SHRC: The Salian Massacre Report

J&K the State Human Rights Commission, Camp Surankot, Poonch

Dated: 09-09-1998
Present: Hon’ble Justice G A Kuchhai- chairperson

Consequent to D.O letter from commissioner/ secretary home department J&K government dated 04-09-1998 to the address of u/s as chairperson State Human Rights Commission for spot visit to Sailan, Surankot for probe into the killing of 19 persons. I along with two staff members flew to the destination indicated in D.O.

In addition a complaint was presented on xxxx regarding the same matter. The complaint presented at surankot by the residents of Sailin village through xxxx Aftab Azad straight way in unambiguous words lay the xxxx on 9 paras, an army unit ticketing in the village, who are alleged to have run xxxxx on the day of occurrence, that is, 3/4th August, 1998 having committed the heinous crime by killing 19 innocent persons in a barbarous manner in association of Zakir’s associates, SPOs on getting provoked due to his killings by militants on the same day. Zakir as said was chief informer about militants to the army. The villagers have alleged jawans of 9 paras and associates of Zakir Hussain slain SPO had openly declared they will take a revenge by killing all near relatives of Imtiyaz, militant, who was suspected behind the killing of Zakir SPO. The complaint has been forwarded by the public to eight addresses including the defense minister of India, Sh George Fernandes.

On  reaching Surankot, Ponch at 9:30 am, I along with the district development commissioner, Mr M S Khan, SP (OPNS) Surankot, Mr Sewak Sing. Some other officials, near relatives of killed and some local residents of Surankot proceeded to the spot at Sailin, where killing had taken place. The commission had to foot the distance of more than xxxx Kms on a hilly path quite steep to the place of occurrence. The house of Hassan Muhammad deceased where the entire killings had take place was inspected though the near ones of the deceased people had mud plastered walls and floor of the house for religious ceremony “chehlum” of the deceased. The walls were exhibiting bullet holes.  The residents on spot exhibited a blanket which was bearing numerous bullet holes possibly bullets having being showered on some inmate who was intended to be killed, may be in sleeping state. Two metal utensils, one used for flour mixing were exhibited bearing bullet holes attempted by some deceased as a shield to protect themselves from rain of bullets. One dirty quilt drenched in blood was also shown on the spot. more

Lest We Forget

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has breathed a fresh life into the 1998 Massacre after it directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to reinvestigate the case. The massacre in Surankote, Poonch happened on the intervening night August 3 – 4 in 1998 when 19 members of three related families, including 13 women (one of whom was pregnant) were shot and axed to death in a span of seven to eight minutes.

The J&K police had then blamed ‘foreign militants’ for the massacre but an inquiry conducted by the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) in October 1998 ruled out the involvement of militants and implicated the Army and the state police in their report.

The SHRC investigation mentioned in its 17-page report that despite giving oral statements, written hand notices were put in the village, police station and district office, asking the local Army unit to be present for information collection, the Army did not participate. The SHRC team was informed through Superintendent of Police (SP), Surankot that ‘Army will not participate but wants independent inquiry to be conducted once the commission returns back’.

In its report, the then SHRC Chairman, Justice GA Kuchhai, had reported that the 19 innocent persons were killed in a barbarous manner in association with special police officer (SPO) Zakir Hussain’s death, who was killed by some unidentified militants on the same day.

The Sailan villagers had claimed that Sevak Singh, the then SP, Surankote (himself jailed on charges of involvement in killing of his young subordinate sub-inspector, Ajay Gupta, who had criticized Singh in front of many people that he was victimizing and killing innocent people), told the local Army unit that Imtiyaz, a militant and a relative of the slain villagers, was behind the killing of Zakir. more

Abused Childhood

Shazia, 25, was in Class 10 when her father died in a road accident. She was her father’s daughter and used to sleep with her parents. Soon after the tragic accident, Shazia’s mother married her brother-in-law as per the wishes of her family. The marriage was solemnized in the same year and it became a turning point in Shazia’s life.

As the days passed, Shazia’s health deteriorated. She stayed aloof from her parents and was silent all the time. Her parents were worried and they consulted a doctor who advised them to take her to a psychiatrist who made a shocking disclosure about the problems Shazia was facing and what was eating her up internally. “I was 16 when my father died. Since I had a habit of sleeping with my mother and father, I continued this habit after my father’s death. Once I became mature, I realized I was being abused by my stepfather in the nights.”

“He raped me for six long years. My mother was witness to everything” says Shazia in a corridor of Government Psychiatric Hospital in Srinagar, J&K’s summer capital, where she had come for a routine checkup. “When I shared my ordeal with my mother, she asked me not to reveal it to anyone” she says. Her mother’s insistence pushed Shazia further towards isolation. She now lives with her grandparents. “My mother told me she was afraid of people, that what they would think if they come to know about it. When your mother doesn’t support you in such times, how can one expect any relative or a friend to be a well-wisher?”

“I still wake up at least once in the night to ensure that nobody is sleeping on my side. I prefer to sleep alone. If anything touches my skin during sleep, I feel threatened and shout like a maniac,” she says. more

A Deceptive Calm

Ladakhi students protesting for Zanskar

W
ith a deceptive normalcy steadily returning to Zanskar’s Padum area where communal riots broke out last month, the minority Muslims are demanding security in the winters when the area remains cut off from the rest of the world. The area was attacked by a mob of majority Buddhists who sought custody of 26 members of the families of six low caste Buddhists (Garbas) who had converted to Islam in a local Masjid on September 24. While one family living in Zangla area returned to Buddhist fold, the five families of Padum refused which resulted in communal clashes between the two groups.

The local Muslim minority led a procession of jubilation in the market which triggered communal tension. Initially, Buddhists enforced a strike and started social boycott of the minority Muslims and the converts. Zanskar Buddhist Association, the main party of the majority community, led a campaign against the conversions. Apart from writing letters, they threatened to carry a larger agitation in case the conversions didn’t stop and accused Muslims of luring the families to Islam, an allegation that the local clergy rejects.

“There are weaker sections in every community. There are lacunas and they are in Ladakh as well. We accept them but that doesn’t mean Sunni Muslims of Zanskar will lure our people in the name of land, money and education,” Dr Tondup Tsewang, president Leh Buddhist Association (LBA) said.

But it is not only Buddhists who have converted to Islam. There have been cases when Muslims from Kargil also changed their religion to Buddhism. “It is not for the first time that low caste Buddhists embraced Islam. It has been happening from a long time. But this time, it has become an issue because 26 people converted at one time and most importantly, council and MP elections are near. But we never made that an issue. LBA is making it a national and political issue to gain votebank,” Sheikh Mohammad Hussain Lotfi, Chairman Imam Khomini Memorial Trust, Kargil, said. more

Meaty Needs

Goats being sold for sacrificial purpose on Eid-ul-Azha – Photo:Bilal Bahadur.

As Eid-ul-Azha, a Muslim holy day marked by sacrificing animals sets in,  all play grounds, public parks, parking places and even roadsides have become market places for sacrificial animals. Besides the usual phenomenon of shopping, people are found bargaining at these places usually a week ahead of Eid with the dealers of different varieties of sacrificial animals (goats and sheep).

To serve the purpose of Eid-ul-Azha, people always prefer to buy most beautiful and healthy animals. Jumma, a 110-kg, pure white colour sheep attracted the crowd at Eidgah Park in Srinagar on Wednesday where he was put up for sale by its owner. People who had come to buy sacrificial animals were so fascinated that they started the bid for the white sheep from Rs 55, 000. Due to continuous bidding, Jumma was not sold till this report was filed.

Animals with beauty and elegance are always eye-catchers on such festivities as people prefer to buy special ones.  “Muslims all over the world don’t sell or buy sacrificial animals according to weight. It is the looks and the strength that matter while buying an animal. It involves religious sentiments”, says Khazir Muhammad Rigoo, president, All Kashmir Wholesale Mutton Dealers Union.

Few years back, the introduction of camel in the sacrificial animal market took everyone in Kashmir by surprise. The desert animal gave people one more option since the meat of camel is not available in Kashmir. The arrival of camel was well taken and last year few local dealers imported around 100 camels for sacrificial purposes in J&K. This year, due to high rates, only two camels were seen in Kashmir. more

Probing a Grab

Members of House Comittee who are probing charges against Taj Mohi-ud-Din

In the wake of high drama in the concluding session of Legislative Council over alleged ‘land grabbing’ by PHE minister, Taj Mohiuddin, a house committee has been constituted to enquire into the issue. The committee will investigate the allegations of forest land grab in Sedov, Shopian, on the road leading to Ahrabal picnic spot.  “There is a strong prima facie case that warrants a thorough and detailed investigation by a Committee of this House” reads the three-page order.
The five member committee will be headed by PDP lawmaker Murtaza Khan. Syed Mohammad Rafiq Shah, who had made the allegations is also the member of the committee. He has already submitted a number of documents to the Chairman to substantiate his allegations.  The documents include the report of Tehsildar Shopian that suggests the land under survey number 4/1 (10 Kanals and 16 Marlas) and 1162/709 (3 Kanals) is under unauthorized occupation of Taj Mohiuddin since ‘prior’ to Kharief 1987. The report also reads that as per the enquiry conducted on spot, it has been observed that the occupant has fenced the said land alongwith his proprietary land under survey number 03 some 27 years ago.

However, the extract of Jamabandi (1966-67) and Khasra-e-Gridawari for these survey numbers has been prepared from kharif 1987 to kharif 2010.  However the letters of Halqa Patwari and Naib Tehsildar, dated Feb 28, 2011, annexed with the report give two contradictory statements. The Tehsildar states that the land in question has been under illegal occupation of Taj Mohiuddin ‘prior’ to 1987, while as the patwari maintains that the land was occupied by Taj since Kharief 1987. more

Working For Change

Hilal Rasool Parray sharing a joyous moment with budding footballers

Hilal Rasool Parray has become the first football coach from Kashmir who was selected by FIFA for its instructor’s course conducted in Bengaluru for six days. There were 18 participants including 12 coaches from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, and six coaches from the India who were nominated by All India Football Federation (AIFF). All coaches are expected to promote football at grassroots level in South Asia and develop the game at par with European football.

Hilal is one of the two Kashmiri coaches who has got ‘A’ license from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). In India, there are only 47 ‘A’ license bearing coaches. He has the privilege of being a coach and selector of under-14 national football team. Earlier this year, he was also selected by AIFF for under-16 coaching camp, selection process and in its various developmental programs.

“I want to serve the football at grassroot level. I want to broaden the basic platform. Once we reach there, only then will the game reach new heights. To achieve this goal, I am training young boys to build a stronger base” says Hilal. Born in a middle class family, Hilal has been playing football since 1985 when he was just 10. Like many other kids, Hilal was interested in sports. His first cousin, Showkat Parray, who was playing football locally, taught him. Hilal wanted to become a lawyer but he learnt football without knowing that one day the game will become his profession. more

“Order On Mass Graves and Custodial Disappearances Led to New RTI Rules”

KL: Now that you have joined PDP, do you think your job as an RTI activist is over?
RM: No it’s not over. I will be an RTI activist till I am alive. We did RTI activism for seven years. We worked on three fronts of RTI Act. Awareness, advocacy and its implementation. We ensured that a new RTI Act got enacted and the SIC was constituted. We had basically recommended the name of Mr G R Sufi for the Chief Information Commissioner’s post. Now people are using the act to get information and SIC is functioning. At this point, I thought that my job as Convener, J&K RTI Movement, was over and I needed to focus on other issues for which entering politics was very important. I joined PDP which I think is most reasonable political party and people still remember “Woh Teen Saal” of Mufti Sahib.

KL: You started the RTI activism in Kashmir. People came and joined. Now you have joined politics and you will be seen as a mainstream politician. People in general won’t see your actions without motive. How you will manage?
RM: Yes I have a motive to ensure PDP comes to power and gives good governance to people. I ask the people of J&K; is there any other alternative that without electing a government, our roads will be constructed, power will be supplied, and jobs will be provided to people? No. It’s not possible. We have to see which party can deliver and I thought PDP was the only option. We must strengthen the PDP so that we get transparent & clean governance.

KL: As the chief activist of RTI movement in Kashmir, tell us about some interesting experiences. Was there any such moment when the filing of RTI was instrumental in changing the situation?

Dr. Raja Muzaffar Bhat

RM: I have hundreds of instances. We made a Sarpanch to repay 5.55 lakhs back to government treasury which he had swindled under Indira Awaas Yojna Scheme (IAY). This has never happened. We ensured transparency in IAY cheque distribution. Our RTI activist, Bashir Ahmad Malik of Khag, made CM accountable by seeking details of his official helicopter. The CM curtailed his chopper rides after that.

KL: There is a fresh amendment in the RTI Act 2010 which was made public in recent past. The rules spread over 27 pages stand discarded. Instead, new rules are on only six pages. Was it needed? The state’s chief information commissioner G.R Sofi accused the government of making unnecessary changes to make state information commission (SIC) a “toothless body”. Is this going to create a wedge?
RM: Such changes were made to clip the wings of state information commission which had power to summon top officials including even the Chief Secretary. Mr Sufi had summoned CS, Madhav Lal, in Jammu in connection with non-implementation of section 4 of J&K RTI Act 2009 and the changes in rules are result of that. The government doesn’t want to strengthen institutions like SIC or other commissions like SAC, SHRC etc more

The Menace of Drug Addiction

Abdul Lateef, 40, is a pharmacist working at a health centre in Jammu and Kashmir’s summer capital, Srinagar. Barely audible, he warbles some verses from Islamic scripture as we meet at Drug Addiction Centre run by J&K police in Srinagar. In the middle of the conversation, he forgets what he was talking about! Married with a son and a daughter, Lateef was addicted to drugs over the last 10 years. Initially, he used to smoke Cannabis. But his friends once suggested him to try other drugs. Once he did, he couldn’t stop.

“Since childhood I have been loyal to my parents. My father died some years ago and I don’t want to get separated from my mother now. I have even tried to kill myself many times out of fear that my mother will die. The last 10 years have affected my work a lot. I can’t even fix a drip set to a patient,” he says.

Over the last 10 years, he has consumed Cannabis, Diazepam, Corex, Alprax and Aspirin, “I love to be in a state where I forget everything, where I don’t have to think about my family, what will happen to me when my mother will die. In that state, I feel closer to God. I don’t know why but I love to be closer to my death.” Lateef even consumed pesticides a number of times but timely intervention by his family and doctors saved him. Lateef has now decided to lead a normal life and enrolled himself at the de-addiction centre. He was admitted to the centre in 2008 by his family but he started taking drugs again.

There are two government-run de-addiction centers in Kashmir valley. One is in Srinagar’s Police Control Room (PCR) and the other was recently established at SMHS hospital. To tackle the swelling number of substance abuse cases, a de-addiction cum rehabilitation centre “Rahat” was started at Gousia Hospital in Khanyar, Srinagar, which has treated 8853 patients for drug abuse so far. more

The Mediation Phenomenon

Manzoor Ahmed is anxiously waiting for his turn in a two-room apartment built in the premises of Saddar Court complex in Srinagar, the summer capital of Kashmir. He is here to meet a counsellor who will try to sort out a litigation filed by Manzoor against his ex-wife over the guardianship of his son. His ex-wife has taken a seat in the waiting room of the complex. The aura is befuddling, not the one you would expect in a normal court.

The counsellor sits in large room in the mediation centre. The door of the rooms opens and the name of Manzoor and his ex-wife is called. Accompanied by their lawyers, the two get up and move in. The room has a large table on one side. Manzoor, along with his advocate and a friend, take seats towards one end of the table. In most cases, the victims are accompanied by close relatives, usually parents or siblings, who sit in a corner, away from the table. On other end of the table, his wife sits along with her lawyer and brother. The mediator, Ghousia-ul-Nisa Jeelani, a retired Principal and District Sessions Judge, arrives. She faces the couple and starts the session. 

Manzoor and Shaheena got divorced after the birth of their son whose custody was given to Shaheena by a court in Srinagar. Manzoor now wants his child back, which Shaheena opposes. The boy is sitting with his uncle, his mother’s brother, carelessly listening to his parents’ arguments, perhaps unmindful of the happenings. 

With two chocolates in one hand, the boy seems irritated by the verbal duel between his parents and asks his uncle whether they could leave the room. Before they leave, the mediator stops him, “Who do you wants to live with?” the mediator asks him. The boy doesn’t answer. He is too small to understand the complexity of the matter and leaves the room. The couple start levelling allegations against each other as soon as the boy departs. The mediator interrupts them, trying to put the derailed train of their life back on tracks. 

This is their second sitting with Ms Jeelani as she carefully picks points in their arguments and explains the consequences of their decisions. Manzoor wants to spend few hours with his son every evening while Shaheena says she would not let her son spend more than an hour on weekend with Manzoor, as has been decided by the court where the litigation was recently filed. The case was then shifted to the mediation centre for counselling the couple.  After the session is over, Manzoor is devastated. He desires to remarry Shaheena for a better future of their son and feels guilty for all that has led to the divorce with his Shaheena. But the mediator gives them another date and asks Shaheena’s brother to make her understand how the divorce is going to affect her future. She is agitated and doesn’t want to remarry. Both parties leave quietly. more 

The Scooty Revolution

In early 90’s when Kashmir was engulfed by violence, there was a time when females were advised to confine themselves to the four walls of their homes. Using a distorted understanding of religion in a patriarchal, feudalistic society, the diktats of moral brigades were forcibly implemented on the streets in the valley. Then there was the constant gaze of that uniformed man with a gun on the street. The spurt in violence had made women, especially young girls, easy targets. They not only felt cramped but were humiliated and attacked too.

Not anymore!

Kashmir is gradually calming down and an uneasy, deceptive peace is taking roots, bringing a cultural shift buoyed by popular cable television networks. This societal metamorphosis has altered the perception of people in Kashmir towards the women who were denied their rights for long. In a society where females felt uneasy to come out of their homes, a good number of women, shunning the traditional taboos, are now regularly seen in the markets, rubbing shoulders with their opposite gender. Be it academics or careers, women of Kashmir are not lagging behind in any field. 

These days, Scooty bikes have become a craze with women, mostly students and professionals, in Kashmir valley. Introduced by Honda Motors, a leading automobile dealer located in the heart of Srinagar in Kashmir in 2010, the bikes have become an easy purchase for women with Kashmir’s leading bank, JK Bank, offering attractive finance facility for the prospective buyers, majority of them being women. The cost of Scooty ranges from Rs 39,800 - 50,000 and one can get it with easy installments of Rs 800 per month. The main dealers of Scooty bikes in Kashmir – Rahim Motors and Kashmir Motors -  claim that they sell about 120 Scooties per month. As per records, a total number of 4019 Scooties were sold in Srinagar from March 31, 2009 to August 4, 2012.

The introduction of Scooty bikes was warmly welcomed by the women. Abida Bashir, a class 11 student, was filled with excitement when her brother purchased a Scooty for her. “It is very important for a girl to be independent. I have to go for tuitions at four different places. I cannot expect my brother to accompany me every time.” Belonging to a conservative Muslim family in Srinagar, she had to seek advice of a religious scholar on whether Islam allowed a girl to ride a bike. 

For Bisma, 26, a private employee, who availed J&K Bank’s loan facility, riding a Scooty was a dream which has come true. “Now I reach office on time every day. Otherwise I had to board overcrowded buses where instances of harassment and immodesty are a routine matter. It’s beyond description what happens inside these buses,” says Bisma. more 

The 'Christian' Footballer

On a cold November afternoon in 2011, two officials of Jammu and Kashmir Football Association (JKFA) were walking out of their Srinagar office when they saw an inscription carved out of the dust that had gathered on the rear windshield of their car which was parked outside their office. On a closer examination, it turned out that some unknown assailants had issued a clear warning to the association. “You’re helping Marcos in spreading Christianity’.

This was one of the many sordid episodes which marked the stay of the Argentinean Football coach Juan Marcos Troia in Kashmir. Marcos arrived in Kashmir in 2007 with the purpose of coaching young football enthusiasts how to make careers out of the game. Instead, his stay in a deeply polarised society like Kashmir saw a number of turbulent episodes which pitted him not only against his rivals in the game but also the politics and religion in Kashmir.

Marcos came to Delhi in 2002 where he was looking for young people who were passionate about football for nearly five years. But his hunt didn’t lead him anywhere. He used to roam around the campus of Jamia Millia University where he accidentally interacted with Kashmiri boys. “They suggested me to go to Kashmir. I then contacted JKFA for the promotion of football in the valley and offered my service as a volunteer. The JKFA chairman was happy and asked me to come over. I packed my bags and left to Kashmir in April 2007” says Marcos.

After his arrival in Kashmir, Marcos formed a trust by the name of International Sports Academy Trust (ISAT) which was registered as an NGO in 2003. It is affiliated to Syndicate of Professional Football Coach, Sao Paulo, Brazil and recognized by SITREPESP, University of Ibirapuera, Brazilian Football Confederation and FIFA. 

In Kashmir, football is believed to have been introduced in the 19th century by Tyndale Biscoe, a British missionary, and was believed to be most popular game after cricket. The game received a boost in 1950’s when some clubs namely Friends Club, Gorkhas Team, Silk Factory and J&K Police Club were formed which led to the formation of JKFA in 1964. According to the JKFA, the state presently has 500 registered clubs with 12,500 players, coaches and other officials. more 

Jam them while you pray

In conflict zones like Kashmir the word Jammer was always coupled with Indian forces’ camps, VIP residences and their vehicles. But now cell phone signal jammers have entered the domain of civilian use. Jamiat Ahailhadees Masjid in Nowgam, believed to be the oldest and the biggest Salfi Masjid on the outskirts of Srinagar, became the first public place where a jammer was installed. 

This spacious mosque looks like any other from inside, but its exterior is decorated with tiles and Quranic verses on the rim (slab portion) floor after floor.  “When for the first time I heard a jammer has been installed in our Masjid, I was shocked and kept asking people how they made it possible because such things were only available to the elite, Indian forces and the state ministers,” said Haji Nazir Ahmad Bhat, 73, who went to the mosque to see the jammer for himself. For sometime doubted that they might have got it illegally with the help of government forces.” 

Riyaz Ahmad Bhat, the Imam who leads daily prayers, in the Masjid except on Fridays and during festivals, says the mosque administration felt a need to jam all the mobile signals inside because people often forget to keep their phones on silent mode despite placards advising to ‘switch off your phone’. A ‘mayhem’ used to start when during nimaaz phones used to ring and different songs, Hindi and English used to play, he complains. 

Almost a year back the Masjid authorities were installing a projector on the second floor of the mosque and they asked the projector dealer for suggestions to stop ringing of phones in the premises. Mohammad Yasir, a projector dealer had a Bangalore based Kashmiri friend, a technocrat who helped them in installing a jammer inside the mosque. 

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Partisan Justice

The much-awaited verdict of Supreme Court on Pathribal fake encounter case changed the shape of many other cases involving Indian Army and might affect many others in the future. The latest development in the 12 years old case of abduction and murder came when the army said they will go for prosecution in a military court (Court Martial) rather than trial in a civil or criminal court. The fate of five other cases involving army officials hanged in balance till the Supreme Court verdict allowed the army to choose how it would like to try the accused army officials in the Pathribal case.

“There are five more cases in which trail was stopped due to the stay order of Supreme Court but now as the final judgment has come those five cases will also get started again” says Bari Andrabi, Chief Public Prosecutor.

The Supreme Court decision on Pathribal case became an important precedent for other similar cases involving army personnel in human rights violations. It has already has an immediate and direct effect on the Machil fake encounter case in which three youths, Shehzad Ahmad, Riyaz Ahmad and Mohammad Shafi were killed in staged encounter and later branded as foreign militants by 4 RR personnel (Rajput Rifles) on April 30, 2010. They were allegedly lured to Line of Control by an SPO on the pretext of getting them jobs with the army.

The accused army personnel challenged the orders of Sessions Court Baramulla and Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Sopore. The two subordinate courts held that civil courts have the jurisdiction to proceed against the accused army men in the case. But then the case was shifted to High Court where Army counsels D S Thakur and Karnail Sigh Wazir challenged the power of the civil courts to try the accused soldiers.

Mian Abdul Qayoom, representing the victims’ families tried to convince the court for trying the accused army officials, but apparently in view of the Supreme Court decision on the Pathribal case, Justice Hasnian Masoodi adjudged otherwise on July 4, 2012. Now the Machil case will follow. The army will hold a court martial for its personnel involved in the fake encounter and the case against accused police personnel will be heard in the civil criminal court separately.

The other trials that were stopped due to the stay order of Supreme Court are expected to start soon. The five cases involving army and state police came up in 2007 when unidentified graves were exhumed in district Ganderbal. The then Chief Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad, ordered a probe and special investigation team (SIT) headed by then DIG, Farooq Ahmad was set up to probe.

The two of the exhumed bodies were sent for DNA testing. Tests were conducted by Chandigarh’s Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) who confirmed the identity of one of the missing, Abdul Rehman Padder, picked up by SOG in Srinagar. With the body of Abdul Rehman Padder were found some clues like a SIM card and brief case of another missing, Nazir Ahmad Deka. more 

Artistic Defiance

The Banksy of Kashmir.

The 2008 protests that brought out to the streets Kashmiris in their hundreds of thousands gave rise to a new slogan—‘I Protest.’ The words were depicted on an image of a crowd, an image that spread like wildfire, particularly on social networking sites. It became so famous that it inspired other artists as well, such as MC Kash, who came out with his hugely popular rap song I Protest.  But the person behind the original image still wants to remain undercover. He is a Kashmiri graffiti artist and a painter.  This isn’t the first time he created such a poster. He is also used Howard Zinn’s famous quote ‘There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of KILLING innocent people’ for a poster that also went viral in Kashmir.  All his work remains inspired by, and dedicated to the ‘cause’ of Kashmir.

The “Banksy of Kashmir” was born in 1986 near Lal Chowk. He grew up in an area that was always a hotspot for grenades, IED explosions, encounters, bloodshed, lathi charge and more. Children usually enjoy street cricket in Kashmir, but for the generation of mid 1980s and 1990s, their childhood remained indoors. These children of conflict grew up under unusual circumstances, as did this artist. And that played a significant role in how he chose to express himself. 

“I have witnessed conflict long before I gained my conscience, my childhood passed with the different stages of conflict- massacres, fake encounters, attacks, protests and slogans. As a kid I didn’t know why troopers enter into our homes and take our men and women out, be it during daylight or in the middle of the night,” says the artist. He recalls how he drew his first painting during his sixth grade, which was provoked by the Indian armed forces. more 

The Exception

 

The shrine of Bibi Baria, located in the outskirts of Srinagar in Kralpora, is a shrine exclusively meant for women. The structure is a concrete one, with the main door leading to another where Bibi Baria’s grave is. The grave is surrounded by three windows and a door which usually remain closed. It hides behind green and black glittering curtains on which the names of Allah and some verses from the Quran are inscribed.  Between the two doors there is a space which women use to circle around the grave, some with their eyes closed as tears roll down their cheeks while they narrate their ordeals to Bibi Baria. Wishes of conceiving a child and curing different ailments are common in this shrine. 

This shrine is believed to be of the 14th century. Bibi Baria was the daughter of  Saif-ullah, the then governor of Kashmir (in the era of Sikander). Saif-ullah was actually Seeh Bhat, a non Muslim who was always discriminated against for being from a lower cast in the era of Budshah. “He converted to Islam and became very strict towards Brahmins who later left the valley and shifted to Punjab. ‘Kashir ruz kahai ghare’ (Kashmir is left with only 11 houses) is a phrase of that time and it is believed that Saif-ullah was the reason,” says poet Zareef Ahmad Zareef. After seeing the dedication of  Saif-ullah, Mir Syed Ali Hamadani (popularly known as Shah-i-Hamadan, accompanied by 700 Sayyids spread Islam all over Kashmir) decided to marry his son, Mir Mohammad Hamadani to the lone daughter of Saif-ullah. But Bibi Baria died shortly after her marriage.   

Women who come to visit this shrine are now long time visitors who believe all their wishes have come true. People especially women come to this shrine throughout the week, but on Fridays, women come in the hundreds to offer their prayers in separate halls, specifically meant for prayers following the Imam in the nearby Masjid. The shrine and the Masjid are separated with a wall, and both have their separate entrance. Young girls who haven’t even entered their teenage years also come here, and strongly believe their wishes might come true one day. more 

Public Inconveniences

Doctors have advised Muneer Ahmad to take lot of fluids as he has kidney stones. He works in an insurance company and most of the time he is on the move – meeting clients. He says he has to face embarrassing moments when he needs to go to a bathroom, as there are a just a few in the whole city.

“I use the wash room very frequently no matter if they are without water or are stinking because otherwise I get a terrible abdominal pain,” says Muneer.

Recently while travelling on Zero Bridge, he felt the need of using a bathroom. Luckily there was one nearby. “When I looked for the public utility, it was closed. I was left with no option but to urinate in the open,” says Muneer.

Most public utilities are either in or close to Lal Chowk and in other parts of the city are only a few and far between. Visitors to Srinagar and those who work there have to face immense hardships due to the lack of public conveniences.

Women have to face more problems on this count. Saba is a working woman and leaves home early in the mornings. Once, she needed to use a washroom near Qamarwari but could not find any. Being a girl she hesitated to ask people for public washroom. “I entered a big house. When I knocked at the door a woman of my mother’s age came out. I asked her to please let me use their washroom but she replied, ‘we don’t have a washroom.’ While coming out of the house I saw a school nearby and went there to find a washroom instead,” says Saba. more

Mysterious Minds

Uzma was admitted to a government hospital for abdominal cramps. Doctors advised an ultrasound, which revealed alien objects in her perforated intestine. A subsequent surgery led to the removal of those “alien objects”—polythene, pins, plastic, the handle of a shaver and needles; objects which she had consumed over a long period of time. Despite the alarming results, she feels she hasn’t done anything wrong; she has no interest in knowing what is happening around her, and is seemingly lost in another world. 21-year-old Uzma, the only child of her parents, is a schizophrenic.

Uzma prefers to remain silent, and hardly shows any interest in talking to anyone—family, doctors or others. Her family says she has been stressed because her mother has been pressuring her to qualify the MSC entrance test of the University of Kashmir, which she has already failed once. The pressure lingered since she failed to qualify the MBBS entrance test.

Besides this, family members do not believe that Uzma has any other health problems. However, the doctor treating her says, “She is a case of paranoid schizophrenia (thought disorder) and has been under psychiatric treatment earlier as well, but due to family reluctance, she stopped taking medication, and finally tried to harm herself.”

Schizophrenia, a mental disorder, is characterized by a breakdown of thought processes and by poor emotional responsiveness. It most commonly includes auditory hallucinations (hearing voices); delusions (bizarre or persecutory in nature), disorganised behavior, disorganised thought and negative feelings. According to doctors, an individual should show at least two such symptoms for six months, in order to be diagnosed with schizophrenia. But people with bizarre delusions can qualify without even waiting for six months. This disease has an onset from the age of late teens, but there have been some patients also who have been diagnosed as schizophrenic at the age of five. It is a rare condition, and worldwide it has a prevalence of one percent.more

Years Of Solitude

Octogenarian Fatima lives in her 37-year-old divorced daughter Shaheena’s house at Zoonimar. Before moving in into her daughter’s house, the mother of two sons and three daughters lived alone.

“My daughter may provide me the last drop of water on my deathbed, this may be why she came back,” says Fatima. Shaheena is divorced, with two children aged 10 and 15.

The family of four lives in a “two-room” house where only a six by seven foot room is functional and a small corridor serves as a kitchen. The other room is just four walls. The house is bereft of a latrine. A bathroom came after five years of struggle.

Fatima once lived happily with her husband, Khalil Muhammad Bhat, and their children. Khalil used to process Pashmina thread. “Those days such shawls were either exported or bought by rich people as these were very expensive,” says Fatima. Khalil’s earnings were sufficient for the family until he died of a heart attack, leaving Fatima to fend for their family.

Both of Fatima’s sons had dropped out of school when they were still in 5th and 4th grade, and her daughters did not go to school at all. All her daughters started doing embroidery on rugs and clothes from a tender age. For the next ten years, things returned to a relative normal life. Fatima married off her children at very young ages. Her daughters contributed for their own marriages. more

The Lone Survivor: Nanak Singh

I was 46 years old in 2000. I was a government employee in Animal HusbandryDepartment. I remember that night, while coming out from the Gurdwara we saw some uniformed men with faces covered running in our streets.

They asked us to remain there as they were conducting a search operation in the area. Some of them had already entered into the houses and had called some of the male members out. They told us they just want to talk to us. I was living near the Gurdwara and they had asked some of my family members also to come out. In total we were 19 people standing in a line. I remember they asked us ‘do you play Holi’ as next day it was the Holi festival. We told them it is not our festival so we don’t celebrate it. Then they asked ‘do you want to drink wine’, they were carrying alcohol bottles with them.

I remember they were calling a man as ‘CO Sahab’, who instructed them to check our identity cards and then let us go. They asked us to show our identity cards and with that that CO opened a fire in air and with him started the other uniformed men. They fired a barrage of bullets on each one of us but before that they asked us to face the wall of the Gurdwara so to fire at us from the back. We all fell on the ground but luckily every bullet targeting me just pierced through my pheran (I have preserved that pheran). I was lying among the bodies. They shot around 15 bullets on each body.

After the shootout the CO asked his men to see if anyone among us was still breathing then shoot another bullet. Then they checked with torch lights and shot single bullets again. Ironically, this time a bullet hit which fracturing my right hip. I still managed to remain silent. Then, I put my hand on the wound which was bleeding profusely. They were about to leave by then and they were laughing loudly. They were calling each other with the names Pawan, Bansi, Bahadur and then finally they left while shouting ‘Jai Hind’. In that incident I lost my son, brother, four cousins and uncle. more

LIFE OF A MASSACRE

On the surface Chattisinghpora is like any other of the thousands of Kashmiri villages, nestled in the Himalayan surroundings. But a few minutes into conversations with the villagers here, one is engulfed with living tragedy and grief. This village is distinguished by a Samadhi, a memorial to the 35 villagers, members of the Sikh community who were brutally gunned down by ‘unknown’ armed men 12 years ago late night on March 20. The Samadhi reminds the villagers, every day of their life, of that horrible night when they witnessed a ‘river of blood’ flowing down the village dirt tracks. The massacre grabbed global headlines as it was carried out while Bill Clinton;the then US president was on an official visit to India. Chattisinghpora has lived under constant trauma ever since. Those left behind, the families of the victims, as of course their Muslim neighbours, feel that they may never get justice as the perpetrators remain unidentified.

Neelam Kour, a mother of two has brought up her kids all by herself. The children, daughter (14) and son (12) don’t know anything about the night of March20, 2000 in which their father and other three other family members were killed. They think their father works in Army, posted far away and he doesn’t get leave to see his family.

The husband of Neelam had his electrical business and that fateful night while coming back from his shop he was stopped by the ‘men in uniform’ who had already cordoned off the whole area. In some time he was fired upon along with his younger brother, two uncles and 12 others– all residents of Showkeen Mohalla. Neelam recalls, “We got so scared when those uniformed men with covered faces were running in our lanes. Myself, my 18-months-old daughter and my mother-in-law were all alone in the house. We were so frightened that we couldn’t even once see what was happening outside. All we could do was to hear the noise coming from outside.”

Since Neelam’s house is beside the Gurdwara in Showkeen Mohalla she was able to hear the guns being fired including that initial shot fired in the air “may be to give signal to the other murderers who were waiting in another Gurdwara, Gurdwara Singh Saba Samadari Bagh where 18 more were killed and later one injured succumbed to his injuries”. more

Not Stopping Yet

From his appointment in the mechanical engineering department as a section officer, to his retirement as AEE (Assistant Executive Engineer) in 1998, Haji Abdul Aziz Dar has had a somewhat smooth life. However, at that point, all his children—four sons and a daughter—were either still unemployed or studying.

“I didn’t have enough money to make them doctors and engineers,” he says. “So they simply did their graduations.”

Haji Aziz had completed his BE in mechanical engineering before joining service in 1964.

Now, after 14 years of retirement, Haji Aziz is still earning. He works as a supplier and contractor to various government departments. “It is the duty of every parent to make their children independent and to marry them off, so I had to work again (after retirement).”

He has only married off his daughter and the elder son. All of his sons work in the private sector.

Haji Aziz says he could have lived a “luxurious life” like his friends did, but he did not want to spoil his hereafter - life after death. He claims to have never taken “bribes and commission.” “If I had taken bribes, my sons would have been doctors or engineers,” he says.

In addition to his motivation for ensuring his children settle down, Haji Aziz says his passion for work did not allow him to stay home. He has been a footballer and played in various inter-state tournaments. “I am 70; I don’t take any medicines and never complain of any old age symptoms like my friends do. I feel it is because of my habit of being active throughout my life,” he says. “After all my sons are married, I might assist my elder son who is running a computers sale and service business.”

Busy and healthy

Ahmadullah Shah, an electrical engineer started his career in 1971 when he got the job of a section officer in the electricity department. After progressing steadily in his career, Shah finally retired in 2007 as AEE. He has good memories of working in the department. “Ours is the department with which people are never satisfied - the great electricity department,” he says with a smile. more

Powerless Lineman

Two years have gone by since the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah himself assured daily-wagers of the PDD (Power development Department) that they would be regularized. That promise has been met in breach while the problems of daily-wagers have persisted, besides some among them becoming disabled after meeting accidents while on work.

“It is not only the matter of regularization for me, it has become a do or die like situation” says Abdul Rashid Wani. He is a daily-wager with PDD for the last 18years (from March 1994) but on March 1, 2005 his work left him physically dependent forever. He recalls, “That day I was on duty working on a pole in Bemina area where I got electrocuted and when I opened my eyes I was in Delhi. I was lying on bed half dead with my family, all of them weeping around me. After some time I realized I was lying there without both my arms”. His family shifted him to SKIMS hospital in Srinagar where he spent more than two months.

Abdul Rashid has undergone five surgeries since but when he met that accident his ‘department was waiting for him to die’ because they didn’t want him to become a burden on the department. But his parents arranged money from wherever they could and gave one lakh rupees to a private emergency charter to shift him to Delhi. Later he asked his department for compensation but when they refused he filed a case with Labor Court through which he got a compensation of 3,08,000 rupees. He distributed the money among those he had borrowed from for his treatment.

“With the start of the day my dependence starts, from dusk to dawn my wife has to be available with me. She takes care of everything, from my bath to putting clothes on me and from feeding me to making bed for sleep. My mother and children also help me and most of the times they try to counsel me” shares Rashid trying to hide his emotions. It is going to cost him more than 8 lakh rupees for artificial limbs but he avoids getting them, he feels he has more responsibilities for which he should start saving now.

Rashid has a daughter who is in class 11th now and son is studying in class 6th. His eyes start twinkling when he talks about his children who have promised that they will take care of him in the longer run. He is desperate to get regular for which he has filed a case with High Court also so that he could satisfy the demands of his children who want to become doctors. more

"We defeated the Indian state"

From his arrest as a young boy to picking up arms and then shunning armed resistance, pro-independence leader and former militant commander Muhammed Yasin Malik has had more than an eventful political journey. In an interview with Saima Bhat he talks about his life and his upcoming autobiography.

Kashmir Life:You started your journey as an activist, then mobilized people to vote and eventually picked the gun and then shunned it. Tell us about this experience of your life.

Yasin Malik: During 1987 elections, a meeting was conducted by Muslim United Front that they wanted to participate in the elections so that they could pass a resolution in the assembly for the Kashmir problem. Our argument to them was ‘State won’t allow you to win, they said, we will take a chance’, after which they offered us seats but we rejected. There was no candidate from our side. We told them we’d support you.Their whole campaign was run by student’s organizations. Then result was out.Winners were declared losers and losers were declared winners and hundreds of our party members were arrested including me, Ashfaq, Javaid and Hamid. We were taken to Red 16 interrogation centre, where due to torture I got blood infection.I was shifted to hospital where doctors said my one heart valve had gotten affected,I was in hospital for 75 days and later spent rest of the year in prison.

When we were released,we realized that there is no space for non violent democratic movement.The concept of non violent movement was weaved by the Indian leader, Mahatma Gandhi himself but the people, who claim Mahatma as the father of their nation did not show any kind of respect nor provided any space for our non-violent democratic movement. So we joined JKLF- whose founder was Amanullah Khan and Shaheed Mohammed Maqbool Bhat and the armed struggle, which ultimately brought the biggest revolution in Kashmir, started in late 1980’s. Then I was arrested in 1990 and spend four years in solitary confinement in different places like Delhi and Agra. But during this period, in 1992 I was shifted to AIIMS (All India Institute for Medical Sciences, Delhi) for open-heart surgery where one of my affected heart valves was replaced. While I was recovering at AIIMS, diplomats from different countries and Indian civil society approached me. They would ask: ‘Kashmiri people have no history of violence then why did we start an armed struggle?’ I explained to them my experience of being in the non-violent movement and finally their reply was ‘Kashmiri people are justified’.

Then in 1994 I was released and we declared unilateral ceasefire, most unpopular decision of that time. Even many of my own colleagues opposed me. more