india’s shame genocide in kashmir

8/9/2019 India’s Shame Genocide in Kashmir

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India’s Shame : Genocide In Kashmir

by Andre Vltchek

( February 9, 2!", Srina#ar, Sri $anka Guardian% &elcome to Kashmir' It is dee

)inter* +he mountains are coered )ith sno) and the naked trees aboe the lakes at

sunset, look melancholic and ma#ni-icent, recisely like a comleted .hinese brush

aintin#*

&elcome to a nation oerrun by the /,0stron# security -orces o- the occuyin#

o)er 1 India* &elcome to the continuous resence o- barbed )ire, o- military

columns, and security checks’* &elcome to a brutality unima#inable almost any)here

http://www.slguardian.org/?p=26488https://fbcdn-profile-a.akamaihd.net/hprofile-ak-xpf1/v/t1.0-1/c25.0.100.100/p100x100/10929570_860105940717033_8835672986022667545_n.jpg?oh=753433cfc80d04acf2a68153cfcb8bef&oe=555226D4&__gda__=1435878932_e2d2de49c3cd454aed4dd3a8e51654f5http://www.slguardian.org/?p=26488


2/15

else on earth'

&elcome to a land o- 3oint military e4ercises conducted by the 5nited States, Israel

and India*

Kashmir' Still beauti-ul but scarred* Still roud but bleedin# and thorou#hly

e4hausted6 Still standin#, still resistin#, still -ree and indeendent, at least in its

heart'

777

Four kids are standin# near the Grand 8osue in Srina#ar* +hey are ed#y they aear

to be ready to 3um, to run, and to -i#ht, also ready to run and retreat i- necessary* It

all deends on the circumstances*

“+hey are rain# our sisters and mothers'; screams one youth* I am sho)n tear#as

canisters, similar to those used in so many other arts o- the )orld to diserse

rotesters* +hey are usually -ired into the air* oun# men in this nei#hborhood are routinely detained, and most o- them hae at

least once, been brutali?ed*

I am hoto#rahin# emty #as canisters in their hands, al)ays ointin# my lenses

a)ay -rom their -aces* @ut kids actually )ant to ose: they are not a-raid, anymore*

Ironically, it is 2th Banuary, the Indian Ceublic Day*

“ &e are #oin# later today' +o -i#ht them' .ome )ith us';

+hey use Arabic )ords* +hey oint their -in#ers to)ards the sky* +hey are smilin#,

retendin# that they are brae and ready to die, to martyr themseles* @ut I kno) that

they are scared* I hae been in this -or many years6 I can sense ho) -ri#htened they

are*

+hey are #ood kids* +hey are deserate, cornered, but #ood*

I romise* I say I )ill come* $ater: as al)ays, I kee my )ord*

777

A -e) days later, in Ee) Delhi, in his com-ortable, old0-ashioned aartment, the #reat

Indian Kashmiri indeendent documentary -ilm director, San3ay Kak, talks to me

about the Indian colonialism, in both Kashmir and the Eortheast*


3/15

&e both a#ree that all oer the )orld, there is ery little kno)led#e about the horrors

o- the occuation o- Kashmir, and almost no kno)led#e at all about the occuation o-

the Eortheast* In unison, the mass media in India and in the &est, censors the

in-ormation about the true nature o- oression, killin#, torture and raes*

It is because India has betrayed @CI.S and moed closer and closer to the mire,

to)ards the &est, si#nin# military acts )ith it, )hile sreadin# market0oriented#osel* Eo) it can count on hain# secial status’, like Indonesia* Eo matter )hat it

does, it )ill easily #et a)ay )ith it'

8r* Kak also says that these days it is =di--icult to comete in the market0lace o-

#lobal sorro)*;

&hen I mention the inolement o- both the 5nited States and Israel in 3oint e4ercises

)ith India, in Kashmir, as )ell as in the trainin# o- Indian olice and army o--icers

deloyed in Kashmir, San3ay Kak relies:

“ &hen it comes to brutality, Indian -orces could actually teach both Israelis and the5nited States uite a -e) thin#s*;

A -riend o- San3ay Kak, an Indian )riter and actiist, Arundhati Coy, e4lained in

8arch 2!, on =Democracy Eo);:

“+oday Kashmir is the most densely militari?ed ?one in the )orld* India has somethin#

like /, security -orces there* And in the ’9s, early ’9s, the -i#ht becameH

turned into an armed stru##le, and since then, 8ore than /, eole hae died,

maybe !, tortured, more than disaeared* I mean, )e all talk a lot about

.hile, Jinochet, but these numbers are -ar #reater*;

777

In Kashmir itsel-, I )ork closely )ith =Bammu Kashmir .oalition o- .iil Society; 1

)ith both its Jresident, Jare? Imro?, and )ith Jarai? 8atta, a human ri#hts

researcher* @oth men became my #ood -riends*

BK..S actually beliees that since the 9’s, 8ore than /, eole hae lost their

lies in Kashmir, mostly ciilians* +he or#ani?ation is oenly callin# )hat occurs in

Kashmir 1 #enocide*

8r* Jare? Imro? )rote -or this essay:“+he army since !99 has resorted to )ar crimes as they hae been #ien the le#al

imunity and seldom hae any armed ersonnel -or crimes a#ainst humanity hae

been unished* +he militari?ation in Bammu and Kashmir has a--ected all asects o-

li-e and un-ortunately the Indian media and ciil society, )ith some e4cetions, hae

been also e4tendin# the moral and olitical imunity to the army )ho they beliee are

-i#htin# trans0border terrorism* +he systematic disaearance, mass #raes, torture

has been comletely i#nored by the Indian and international media*;


4/15

“In order to suress the -reedom stru##le in Bammu and Kashmir, the Indian

#oernment has resorted to systematic and institutional reression* 8ore than

/, armed -orces hae been ressed into serice to neutrali?e the armed stru##le

and to control the eole o- Bammu and Kashmir )ho are seekin# the ri#ht o- sel-0

determination )hich #oernment o- India had romised be-ore the 5nited Eations in

the !9L and !9L9 resolutions* +he reression o- the Indian state has been art o- theirolicy* In this lie culable een the 3udiciary )ho as a )in# o- the State has sered the

interests o- the e4ecutie and not the eole o- Bammu and Kashmir*

“+he international institutions and articularly the )estern ciil society and

#oernments a-ter 9M!! and because o- Islamohobia and other interests are

comletely i#norin# the situation in Bammu and Kashmir*;

777

In Kashmir, no matter )here I #o, no matter )here I drie, there are constant,

o)er-ul reminders o- the occuation: -rom the almost #rotesue resence o- themilitary, olice and aramilitary -orces, to mass #raes* Army barracks are lined u

alon# all the ma3or roads* 8ilitary and olice trucks drie on them in all directions, on

all the ma3or and secondary roads* +here are countless roadblocks and checkoints*

@ut it is not 3ust the direct and brutal -orce that is bleedin# and destroyin# Kashmir*

Jarai? 8atta e4lains that this enormous Indian security -orce has mana#ed to

in-iltrate and diide local society* Sies and snitches hae been inserted* @rae

resistance -i#hters )ere discredited as in-ormers* Cesistance moements hae been

broken, diided, and so hae entire communities, een -amilies*

+here is #reat sense o- insecurity* Interro#ators telehone -ormerly detained, alle#edresistance -i#ures, and tell them: =&e )ill soon #et your sister*;

+he brutality o- the torture here is unima#inable by any standards* I hae inesti#ated

and reorted on countless )ar?ones, all oer the )orld and countless times, I )as

entrusted )ith hair0raisin# stories o- saa#ery*


5/15

In the hi#hly traditional Kashmiri custom, seeral eole sit on the -loor, le#s

stretched, old0-ashioned heaters laced under the blankets* &e are drinkin# tea*

&hen it comes to this meetin#, I can only identi-y t)o men in this essay -rom the

BK..S, by their real names* +he rest are those )ho are )orkin# on behal- o- their

abused land, but their ositions in the international or#ani?ations and ress a#encies

)ould be comromised, )ere they to #o ublicly on the record*

+hey all heled me a lot, #uidin# me, e4lainin# the situation, sulyin# me )ith

contacts and in-ormation* +hey )ere )illin# to seak on condition o- anonymity, and it

is clear )here their hearts and alle#iances )ere:

“Indians are ery moralistic, )hen it comes to Jalestine6 Althou#h, een that is

chan#in#, a-ter this administration o- Jrime 8inister 8odi is moin# India closer and

closer to)ards the &est* 5S and Israel here are deely inoled in anti0terrorist

trainin#’* .ountless military and olice o--icers are receiin# their education in the 5S,

uroean 5nion, and Israel* Jolice o--icers are bein# -lo)n abroad* +he army iser-ormin# re#ular e4ercises )ith the 5S and Israeli -orces, mainly in the area o-

$adakh, near Jakistan*;

“$adakh is actually e4tremely oular amon# Israelis* 2, to , come here,

eery year, as tourists, or in some double caacity*;

“+he ideas and methods o- Israeli settlements are )idely used in Kashmir* @ut they are

imroed’ here* +he Indian state is -ine0tunin# Israeli olicies o- aartheid*;

erybody here a#rees that the brutality -actor is much hi#her in Kashmir than in

Jalestine:

“+he brutality o- Israeli -orces is not hidden: it is all in the oen* ery action a#ainst

the Jalestinian eole is )ell documented* Israeli actions are constantly critici?ed -rom

abroad, een at home*


6/15

more than t)o decades a#o, as they demanded the end o- the Indian occuation*

“


7/15

is easy to ima#ine the tye o- methods it uses*

“8ost cases o- torture and rae are not documented;, e4lained Jarai?* =@ut my

or#ani?ation alone has already mana#ed to amass documentation on around ",

instances o- torture* For instance, a -ather had his head choed o-- in -ront o- his

horri-ied -amily6;

I make him sto, at least -or a -e) minutes* I need to at least hae a short time to di#est

)hat I see around me, as )ell as )hat I am told*

777


8/15


9/15

+here )ere t)o cos, -rom the illa#e, )ho tried to assist the in3ured )omen* $ater,

they )ere )illin# to come -or)ard and to testi-y* Nne o- them )as shot dead 1

murdered*

I am told that L )omen came -or)ard and #ae testimonies* +hese )ere married

)omen* 8inor, unmarried #irls, had ket their identity secret* @ut een so, almost no

youn# )oman -rom Kunan could #et married, a-ter)ards* +he sti#ma )as too #reatand no illa#er -rom the area )anted to marry a rae ictim*

Jarai? e4lained that the raes are still takin# lace in the dee roinces, in the

-rontier areas, )here the eole are at the mercy o- the military* =Still, rae is used as a

)eaon o- )ar;, he said*

For the Kunan onslau#ht, not one soldier has been unished, so -ar*

@e-ore )e le-t, the husbands o- the rae ictims, e4lained:

“+his haened at the be#innin#6 +hen many other, terrible eents took lace* &e

tried to lay by the rules, usin# the Indian le#al system* @ut a-ter almost a uarter o- acentury, there has been no 3ustice*


10/15

do the same*

I told him about the mass rae in the city o- rmera, in ast +imor* +he Indonesian

-orces did it 1 e4actly the same scenario as in the Kashmiri illa#e o- Kunan*

I )as then )orkin# ille#ally in ast +imor* I )as detained and tortured* Eobody eer

#ot unished -or the rae or -or the killin#s* 8any eole directly resonsible -or the

#enocide in ast +imor are no) #oernin# Indonesia*

777

As )e assed Ku)ara, the mood in the car si#ni-icantly imroed*

“I did not )ant to tell you, but chances )ere that be-ore reachin# Ku)ara, )e could

hae been stoed, interro#ated and then6;

I #ot the oint*

@ut no) it )as -ine’*

+he -urther )e droe a)ay -rom Ku)ara, the sa-er it )as #ettin# by no) )e )ould

hae many ar#uments -or 3usti-yin# our tri* I hoto#rahed a -e) military and

aramilitary cams, throu#h the )indshield*

+hen I asked our drier to sto* I needed to take a iss*


11/15


12/15


13/15

@ut there is -ear* It is cold it is an omniresent -ear*

I am told by many, that no), eole are a-raid o- een rotestin# a#ainst the scarcity o-

basic sulies* Nne could easily disaear*

I am told that here, the Indian -orces are tryin# to hook youn# eole on alcohol and

dru#s, in order to kee them a)ay -rom the resistance*

@ut others say: in this city, in Soore, eole are determined* +hey resist* +hey are

actie here* +his city roduces bi# eole' Jeole that neer surrender' Indian -orces

call it =$ittle Jakistan;*

.an the hu#e oressie -orce really be de-eated, and i- yes, then ho)O

+his is )hen, een in Soore een in the middle o- the ni#ht, in -ront o- a house that

recently )itnessed a real battle, eeryone #ets realistic:

“Nnly international ressure can hel';

777

At some oint, one #ets e4hausted, almost numb, a-ter listenin# to detailed and )ell0

documented accounts o- e4tra03udicial killin#s, disaearances, torture and raes*

At one oint I )as resented )ith eidence about a man )ho )as detained, uestioned

and )hen he aeared de-iant, both o- his -eet )ere choed o--*


14/15

+here are tourists in Kashmir, not only Indian, but -orei#ners as )ell* +hey #o skiin#

and sno)boardin# in Gulmar#, or hikin# to $adakh* +here are uroeans and Israelis,

some Eorth Americans*

8any locals call it =horror tourism in Caistan;*

I encountered seeral coules, hi#h in the mountains, in Gulmar#: red cheeks -rom too

much -resh air at the hi#h altitude* I talked to a @ritish coule en3oyin# skiin#, a

German coule on acation6 +hey had no clue about )hat )as haenin# in Kashmir*

&hen I ressed them a bit: =@ut you must hae noticed all those bunkers, military

conoys and checkoints;, their simle rely )as: =>es6 &ell, India has to do

somethin# about the terrorism roblem, ri#htO;

It is a )ell0documented -act that the mire is countin# on seeral countries, all oer

the )orld, -or actin# on its behal-, sreadin# terror in the nei#hborhood’, o-ten

brutali?in# een its o)n eole* +hese countries are, -or instance, C)anda, 5#anda

and Kenya in A-rica,


15/15

+he door )ould not close, and there )ere holes, all oer* It )as India, a-ter all* I could

hae -ro?en to death, i- the stu-- did not be#in moin# a -e) minutes later*

India is -acin# some o- the most serious challen#es on arth: -rom illiteracy to dee

oerty* /, security -orces cost billions o- dollars, annually, ra#matically

seakin#* en i- the Indian elites, #oernment and military do not care about the

Kashmiri eole and their li#ht, they should care at least about their o)n oor'

india’s shame genocide in kashmir

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