How Modi can end rights abuse in Kashmir

Well begun is half done. If this is to be believed, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is halfway through in bringing to end almost three decades of human rights abuse in strife-torn Kashmir. Though J&K’s ruling PDP, which is mostly amnesiac about its “healing touch” philosophy, may find the topic of human rights irrelevant, it should be relevant to the prime minister.

It has been one complete year that Army is not accused of any civilian killings in the Valley, a first since 1990s. Having achieved this feat, it is high time for Modi to take the next big leap. This is because his forthcoming visit to Srinagar is again expected to be peace-centric, which essentially relies on human rights.

On November 3, 2014, two civilians were killed by Army in Chattergam area. A month later, when Modi visited Kashmir on December 8, he made a strong statement. As per a PTI report, the Prime Minister said that it is for the first time that Army owned up tothe mistake of gunning down two innocent youth and action has been taken against those who opened fire. "This had not happened in the last 30 years. Ye Modi sarkar ka kaamal hai. Ye mere nek iradon ka saboot hai," Modi said.

But then it’s not army alone. There are other men-in-uniform as well. On October 13, the Legislative Assembly contradicted chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s statement that no civilian has been killed in Kashmir since he took over. The House clarified that between March 2015 and September 23, three civilians were killed and 41 were injured in “various incidents of clashes and protests.”

In Kashmir, mob-control measures often end up as tools of oppression. Take the case of pellet-gun. As per a Greater Kashmir report, a 19th century British army officer holidaying in Kashmir had discarded use of this gun even for hunting only because of the large scale causalities, that the pellets caused to the prey. The officer, who hunted migratory birds in Wular Lake, was so disheartened at the massacre of the waterfowl that he pledged never to use the gun again.

While the authorities project the pellet gun as a non-lethal weapon, at least 10 deaths and 1,500 fatal injuries have been reported in the last five years. Such details find mention in a recently released Partridge publication Kashmir: Scars of Pellet Gun by Advocate Mannan Bukhari, who head heads the legal cell of the Hurriyat led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.

Another preferred weapon is pepper gas. Like the pellet gun, this too defies the essence of justice. You target one and it attacks everyone. An old man, a baby, or a patient, all gassed to torture by choking, in what is actually an exercise for taming roadside revellers.

Another allegation is the misconduct of forces. Burhan Muzaffar Wani, 21, the new face of militancy, is one such fallout. The course of Burhan’s life, as per media reports, changed in 2010 when he, his brother and another friend, who was riding a bike, were stopped by the police and asked to get cigarettes. In return for fags, the trio was thrashed. While managing to run for cover, Burhan shouted: “I will avenge this.” That winter, Burhan left home.

Five years on, he is the commander of a new breed of Hizbul Mujahideen militants and carries a bounty of Rs 10 lakh on his head.

It’s not that the men-in-uniform are always to be blamed. A year on, Srinagar, though the hotbed of the separatist sentiment, has been comparatively peaceful. Speaking in the vocabulary of the trending polarisation, a non-Muslim and non-Kashmiri official, who heads the city police, has managed exceptional peace. But elsewhere, people often stage protests against “bullish cops”.

Years on, rights abuse continues to dominate the Kashmir discourse and even ends up glamourising militancy. Having taken the lead, in his forthcoming address at Srinagar, Modi must prioritise his commitment to uphold human rights. A Vajpayee-style handshake with Pakistan can wait!