News Kashmir Magazine

Over the past near three and a half months Kashmir has become synonym of sad news and pessimistic developments. One after another bad news has dawned the sphere of life in the browbeaten valley of Kashmir .Killing, injuries, continuous shutdowns, blindings have defined the life in Kashmir during this time.At least 92 civilians have been killed and over 13,000 injured in the last 104 days of the on-going civil uprising since July 9, a day after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani.Hundreds have been left blinded by the brutal use of pellet guns.

In another worrying development, The Jammu and Kashmir government has sacked over a dozen of its employees for their alleged involvement anti-India activities.“Reports on their anti-national activities prepared by the state police were forwarded to the Chief Secretary, who then directed respective heads of departments to issue orders terminating their services,” reports said.

cross Line of Control (LoC) firing  incidents have grown making innocents living on border pay a heavy price and incidents of violence have alsp grown in Kashmir.

In late 2015 and early 2016, observers of Kashmir reported growth in home-grown militancy and radicalisation of the Kashmiri population. Several reasons for this trend have been cited such as the absence of a political dialogue, the lack of economic opportunities, frustration due to high unemployment, excessive militarisation of the public space and repeated human rights violations by the security forces.

Globally noted organizations have expressed concern over the worsening of condition in Kashmir. Amnesty International accused Indian security forces were using “arbitrary and excessive force” to deal with the protests in Kashmir. It also stated that their actions were a violation of international standards and were leading to a worsening of the human rights crisis in the state. The organisation also criticized the use of pellet guns stating they had been used a 100 times in Kashmir during the first week of September 2016 even though its use was meant to be rare. It called for their ban stating they were dangerous and also expressed concern at the deployment of PAVA shells in the state as they could be used in an “arbitrary or indiscriminate manner”

Undoubtedly, sad developments have defined life in Kashmir since long.

 

Protests by students against government announcement to conduct the 10th and 12th class examinations from this month across Kashmir have continued unabated,  with several groups taking to streets in the city and elsewhere.

Students state when there is political uncertainty in the Valley from the last 100 days, when Schools and Colleges remain totally closed and students were not able to attend the tuitions due to imposition of Curfew restrictions and strike calls, how could the  student community have got the mental stability to  prepare  themselves for the examinations.

On their part, student bodies have made it clear that  Government should be aware  that examinations are directly linked with the bright future of students and as such students are neither mentally nor the situation presently allows them to sit in examinations, adding, the examination are not like state or parliamentary elections to which government will expect the normalization in political situation.

Education experts  have also made it clear that the need of hour is to grant Syllabus concession to students and in case concession is not granted in syllabus majority of the students will not be able to fair good in examinations, which can cause grim mental trauma and also adversely  impact their prospects for eligibility to different colleges as well as competitive examinations.

Realities urge that examination schedule should be relaxed in Kashmir and syllabus relaxation should be given so that students fare better in the exams.

save Owing to the volatile and violent situation in Kashmir over the past three months the masses in valley have been hit hard by the phenomenon of mental stress. The relatives of people injured, blinded and killed are the worst affected by this, followed by those who are incurring losses or joblessness due to the ongoing agitation. .Doctors say conflict in the region is the main cause for depression cases in Kashmir. Nearly half the population of adults is suffering from stress in Kashmir. A huge chunk of Kashmir population is suffering from depression, according to a recent survey.The survey, conducted by Medecins Sans Frontieres or MSF,

 

The study says that nearly 1.8 million adults equaling 45 per cent of adult population suffers from mental distress in Kashmir valley and a majority of people have experienced or witnessed conflict-related trauma. Nearly three decades long political conflict and deadly violence has made valley of Kashmir a hotbed of mental trauma.

We need to ensure proper treatment and aid to patients so that they fight this mental tension and distress. As a matter of fact, The World Health Organization defines psychological first aid as “humane, supportive and practical assistance to fellow human beings suffering serious crisis events.” It is recognizing people in distress, listening to whatever they have to say, and linking them to the services and support they need immediately, whether food, shelter, communication with loved ones or something else. It’s a response that was developed in contrast to “psychological de-briefing” – making a victim recount the details of their experiences – which Doctor Roudaut says has been linked to the later development of PTSD.

Ending conflict and proper treatment can only save Kashmir from Mental Distress.

 

In response to URI attack which killed 19 soldiers, India has claimed that it carried surgical strikes across what it called Terror Camps causing enormous causalities. As a matter of fact,  a surgical strike is a military attack which results in, was intended to result in, or is claimed to have resulted in only damage to the intended legitimate military target, and no or minimal collateral damage to surrounding structures, vehicles, buildings, or the general public infrastructure and utilities.

 

Precision bombing is another example of a surgical strike carried out by aircraft – it can be contrasted against carpet bombing, the latter which results in high collateral damage and a wide range of destruction over an affected area which may or may not include high civilian casualties.

“Significant casualties have been caused to terrorists and those trying to shield them. We don’t have a plan to further conduct such strikes. India has spoken to Pakistan,” DGMO Lt Gen Ranbir Singh said.

On its part, The Pakistani military confirmed the deaths of its soldiers yet dismissed the Indian claim of ‘surgical strikes.’

“There had been cross border fire initiated and conducted by India which is [an] existential phenomenon,” said an ISPR statement released shortly after the Indian Director General of Military Operations held a press conference making claims about surgical strikes.

What will be the ramifications of these surgical strikes on regional situation remains to be seen. But, we are heading for tense and volatile times.

Kashmir is currently witnessing quiet painful situation. More than 75 protesters have been shot dead by security forces and about 10000 are injured and hundreds have been blinded by the pellets. Shutdown has crossed 65 days with most of the days having been marked by crippling curfew. Just few days back a high powered All Party Delegation lead by Home Minister Rajnath Singh visited the trouble hit Kashmir valley. It was painful to observe that even this visit by All Party Delegation failed to achieve anything that can be termed optimistic or concrete.

Coercion and oppressive measures can no longer be an answer to quell the political sentiment of Kashmir and time has come to recognize Kashmir as political problem and offer political solution. The painful situation in Kashmir has also been termed by many intellectual voices of India as a blot to “Indian democracy “.

All those who have caused this bloodshed should be punished but unfortunately State has never shown a will in past three decades to act tough against security forces responsible for innocent killings as a result anger, rage and alienation has been increased.The need of the hour is to stop bloodshed in Kashmir and initiate a meaningful , result oriented dialogue process with all stakeholders.

Off late, we have witnessed much hue and cry being  raised over rising incidents of crime against women, it seems little has changed on the ground.

In a dastardly and heart wrenching report we have learnt that in the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh Rape Videos are being sold .

 

According to a Times of India report, rape videos are being sold in hundreds in these markets, right under the nose of the district administration. The report further added that In view of the huge demand for exclusive rape videos, video clips, which are 30 seconds to even 5 minutes long, are being sold in these markets, priced anywhere between Rs 50 to 150.

 

All this shows how much backward, unjust, tyrannical and ugly we are as a society and this report is enough to shiver the best souls .It is high time that a revolution is ushered that makes our society free from such evils and crushed such demonic tendencies and punishes all the elements of brutality .

If we fail to give our women equal rights as humans and do not stop such dastardly crimes we are doomed as a society.

Kashmir unrest, protests and agitation has completed more than three weeks. Agitation was stoked after killing of HM Commander Burhan Wani in an encounter at Kokernag, South Kashmir .The situation seems to be getting from bad to worse, pellet injuries are growing, number of blinded people is rising and above all the death count is also increasing with every passing day. Thousands have been injured.

The government reaction has been crippling curfew and restrictions. Curfew continues  in Southern Kasmir areas of Anantnag, Kulgam and Pulwama districts. Restrictions are been imposed in Shopian, Srinagar, Budgam Kupwara and Sopore towns etc.

Resistance leadership is being caged. To foil the resistance camp’s Chalo calls the  government responds with detentions and strict curfew while on the day of these calls the  senior resistance leaders Syed Ali Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq are  detained after they try to defy the curbs and lead a march towards the  respective  towns and districts . TWhileas, he JKLF chief Muhammad Yasin Malik, who was also supposed to lead the march to Kulgam, however continues to remain lodged in police station Kothibagh since July 9.

The internet gag on mobile phones continue which has resulted in more than 99 percent of internet users without internet facility.

Sane voices are calling for the government at state and central level to start taking pragmatic steps to end Kashmir crisis and start a political process. Otherwise, Kashmir scenario is heading from bad to worse.

Pain in Kashmir has crossed all limits owing to violence occurred on account of lingering political conflict. Kashmir continues to burn in flames. For more than seven decades Kashmir, or Paradise on Earth as it is called, has suffered at length due to the extremely brutal  violence used  to quell the sentiment of masses for seeking a just solution to their centuries old conflict.

 

India  has time and again stated that it is the World’ biggest Democracy. But this assertion goes on much beyond mere size to a direct claim to be also the most moral democracy. How correct is this claim Of course, this unbelievable claim rests entirely upon the gross lack of knowledge and false pride of the Indian masses, who have been indoctrinated to make only an adoration of democracy and not seek its practical application on ground zero. Certainly, Kashmir nullifies this towering claim from every angle .Now, even sane Indian voices state that Kashmir is a “big blot on India’s democracy”.

 

Since 1988 over one lace civilians including women and children have died and many are opining that steps should be taken to address this bloodshed.

Democracy implies respecting the human rights of masses and allowing them to democratically vote to seek solution to their conflict, which in case of Kashmir is the democratically implied solution. Kashmir needs true democracy to mitigate its sufferings and pain

 

Pellet Gun has symbolized new face of oppression in Kashmir over the past few years. Loss of Vision, terrible injuries and often fatalities have been aftermath of deadly pellets fired from  pellet guns on humans of Kashmir.As a matter of fact, a pellet is a non-spherical projectile designed to be fired from an air gun. Air gun pellets differ from bullets and shot used in firearmsbecause of the pressures encountered: airguns operate at pressures as low as 50 atmospheres, while firearms operate at thousands of atmospheres.

Even during the current wave of unrest, the indiscriminate use of pellet gun is giving nightmare to people of Kashmir with analysis emerging that-“Pellet Guns Are Giving Kashmir’s Young & Restless A Dark Future”.

 

On the otherhand,Indian state proudly states  that it is the biggest democracy of  the world . But in Kashmir the behavior of state seems brutally unexplainable and this has turned Kashmir into a painful Concentration camp. We all know that Eyesight is the most precious gift bestowed to mankind from God but for people who have no sight or limited sight because of a birth defect, disease, or an accident, all of life’s experiences are dimmed and virtually meaningless. But in Kashmir the new method of torture invented has been shattering and destroying  eyesight via pellet guns thus ruining their entire world.

It is high time that voices of conscience in India wake up from the slumber and force their government to stop the use of brutal pellet gun in Kashmir.

World renowned and Popular qawwal Amjad Sabri was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Karachi’s Liaquatabad area on Wednesday, people belonging to all walks of life condemned the incident and mourned his death. The nation of Pakistan and his fans throughout the world are in shock over his killing by terrorists.

Pakistan Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif has strongly condemned terrorist attack in which famous Qawwal Amjad Sabri lost his life. The Prime Minister prayed for eternal peace for the departed soul and strength to the bereaved family to bear this irreparabe loss. The Prime Minister directed the concerned to find the culprits behind this attack and bring them to task. Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif paid tributes to the services of Mr. Amjad Sabri for promotion of Qawwali in the country and said he will be immensely missed in times ahead.Others too expressed their grief .

It is worth mentioning here that Amjad Sabri was the nephew of qawwali icon Maqbool Sabri who passed away in 2011.

Maqbool Sabri along with his brother, the late Ghulam Farid Sabri, formed a formidable qawwali group in the mid-50s and became known for their soul-stirring renditions of arifana kalam (mystic poetry).

One hopes Pakistan will wake up from slumber to fight extremism.