By Adeel Ahmed
IT’S a known fact that some humans are considered no less than animals because they are subjected to all conceivable forms of torture and persecution. Regrettably, no violation of their rights shakes the conscience of the so-called civilized world that is known to take to the streets over any form of violence meted out to even an animal. The people of India-held Kashmir make one such group of people, who have been bravely facing Indian security forces’ callousness and brutality for decades.
That the land of Kashmir reeks of blood and the air of the valley is polluted with gunpowder are established facts, but the global community has invariably acted like an ostrich over the persistent human rights violations of Kashmiris at the hands of the heartless Indian army and establishment. The international community has put its head in the sand as though this will absolve it from the crime of silence that it has perpetrated over the barbarity of Indian troops in the Indian-occupied Kashmir (IoK).
The list of atrocities committed by Indian forces in IoK appears to be getting longer; it seems that India’s military establishment has thrown all ethics to the wind. In a fresh gun fight between Indian paramilitary forces and Kashmiri combatants in Sopore, security men allegedly pulled a civilian, Bashir Ahmed Khan, out of his vehicle and killed him in front of his three-year-old grandson. Extremely upsetting images of the child sitting on his slain grandfather’s chest have been extensively shared, highlighting the barbarity India is resorting to, to ensure its grip on the Valley. Unfortunately, it appears that Kashmiri children are now inured to seeing the bodies of their relatives as India seeks to suppress the Kashmiri struggle for self-determination and dignity through the harshest forms of violence.
Although the Indian media and police denied that the incident took place at all, hundreds of people in Kashmir staged protest in the wake of Bashir Ahmed’s killing. Had such a condemnable act occurred at any other place, a firestorm would have erupted in the international media—albeit rightly—over exposing a toddler to ruthless violence executed by representatives of the state. But when it comes to India-held Kashmir, as well as Palestine, the world seems to have a different yardstick of justice.
This unashamed hypocrisy must end, while those who killed the elderly must be brought to book. However, it would be wrong to expect justice from a dispensation that considers violence against civilians in the Valley legitimate. As per rights groups, more than 30 civilians have been murdered in different military operations in IoK since January. The fact is that those who call the shots in India can do little to diminish the Kashmiris’ longing for freedom, so they tend to target the most susceptible to air their frustration.
Indian forces, which act in the IoK with impunity, have been on a killing spree for a number of years; men, women, children, even the elderly and the disabled are treated like active fighters on the field. Even active fighters enjoy some privileges under international humanitarian law, but the innocent, helpless Kashmiris are impervious to such protections. But why does India act against the Kashmiri people with such naked brutality? The answer lies in Kashmiris’ willingness to exercise their right to freedom.
The international community should let India know that violence against civilians, especially against children, is intolerable and unacceptable. Ironically, a country that smugly displays its ‘democratic’ credentials does not recoil when exposing Kashmir’s children to brutality. The deathly, but meaningful, silence of the civilized world indicates that it is devoid of moral pluck.
At the same time, New Delhi needs to know that armed struggle of Kashmiris does not constitute terrorism under international law. It is time the international community broke its criminal silence over India-held Kashmir.
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