

It’s tough to put into words the feelings of living in a piece of land occupied by foreigners. It is tough to see our brethren getting killed for the crime of being a Kashmiri. It is tough to see people getting murdered in the most terrible manner for a few hundred thousand rupees and a few promotions.

In a post Kill a Kashmiri Win 100,000 Rupees, many Indians claimed that the person killed was indeed a terrorist. They needed proof that it was otherwise. We have answers and the proofs and what we see now is just the tip of iceberg but this will not change the reality of living in Kashmir. These revelations will in no way change the thinking of the Indian people who are busy worrying about the burnt black bear. These revelations will not change the government policy of repression and occupation as the revelations were accidental very much like the sex scam in Kashmir. The investigations in the sex scandal led to nothing as will be the case with these investigations.

Chief Minister agrees that innocents are killed for rewards

The Chief Minister of Kashmir has accepted the fact that killings do indeed happen for promotions and rewards. The Chief Minister, perhaps unknowingly, has accepted that the government rewards murders. Indeed the murders are shrouded in the cover of terrorism.

If any security person found guilty of killing any innocent for personal reasons like promotion, rewards, or appeasement of bosses, he won’t be spared in any case, as no body is above the law

courtesy of greater kashmir

Update

DNA test confirm charge, Army not cooperating

With a DNA report confirming that the man killed by troops as Lashkar militant Abu Zahid was in fact Abdul Rahman Padroo, a carpenter, the focus of investigations into the killing of six villagers in fake encounters on Thursday shifted to the Army.

J-K Police officers say the Army is not co-operating in the investigations into the fake encounter.

The J-K Police have already arrested 13 of their own men, including the then Senior Superintendent of Police, Ganderbal, Hansraj Parihar, and his deputy DSP Badur Ram.

courtesy of indian express

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Tags: Human Rights, India, Indian Army, Kashmir, Kilings, Pakistan, Terrorism

I Can Kill Everybody

A father and a son were killed by a speeding police vehicle, which was driving on the wrong side, a day before Eid.

I can kill everybody

“I am from SOG, not an ordinary cop, I can kill everybody, I will teach you a lesson,” a visibly frustrated cop shouted at women, firing tear smoke canisters towards them. (greater kashmir)

I’ll not spare them

Superintendent of Police (South) Uttam Chand rushed to the spot with a large contingent of police and caught hold of youth from the group, saying, “Why did you burnt our vehicle. Those who have burnt it, I have seen them, I’ll not spare them,” the SP shouted.(greater kashmir)

Killing in Kashmir is not uncommon but gradually it appears that the police and the army see themselves as reincarnations of God on earth. Be it the illiterate gun totting policeman or his superior office, they both think that they are the Greater Beings, created to maim and kill the children, the young, the old and the women of Kashmir. The Jammu and Kashmir Police has turned over the past decade and a half from an organisation supporting the freedom struggle to a people more than happy to kill innocents and it will continue to grow evil. It has already graduated from beatings innocents to killing them, now they just need to expand their reach and increase the innocent death toll. Once India is confident that the police have been trained well to behave as colonial masters, as is the attitude of the army at present; it can reduce the presence of the army, flash a happy face to the world, confident and satisfied at the thought that the same role is being played by someone else. Lessons from the colonial masters, the British, has always inspired India: import officers who can act and behave as colonial masters, obtain the major chunk of the force from the local population and impose evil through them.

It is not just in Kashmir that the armed forces see themselves as reincarnations of God, as far away as Christiana, the army is playing as murky a role as it can, but shouldn’t. Pakistan even though with a long history of military dictatorships is not as cruel and inhumane to the innocents as is the Indian army. With the kind of role that the army is playing in Kashmir and in places like North East and even in Christiana, one can not imagine what would happen to India if a military dictatorship was imposed. India would probably turn into the world’s largest killing field, where every innocent would get killed for 20 rupees.

Somewhere in Kashmir, a mother cries

“Why did you leave me alone?” Imtiaz’s mother Jana yelled on seeing blood and pieces of human flesh on the mangled motorcycle. She tore her clothes and tried to bang her head on the bike, but fainted after seeing the shoes of her husband and son near the bike.(greater kashmir)

And Kashmir keeps on bleeding.

A Suspect’s Life

One Kashmiri, three armed troops: one frisks, another aims the gun at, the third one stays on alert.

This is how Kashmiris, the people supposed to be protected, are treated by the 0.7 Million troops stationed in Kashmir: as suspects.

Picture copyright and courtesy of Greater Kashmir/Mubashir Khan.

Srinagar – A City?

Srinagar is often referred to as a city. It’s great injustice. Srinagar no longer deserves the title of “city.” It might have been one in the past, but now it qualifies at best to be called a slum and at worst a gutter. Do not fret. It only takes a couple of hours of rain to turn even the main city roads into dirty drains – or a gutter And the present state of the city – with haphazard constructions, non-existent sewerage system, absence of sewage treatment plants, roads covered with dust instead of asphalt, presence of rude and senseless policemen at every nook and corner, who have possibly lost the meaning of ‘decency’ somewhere in the abyss of time; idiotic, ill mannered bus and truck drivers – who value nothing more than money – are some features of our Srinagar that qualify it to be called a slum. Slums are never planned and so is the case with Srinagar as of now. Srinagar is a wonderful example of a city ruined by its inhabitants, policy makers, government and each and every person from the cobbler who sits at the road bend to the highest seat of power, the chief minister. The reason for the ruin is greed, a greed which sees no culture which sees no history, which attaches every iota of significance to materialism!

Hopes were tied to the Municipal elections, people who had thought that Srinagar might change for better were day dreaming. Nothing changes in Kashmir. The only difference that the Srinagar Municipality brought to Srinagar was the presence of our mayor at each important junction of the city with the slogan ‘keep your city clean,’ through hoardings. The mayor had gone so far as to put his picture on the hoardings. I see no benefit of such an devour, but if there is some spiritual or sixth sense logic in that, I am unaware of that. It would have done the residents of Srinagar more good if dustbins, an effective garbage collection, a recommended garbage disposal system, and improvement of the perks and benefits of the lower rung employees were undertaken. But, this is Kashmir. but even the photo advertising of the mayor seems to be a shot in the dark, as even though after passing through the hoarding hundreds of times, I will be unable to recognize his face in real person. But, possibly one of the hoardings opposite the Legislative Members Residential Colony (known as MLA Hostel) could be of some use. In case a securitygaurd doesn’t let him in, he could point towards the hoarding and prove his identity. The hoarding is a massive identity card, I would say.

Act Two: The Slave Of Delhi Unleashes Terror

The Chief Minister of Kashmir Ghulam-e- Dilli (Slave of Delhi) also known as Ghulam Nabi Azad not satisfied at the killing of a young Kashmiri in broad day light has unleashed further terror. He is trying his best to put fear in the hearts of Kashmiris. However, his tactics, his actions will not deter the Kashmiri Youth.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police (at the request of CRPF probably) thrashed college students in their classes. Their crime: they had called a meeting to condole the death of their colleague.

The Act

At least 40 students were injured on Thursday, five of them critically, when police thrashed students inside classrooms of a college here and used force to disperse a demonstration against the killing of an undergraduate student, Ghulam Muhammad Sheikh by paramilitary CRPF troops at Dalgate yesterday.

“The cops entered our classroom and bolted it from inside. For 15 minutes, they thrashed us,” said Jehangir Rasool, a 2nd year student, while wiping blood from his wounded face.

The cops, according to witnesses, also abused some teachers of the Amar Singh College. “When we tried to stop them from beating out students, they misbehaved with us and hurled choicest of abuses,” the female teachers said.

The Reaction

“I am shocked by the behavior of the police. They entered into the college without my permission and went on rampage. I can’t tolerate the insult to my teachers and beating of my students, without any provocation,” Dr Shamshad, principal of Amar Singh College told Greater Kashmir.

quotes courtesy of greater kashmir

Kill A Kashmiri, Win 100,000 Rupees

A young innocent Kashmiri student, aged 22, shot dead at point blank range by the draconian CRPF. They had promised a revenge killing after a trooper was shot dead by militants in the same location:

The Slaughterers awarded one hundred rupees and promotions for killing the innocent Kashmiri:

The women, wailing and lamenting the fate of Kashmiri youth:

Picture courtesy and copyright of greater kashmir.