A culture of impunity in J&K

It’s a ritual that has been going on in Srinagar since the nineties.

Scores of women and children sit silently in protest at a park with photographs of their missing sons, brothers, fathers or husbands who have disappeared after being arrested by the security agencies. The families simply demand: “If they’re dead, tell us where they are buried.”

That the Indian state is unwilling to answer these women speaks volumes about the culture of impunity in Kashmir. However, considering what both the state government and New Delhi have done towards even a partial revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), proves that, despite repeated promises, neither of them is interested in addressing the humanitarian issues of Kashmir, let alone political and historical ones.

Torture, enforced disappearances, custodial deaths, rapes and fake encounters by security agencies have taken a toll on the population. High suicide rates, surge in mental disorders like PTSD, sexual dysfunction leading to marital discord and addiction to prescription drugs are only some of the effects of living in one of the most militarised regions in the world.

This catastrophe has precipitated over the last two decades with the impunity that the Centre has bestowed on its forces in Kashmir. This is why Kashmiris have been demanding that this unconstitutional law be revoked.

Statements by the Union home ministry, the ministry of defence or the state government on repealing the Act haven’t produced any result and the body count has never failed to escalate. In fact, political wordplay is effectively used to sideline debates on other issues such as the discovery of thousands of unidentified mass graves all over the Valley. So far, more than 68,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the conflict, which has largely transformed from an insurgency into street protests in recent times.

In 2010, over 120 unarmed protesters - men, women and children — were gunned down on the streets by the forces. No one was held accountable. The story was no different in 2008 and 2009. In fact, in 2010 the state dished out monetary compensation to those it had a few months earlier labeled ‘politically-motivated troublemakers’ and in some cases, criminals.

How can there be peace without justice, many ask. Probes of fake encounters from 20 years have not reached the legal conclusions, resulting in impunity. In August 2011, an army jawan and an SOG member were arrested in Poonch for murdering Ashok Kumar, a differently-abled man from Rajouri to get the monetary incentives given for killing a “top militant”. The army and the police, after the 10-hour “encounter”, informed the press that they had killed Abu Usman, a top Lashkar-e-Taiba operative and had recovered a pistol and ammunition from him. The truth emerged after Kumar’s parents identified his corpse.

In a state that takes 20 years to announce a fresh probe into 31 alleged rapes by the army in the Kunan and Poshpora villages of Kupwara district in February 1991, it is considered anti-national to bring up cases of excesses by the security agencies. Oddly enough, every time Kashmiris hold street demonstrations, the government responds by promising them jobs.

Regarding prosecution under AFSPA, the state home department said that between 1989 and 2011 it had sought the Centre’s nod in 50 cases. In reply to an RTI query, the home department said that of these, 31 pertained to the ministry of defence and 19 to the Union home ministry. Sanction for prosecution was “awaited” in 16 cases and “declined” in 26 cases, the ministry stated. The department added that sanction for prosecution was okayed in eight cases — this, after thousands have been killed and are missing.

However, the MoD told the high court on June 5, 2009 that it has received 35 cases under AFSPA from the state government - four more than what is claimed by the state home department. Not a single case was granted for prosecution.

In July 2011, a report submitted to the state human rights commission said unidentified bodies were buried in 38 sites in North Kashmir. The government explained that the nameless dead were foreign militants but DNA tests proved that 574 were Kashmiri civilians. A probe has not begun for 2,717 graves in Poonch and 1,127 in Rajouri.

Laws are enacted by the state to benefit its subjects. Ideally, when these laws cease to serve their primary function and when people univocally over the years demand their revocation in a democracy, the state should relent.