International Day for Disappeared: Unresolved J&K mystery

As the world observes the International Day for Disappeared on August 30, cries for justice are becoming shriller in Jammu and Kashmir. With the recent discovery of unmarked graves, human rights groups want answers to questions over the missing people.

Nearly 30 national and international human rights groups have endorsed the statement of International People’s Tribunal (IPT) on Human Rights and Justice seeking reparation, both be individualised and collectivised, so that communities, neighbourhoods, and villages can heal and break their isolation
“State Human Rights Commission’s (SHRCs) proposal of offering a relief of Rs 700,000 to the next of kin or undertaking DNA testing-based investigation should be amended, and both the investigation and provision of relief be made mandatory,” said Angana Chatterji, convener-IPTK and professor in anthropology, California Institute of Integral Studies, in a statement.

IPT also asked for the DNA-based profiles of those buried in the unmarked and unidentified graves be cross-tabulated with those that have been involuntarily disappeared in Kashmir.