Of the blood in Kashmir
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Jammu and Kashmir, like Kerala, Gujarat, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh, is an inalienable part of India's soul. A Kashmiri has as much rights and powers in India as a Malayalee, Gujarati, Manipuri, or Arunachali has. However, the communally motivated forces and terrorist outfits are not ready to accept this truth, neither are the authorities servile at their command. Meanwhile, reports emerged in recent weeks showed the situation of Kashmiri students facing discrimination in higher education institutions in several places in the country and dry fruit vendors being evicted in UP capital Lucknow. Even as it is declared over and again that Kashmir is integral part of India, Kashmiris are forced into alienation without giving them even the basic consideration of being humans. The reports of injustices and atrocities being committed against common people, children, media and human rights activists in the name of eradicating terrorism is nothing new in Kashmir. The most recent of those incidents is the torture and subsequent loss of three lives in the name of probe into the terror attack in Poonch.
On December 21, five soldiers lost their lives in a terrorist attack on two army vehicles in Bufliaz Savani area of Poonch district. The army has taken into custody eight villagers as part of the investigation to identify those behind the terrorist attack. Three of them were later found dead. The grief of the people gave way to anger when a video surfaced showing those in custody having been subjected to brutal torture. Those who survived told the newspaper 'Indian Express' that they had been stripped naked and beaten brutally with lathis and iron rods before chili powder was applied to their wounds. Following this, the army hedged about the village and ordered the villagers to immediately bury their dead. Convinced apparently of the injustice, the Union Home Ministry, which oversees the union territory, announced compensation to the victims’ families and jobs for their dependents. Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir police has filed a case of murder against a few unnamed soldiers in connection with the killing of civilians. Army Chief General Manoj Pande, who visited the place, directed the military officers to carry out operations in a "highly professional manner". A military-level investigation has also been initiated into the incident.
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The Indian Army, guarding the country’s borders by defeating the strategies and lethal weapons of enemies, plays a crucial role in keeping the people and the country together both in times of conflict and peace. Soldiers deployed in various corners of the country are engaged not only in national security operations but in relief works and services. However, it goes without saying that the incidents that breach all norms could undermine the army’s reputation and people’s faith in them and in the country as well. The custodial torture, fake encounter killings and attribution of terrorism, as examples in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and North Eastern states suggest, can alienate people and the state beyond the point where integration is difficult. The flagrant failure on the part of the administration, even after announcing that it was trying to mainstreaming Kashmiris and so convinced the Supreme Court, is the attitude of seeing people as enemies. Rather than bringing to justice the conspirators and terrorists behind the attack, torturing the villagers and killing them is not only a violation of laws and human rights but also an insult to the brave soldiers who laid down their lives for the country.