News Kashmir Magazine

Owais Ahmad Shah

“On 15th August when India after centuries of foreign domination started breathing fresh pure air of freedom, none would have thought that this fresh air would turn poisonous and with the passage of time gets so much contaminated that it would poison the whole of the country’s democratic set-up and the persons to whom the responsibility of governing the country be given would be the fountain head of such poisonous contaminated air”.

The present day politicians governing the country are obsessed in the mantra of looting the country, filling their own coffers. They could be seen fighting for the bone like snarling stray dogs on the street. Power by any means is their prime objective and this lust for power leads to conspiracy, murders and forging a nest between likeminded politicians, bureaucrats and mafias. Now a day’s politics has become such a lucrative profession where prior investment of money and muscle power to grab the chair is suffice to feed the several generations and gives one the respectful position in the society. Politicians are much willing to go with any political party or group so long it serves their interest. The trading and defection among the political parties has become a common practice. In the recent past,the coalition break-up between BJP and PDP can better justify the aforementioned argument. When PDP was left out of power, it’s top members started changing their colours and joined other regional parties whom they thought would have more power in the future.
Spate of scams are pending before courts relating to misappropriation, frauds, corruption in which the present day politicians are shamelessly involved. The definition of corruption has been modified by these politicians tearing every fabrics of morality and ethics. Now unless the court decides a politician as corrupt, otherwise he is more honest than an individual even after getting jailed for months on corruption charges.
Ethics is the most traumatic jokes in the present day politics. In every scam whether Tehelka,Fodder,Hawala,2G or the new called Rafael deal we find wires connected to some powerful politicians.
We shouldn’t forget the laudable example of collective responsibility set up by Britian decades ago when the Harold Macmillan government resigned en masse over scandal of the Defence Minister Profumo associated with the prostitute Christine Keeper, an obscure spy hobnobbing with the Soviet Minister.

Many politicians have reached the nadir of immorality when as a last ditch effort to grab power, they resort to booth capturing and rigging with the help of criminals and gangsters. Many politicians make it to power by openly wielding muscle power, by threatening people openly in public rallies.
The ills of castiesm, communalism and nepotism has insidiously left democracy as an empty shell. Sagely said by the former PM of India, late Rajeev Gandhi that out of 100% only 17% is actually spent on the developmental work of the country.
People have lost faith in their leaders. The youth are disillusioned and they are finding themselves on the horns of dilemma. Voters also find democratic process as the sole process of maneuvering. The situation is undoubtedly grave and everyone seems to be carrying the chip on their shoulder. In a country where the common men had become indifferent towards the process of elections which is the base of democratic set up due to the politics and politicians who are becoming unethical and immoral, the disastrous effect is unimaginable and the whole democratic set up may be left paralyzed.
It is fair to blame politicians only but people should also hold themselves responsible to the great extent for making politicians corrupt. If the people use their right to vote in favour of a gentleman and honest leaders and devote some time to make him the winner, an example can be set and the corrupt politicians would have to think twice before contesting elections. But this is not the case, money and muscle power carries more effect.
It is not to conclude that all the politicians are corrupt. The undying hope lies with the honest and committed politicians who have sacrificed a lot for the welfare of the nation. It is ripe time we enforce a code of conduct to stem the rod and this exercise must begin now. A transparency in the working is urgently needed. Responsible media and opposition can play an important role in exposing the corrupt politicians. The people are also becoming aware of their right to vote, They also think that unless they use their vote for the right leader, the future of the country is set to be bleak and they themselves have to suffer miserably because of their wrong judgment.
Let us hope that the people of India will vote for the honest, dedicated and sincere leaders so that a sea change can be seen in the future.

The writer is Student at GDC Handwara Kashmir)

“Where are human right organizations –Alive or dead??

Showkat Ahmad Dar & Zubair Ahmad

A Genocide, massacre after massacre, after massacre, after
massacre. No one in the world seems to be worried about it.
Nowhere else in the world, human life was deemed as
worthless as in current era. Kashmir is an intractable conflict between the two
South Asian countries: India and Pakistan. It has affected
people of tiny nation badly. Every individual suffered here in
this vale of paradise which was known as the beautiful region
across the globe. But its irony that due to unrest, turmoil, and
cycle of violence, people lost their kiths and kins; and
because of all that, State of Jammu and Kashmir suffered a
lot. This valley has seen plenty of untold stories of massive
violations of human rights committed by army, police,
and by some of the militant groups. Since 1989, the people of
Kashmir were killed, tortured, humiliated, and injured.
Thousands of the people were killed due to cycle of violence
prevalent in Jammu and Kashmir. Thousands of the people got injuries and they became disabled to work. Many are those who lost their beloved children’s, daughters, sisters, mothers,
and some women have lost their beloved husbands, who were
only the source to care for them. Due to turmoil situations,
thousands of the houses and shops were burnt. This study will describe how fundamental rights of the people were
encroached and curtailed. It will also highlight how the people of this region were suppressed due to misuse of the armed forces..

Human right organizations around the world took pledge to dedicate their efforts to protecting human rights and ending human rights abuses without any loaves and fish .Human rights abuses in the Indian state of Jammu and
Kashmir state are an ongoing issue. The abuses range from
mass killings, enforced disappearances , torture, rape and
sexual abuse to political repression and suppression of
freedom of speech . The Indian Army , Central Reserve Police
Force (CRPF), Border Security Personnel (BSF) and various
separatist militant groups have been accused and held
accountable for committing severe human rights abuses
against Kashmiri civilians .
Crimes by militants are said to be incomparable with the
larger scale abuse by state forces. Some rights
groups say close to 100,000 people have died since 1989
while the official figures from Indian sources state the
estimates of number of civilians killed due to the insurgency in
the range of 18,725 to 49,000 civilians, in which 4,642
civilians were killed by security forces. India
accuses the Pakistan Army for abusing human rights in
Jammu and Kashmir by violating the ceasefire and continuing
to kill Kashmiri civilians , a claim which is
totally rejected by Pakistan who blames Indian army for the
violation of LoC.
Let me hit the hit the road about the symbol over substance of kashmirs about human rights organizations. Is human right organisation is still alive or dead where is their already taken pledge to dedicate their efforts for ending the tortures and bloodshed. Kashmir is bleeding everyday infact kashmirs people born in bloodshed, lives in bloodshed and dies in bloodshed. Don’t we people have right to live happily. kashmir valley became a place where the blood is monotonous. Violations here became perpetual and persistent and its outcome is only we kashmiris bear the loss.
2018 and 2019 witnessed large no of violations in kashmir valley
Dear India i am not anti India but remember Those who tied a Kashmir guy to jeep. Paraded him on
bonnet. Made t-shirts out of this. Now are suddenly
reminded of Geneva Conventions.
We kashmiris are in the brim of fire every day we have fear in our minds and hearts. There is karbala everyday in kashmir we wake up with the news of bloodshed. We feels our body, desperate to know whether We are still alive.

Mother was waiting for his son’s Release and police brought his dead body This is our kashmir.Yes, I am talking about A private school teacher, who was arrested by the Jammu and
Kashmir police in connection with a militancy
related case, died in custody on 19th of march 2109 on Tuesday prompting authorities
to order a magisterial inquiry into the incident.
Rizwan Asad Pandit (28), a resident of Awantipora in south
Kashmir’s Pulwama district was a militancy suspect, the police
said. He was arrested from his home a few days back and he
died during the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday.
Sources revealed that Pandit was being interrogated at Cargo
headquarters of special operations group (SOG) of J&K Police
in Srinagar, when he died.
The family of the victim said Rizwan had no links with any
militant group and they were being harassed just because they
are supporters of Jamaat-e-Islami, a politico-religious
organisation banned by the Center government last month.
The police have requested a magisterial inquiry under Section
176 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to ascertain the cause
and circumstances leading to Pandit’s death, a police official
said, adding that further details were awaited.
Separately police investigation has also been initiated in the
jurisdictional area of the incident.

My Question is that These types of enquires are regular and habitual in our kashmir valley . Now After few months the Authorities will definitely closedown the his case of enquiry. Does investigation or enquiry give us our brother back not at all. Stop these types of violations in kashmir before it reaches point of no return.

Thousands of Kashmiris have been reported to be killed by security forces in custody, extrajudicial executions and
enforced disappearances and these human right violations are
said to be carried out by Indian security forces under total
impunity. Civilians including women and children have been killed in “reprisal” attacks by Indian security forces.

The soldiers of the 4th Rajputana Rifles of the Indian Army on
23 February 1991 launched a search operation for the militants
in a village Kunan Poshpora , in the Kupwara district of Jammu
and Kashmir and after which they were accused by locals of
allegedly raping 23 women. Later, interviews of victims
and eyewitnesses were documented into a short film Ocean of
Tears which was prevented from being broadcast.
Nevertheless, the Indian committee that led a thorough
investigation concluded that the allegations were “grossly
exaggerated” and the Kunan rape story was “a massive hoax
orchestrated by militant groups and their sympathizers and
mentors in Kashmir and abroad as a part of sustained and
cleverly contrived strategy of psychological warfare and as an
entry point for re-inscribing Kashmir on the International
Agenda as a Human rights issue.” However, Human Rights
organizations including Human Rights Watch have reported
that the number of raped women could be as high as 100.

During the Amarnath land transfer controversy more than 40 unarmed protesters were killed by the personnel of Central
Reserve Police Force. At least 300 were detained under
Public Safety Act, including teenagers. The same practice
was again repeated by the personnels of the Central Reserve
Police Force, during the 2010 Kashmir Unrest , which resulted
in 112 deaths, including many teenager protesters at various
incidents.
Hundreds of civilians including women and children have
reportedly been extrajudicial executed by Indian security
forces and the killings are concealed as fake encounters.
Despite government denial, Indian security officials have
reportedly confessed to Human Rights Watch of the
widespread occurrence of fake encounters and its
encouragement for awards and promotions According to a BBC interview with an anonymous security person, ‘fake
encounter’ killings are those in which security personnel kill
someone in cold blood while claiming that the casualty
occurred in a gun battle. It also asserts that the security
personnel are Kashmiris and “even surrendered militants”

“Women in Kashmir have suffered enormously since the
separatist struggle became violent in 1989–90. Like the
women in other conflict zones, they have been raped,
tortured, maimed and killed. A few of them were even jailed
for years together. Kashmiri women are among the worst
sufferers of sexual violence in the world. Sexual violence
has been routinely perpetrated on Kashmiri women, with
11.6% of respondents saying they were victims of sexual
abuse.”
The United Nation report on Human Rights has come so late.
The country is filled with grave-yards, tragedies everywhere,
every family has lost a loved one. Every day brings sad news.
To deprive Kashmiris of human sympathy, world-wide, there
are always enough propaganda reasons, that paint them as
one thing or other and with Indo-Pak governmental resources
a lot can be done.
They are the people who are asking for their freedom, a right
exercised by 194 member nations of UN, or at least a lull in
the rain of fire.

Human rights reports are not enough to stop violations in kashmir.

people felt that state have lost the trust of all these magisterial inquires. Hardly anything has come out of them and truth has been the biggest casualty. The kashmir dispute needs red pencil policy and pragmatic approach for forever rectification. It is pertinent to mention here that no democracy can
be successful where draconian and inhuman laws are
prevailing. Democracy can only survive when the dignity of every individual will be respected and safeguarded. Here are
tears in every mother’s eyes that lost their beloved children.
Everybody here hates violence and is ready to see peaceful
Kashmir without any conflict and human rights violations, may
this dream of so many become reality
There is an urgent need to address
HumanRights violations and abuses and to deliver justice for all people, who have suffered a conflict that has claimed or ruined numerous lives for seven decades.
The human rights violations in state
of Jammu and Kashmir would be considered
democratic failure and dysfunctional polity
which is run by the Indian government in
valley. Kashmiri even are not feeling safe in other parts of India, they are being terrorized and killed in other parts of India. India has always
abused her power in Kashmir. This all was
done on the basis of bayonet and misuse of
power. India debunks the image of Kashmiri
everywhere undoubtedly, it can be said that Kashmiri people are talented, humane, character, and generous, but the system had always suppressed them without taking
into consideration their genuine demands.
Democracy is based on rule of law, justice,
equality, and liberty. But it’s quite ironic that
these features of democracy are absent in Kashmir. All eruptions in the state were caused only because of the democratic failure.
Sumup:

“In the world where the corpse are found..

Killers ain’t found anywhere”

(Dar showkat from Handwara is a Civil services Aspirant.)

Internet —– Oxygen and blood, Let it flow”

Showkat Ahmad Dar
The Internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow. We are all now
connected by the Internet, like neurons in a giant brain. Infact the internet became boon and bane for the people today. Nowadays, most things are connected to the internet and it has completely changed the way we live our lives.
Research has shown that the value of the Internet of things goes further than just connected devices, through the habits that we live by and how this affects our businesses and our personal lives. On the way home from work a woman uses her phone to turn on her central heating. At the same time, an
elder male’s pacemaker is telling the computer at his hospital that his heart-rate has slowed down. Almost everything is accessible in seconds. We are in control of practically everything we own. For people with disabilities or physical difficulties, this kind of technology has probably improved the quality of their lives tenfold. An elderly woman that has difficulty standing can use the internet to turn off the lights in her house when she goes to bed. A man at work can access his home’s CCTV camera to check on his disabled father. The internet is helping is find solutions to everything that used to put a stop to us living our lives freely.

Last month, I met my flock of Intellectual benevolent humans. All we in combine decided to make competitive exams a little easy for young aspirants in Kashmir valley. After hitting the road about the same joint venture we decided to develop an App which will provides students study material, counseling and information on courses and examinations among other features. After few months we all decided to stop this joint venture. the reason for stoppage is nothing but only persistent barring of internet in Kashmir valley. And this got me thinking the percentage of netizens is tremendously
increasing day by day and percentage is expected to increase 3.9 billion in 2018 .How will Bharat
achieve the Digital India plan of making the Internet available to everybody if we curb access to it in some parts of the country?
At the moment, the tendency of the authorities, in India as well as in other countries, is to shut down the Internet or mobile network in conflict situations to close channels of communications for insurgents. That affects civilians as well.
In the last four years, there have been 27 cases of network shutdowns across India. This figure is from a soon-to-be- released report titled Internet Shutdowns in India that the research & advocacy wing of the Digital Empowerment
Foundation (DEF) has prepared. Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, allows the state apparatus to prohibit the assembly of more than 10 people in an area.
Section 69A of the Information Technology Act gives the centre the power to block certain websites or order the blocking of access to data services if a situation threatens security.

In India, it seems, restrictions have been growing over the years. According to DEF’s ‘Internet Shutdown in India’ report, there were two cases each of Internet shutdowns in 2013, 2014 and 2019. But last year, India recorded 14 cases of Internet shutdowns, one of the highest in its history. This year, between May and June alone, the country has already witnessed nine cases of Internet shutdowns, not including the
ongoing virtual curfew imposed in the Valley.
Nine Indian states have witnessed network shutdowns between January 2018 and Jan 2019, Jammu and Kashmir ranks first with nine shutdowns due to “terrorist attack”, “social
unrest”, “possibility of spread of rumors on social media” and
“precautionary measure in view of the Prime Minister’s rally in Srinagar”. It’s followed by Gujarat and Haryana with eight and four cases, respectively.
“Social unrest” due to issues of beef ban, Jat agitation, reservation and terrorist attacks are the main reasons for the high number of network shutdowns in these two states.
Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Meghalaya, Manipur and Nagaland recorded one case each in the last four years.

It is interesting to note that Jammu and Kashmir and Gujarat top the list. While national security, insurgency and the spread of violence are a fear in the conflict-ridden state of Jammu & Kashmir, I wonder what similar threats the government sees in Gujarat—a presumably conflict-free state. Also, if conflict states “require” the government to sometimes impose Section
69A on certain occasions to maintain law and order, how come there has been no such incident reported in
Chhattisgarh, which is affected by Maoist insurgency, in the last four years?
According to the same DEF report, authorities say that 11 out of 27 network shutdowns in India were enforced for “preventive measures”—to maintain law and order in the area.
The increasing number of shutdowns seems to show that the
government is evading its actual responsibility of maintaining law and order, and taking post-incident measures which are undemocratic.
We must understand here that a virtual curfew (Internet shutdown) is as bad as, if not worse than, a physical curfew. It involves many more people and it’s not restricted to a geography. It includes anybody who is online.
Additionally, the government must also understand that the Internet, more than any other medium of communication, is a force multiplier for constructive purposes, instead of perceiving it as a tool merely for nefarious ones. Even at atime of a possible threat to law and order, access to the
Internet also provides citizens with access to emergency services.

My paradise kashmirs economy is shrinking day by day. its all due to barring of frequent internet by the authorities . This barring laid down titanic effect on the lives of students and businessman in different ways. Flock of kashmir Youth are doing their business with telecommunications. Hence due to barring of internet they all get big blow in terms of their economy and livelihood. Dear digital India Remember access to internet is our Democratic right, so don’t take it again and again from us. Infact this is blessing of science not blessing of state or govt. Look towards developed countries of the world and try to mug up their mantra of wellbeing and prosperity. Major portion of their economy and prosperity lies in the accessing of internet. It’s not enough to call yourself worlds 3rd largest economy. The agencies of the govt became lame in order to carry out their daily functions because of frequent internet barring So who suffers only kashmiris where barring of internet is Perpetual. The government of India and its line ,staff agencies are unable to solve the problems of people .It gave a birth to Red tapeism again

In today’s time, access to the Internet is a democratic right, and it should not be taken away from citizens on the pretext of law and order.

Owais Ahmad Shah
The subject of democracy is fascinating for scholars and journalists. Reams have been written to unravel the paradox of the country despite so many factors that belie it. The million dollar question of how Indian democracy can scythe its way through troubled times always remains unaddressed.
The kind of challenges India faced in the first two decades after independence would have left any scholar diametrically skeptical about Indian democracy’s success, one such proof positive is “India: The most dangerous decades” written by Selig.S.Harrison in 1960.In it, Harrison warned:”Odds are almost wholly against the survival of freedom….The issue is in fact whether any Indian state can survive at all”. Yet Indian democracy survived, surprising and confounding its critic’s.
The million dollar question of can democracy deliver in the backdrop of what it has promised to the people of India always takes the centre stage.
Democracy might offer the best solution to politics within the system, but how good is it at coping with politics of the system? Does the democratic process, particularly in a post colonial context, have the strategic room to maneuver to reform the political system of which it is a part? What additional resources might India need to repair the ship, while keeping afloat as storm clouds gather on the horizon?
In India, democracy is embraced only as an interest aggregation or accommodation but not as a liberal force that can pace the way for astounding success stories. Such criticism would sumptuously gnaw away at it and ultimately will reduce it to an empty shell.
Democracy is the most cherished and relished ideal of any country. Every citizen of any country has a yearning desire of a free and fair society that allows every individual to have a fair shake of hand in all subjects that form an integral part of this sacred institution. In a country like India, democracy has always been a red-hot subject that takes the centre stage to attain the glory. During the state of fledgling, the state of India saw many theories across. The so-called political masters ,intellectuals held the belief that it was a wild goose chase for a diverse country like India to survive. But this common fallacy was scotched that laid the foundations for a Grand India that not only survived but thrived to regain her past glory.
What led to many astounding success stories of India is her vibrant democracy. The critics of Indian democratic system cannot help conceding the fact that at the seventh decade of India’s independence, India has come a long way.
The stereotyping of Indians as snake-charmers, old fashioned and dyed in the wool traditionalists has been supplanted by Software technocrats, Business tycoons, Top-level professionals at the International level.
India has grown at gallop. Be it self-sufficiency in food production, development, cutting-edge technology, nuclear field, India has attained the feat.
There are two types of optimists who take a hard and a long outlook of the subject of democracy. One type of optimist believes that India is on the course to become one of the greatest and most powerful democracies in the near future.
The other type of optimist carries worry with the system.
The vexed, million-dollar question about the canker that is eating away at the heart of democratic ideals is looming large .Trust of the people in the political system has taken a downfall. The multiple menaces that have crept into the system have set major roadblocks for India to thrive and shine.
Corruption always takes the top seat that contributes to the major setbacks for any country. In the words of Edward Gibbon,” Corruption is the most infallible symptom of the constitutional liberty”. One has to bear it in mind that corruption is universal in nature and not specific to any particular country but the level of public corruption in India has reached gigantic proportions, shaking the foundation’s of liberal democracy. It has spread like a cancer in the entire political system and has cast a long shadow over the entire political system. Laying aside corruption, the recent examples of mob-lynching,Political vendetta, muzzling of independent voices and others also set major challenges for India.
Public accountability, welfare, sustainability and integrity of political class and bureaucracy has sucked into the abysmal conditions. It is not fair enough to condemn the whole political and bureaucratic class. In all fairness, a great number of fine men and women of unquestionable integrity, unfaltering commitment also tower over the horizon. The time is to accept the hard truth rather than trying to brazen it out.
It is a gospel truth that as a result of lopsidedness in the system, the public perception about the political class is at low ebb since independence. Massive scandals have tarnished the reputation of politicians and has corroded people’s faith in democracy. Given these circumstances, one can sum up that.
(The writer is Student at GDC Handwara.)

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