Why I Believe It’s Important To Talk About Enforced Disappearances In Kashmir

“There is no greater tyranny than that which is perpetrated under the shield of the law and in the name of justice.” – Charles-Louis de Secondat.

Kashmir, as a region so fraught with violence, and one that features so prominently in Indian politics, with conditions reminiscent of an active warzone, with internet shutdowns, curfews and heavy military presence, is a stark reminder of the horrors of unchecked power.

Classified as the world’s most militarised region, Kashmir is claimed by both India and Pakistan and is of great strategic interest due to its location. According to analysts, there are currently 6,00,000 Indian soldiers stationed in Kashmir.

“I was little and every day, on my way to school, I saw men standing in every other corner, in uniform, with a helmet on and a gun in their hands, watching everyone. 

“One day, I went back home and asked my parents who they were and I was told that those men are here to protect. But they never told me who they’re here to protect.

“My curiosity made me wonder who they were, where they came from and why did they always have those big guns on them. Men with guns, in the street, watching everyone. 

“Time passed and I saw them but I stopped noticing them and I wasn’t alone in it,” writes an anonymous YKA user on life and surveillance in Kashmir.

This seemingly habitual part of their lives is a powerful insight into life in conflict regions.

The Narrative Around Kashmir

In Indian political circles, talking about the impunity enjoyed by armed forces and security agencies in “disturbed regions” such as Kashmir and Nagaland is a dangerous task, with any deviation being considered seditious, with the ability to invite criminal prosecution.

Indian political stance on Kashmir is filled with ultranationalism — nationalism that promotes the interest of one nation above others.

Statements from those in positions of authority and power, which are of almost a militant nature, along with warmongering, dominate our dialogue on security and law and order; essential issues like human rights and justice are often forgotten.

I have been interested in human rights and conflict for a really long time, and Kashmir has always been a sobering case study on life in conflict zones.

It was in 2015 when I first started reading about Kashmir. I was a delegate at the International Conference of Chief Justices and Judges, held in Lucknow.

While at the conference, I interacted with a number of judges from around the world on a variety of issues, including civil liberties and state-sanctioned excesses by armed forces, but the lack of discussion on Kashmir, an issue that has been a part of India ever since our independence, was almost disheartening.

Indian judges at the conference refused to take questions on Kashmir, and those who did defended the role of security forces in the name of “national security”.

I was further exposed to insensitive news coverage about Kashmir in the aftermath of the abrogation of Article 370, which revoked the special status given to Jammu and Kashmir in 1954.

News reports focused more on official statements and narratives, and with the entire state in a communications blackout, as well as the imposition of a curfew, it was next to impossible to get opinions from Kashmiris, who were the most affected by the decision.

It seemed clear that mainstream news channels would, to a large extent, parrot the statements of the authorities, despite their reckless decision making, by which they had undertaken such a major step, without consulting local politicians and stakeholders. 

The Issue Of Enforced Disappearances Stands Out

While reading about human rights violations and violence by members of the armed forces stationed in Kashmir, often with the open support of those higher up in the chain of command, the one issue that stood out as being perhaps the most appalling was the enforced disappearances — the kidnapping of a person by agents of the state, followed by a refusal to acknowledge their whereabouts.

Such actions, which violate the basic tenets of civil rights and the rule of law by the state, point toward a breakdown of law and order by those who are supposed to protect it.

The Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons, which is a collective of relatives of victims of enforced disappearances by the state, states that more than 8,000 civilians have been subjected to enforced disappearances in Kashmir, with authorities refusing to give away their locations and even claiming to have never arrested them.

The sheer volume of these cases in Kashmir is something that should concern all of us, and yet we fail to engage in meaningful discussion on the topic and castigate those who do.

In present times, the mere act of raising questions on issues like these can invite imprisonment. This makes these questions all the more important.

The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act

Legal impunity for serious crimes, which our armed forces currently enjoy through the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, is a recipe for disaster, allowing armed forces to fire on those considered threats to law and order, arrest people without warrant and conduct arbitrary search operations while enjoying legal impunity for their actions.

The United Nations has called upon India to repeal AFSPA, saying that the act has no role in a democracy. As Indians, we must also do the same, as the provisions of the law are not only used to violate human rights, they also go against the principle of the rule of law, which states that all individuals must be treated equally under the law.

By providing army officers with legal impunity, the law gives them the right to engage in any action under the provisions of AFSPA without the fear of being brought to justice.

As an Indian, I believe that it is my duty to question the acts of the state that prevent Kashmiris from leading normal lives, as any acts of violence by the Indian state are being done in my name.

Furthermore, as someone privileged enough to have access to a global audience, I believe that it is my moral responsibility to ensure that the world knows about the ongoing situation in Kashmir and those responsible for it.

Featured image for representational purpose via flickr

This is the first part of the three-part series on ‘enforced disappearances and kidnappings by security forces in Indian administered Kashmir’ as a part of the Justicemakers’ Writer’s Training Program, run in partnership with Agami and Ashoka’s Law For All Initiative. The second and third parts can be found here and here.