An 11-member team comprising advocates, human rights activists and psychiatrists, which visited the Kashmir Valley following the abrogation of Article 370, has highlighted “systematic effort on the part of the Indian state to portray a sense of normality in the valley to justify their unilateral action of snatching autonomy”.
According to the report, titled Imprisoned Resistance, normality is a far-fetched dream for Kashmiris as State transport has suspended operations, primary health care centres are barely working, parents are refusing to send their children to schools for fear of their safety, and the freedom of the press is under threat. “People are not safe even inside their own homes as the army can barge in any time,” said Clifton D. Rosario, advocate. The report also talks of the “continuous raids, harassment and torture that the people of the valley are subjected to by the armed forces and police alike”.
Releasing the report in the city on Thursday, Ramdas Rao, one of the members of the team from All-India People’s Forum, said, “The people of Kashmir have lost hope in the Central government. Many even expressed the opinion that a war might be better than the current situation they are in.”
“There is no access to courts. There are mass illegal detentions. Even many elected representatives of the Bar Associations of the High Court are arrested and detained. It is a state of emergency that has paralysed all vital institutions,” said Aarti Mundkur, advocate. The report states that the number of habeas corpus cases has gone up from 200 to 600 since August 5. It also alleges that more than 13,000 people have been unlawfully detained. “We hope this report creates some pressure on the government. What we do not realise is that this can happen to any of us,” Mr. Rozario said.
