AND IT CONTINUES..............

After killing 58 people and injuring hundreds of people, some part of peaceful protests, some without any provocation by the security forces of India & police not a single policeman/Security official was suspended even though there were incidents where government admitted to look into the matter like when 3 teenagers were killed in the compound of the house of one of them in front of so many witnesses’ by police without any provocation. Yesterday morning a police official threw a shoe at the Chief Minister (government head of the state) when he was celebrating the Independent day of India amidst tight security. Chanting slogans of Kashmir’s independence he was waving a black flag to protest the civilian killings in Kashmir. 15 officials including 4 officers were suspended within hours. By evening he was admitted in the local hospital with reports that he was severely beaten and had to be hospitalized.

This is the justice you can expect here.

Things have gone from bad to worse in Kashmir with the death toll reaching 58 in 9 weeks. I was unable to share my thoughts with you as I got stranded at my grandparents place for more than 10 days due to continued curfew. I had no access to internet there.

The situation is worsening with each passing day as more people fall victims to bullets and beatings. We have had 9 deaths in a single day. My day passes in checking the net for updates, calling people to find out what is happening and trying to find out how the situation is. That is what everybody here is doing as well. I remember when I was at my grandparents place my uncle who also lives there just couldn’t do one thing for long; he couldn’t sit, read or don anything. We all shared and still do share his misery. I remember flipping the channels of TV there searching the scroll running at the bottom of the news channels for the news of Kashmir. My eyes were just searching the number; the death toll with a prayer that it should be the same that I saw the last time. Just like we cricket crazy people look for the fall of wickets of our team or for football lovers it’s the goals. An irony indeed.

We have had a 9 year old beaten to death. He asked his father 5 rupees to buy toffee. His father gave 2, a thing he will regret for the rest of his life “why didn’t I give him 5 “he will ask himself this question till he dies. The boy after buying toffee asked for 10 more to buy pears for the family. He bought them handed them to his father and went out for his uncle’s house to play. He was going to his uncle place through some back alleys. A few dogs chased him to main road where death in the shape of security officials awaited him. Eyewitnesses said he was beaten to death and was about to be dumped in bushes when some youth saw and raised a cry. His father who collected his body from police said he still had a piece of pear in his mouth, the one that his mother gave him before leaving. Police said he died in a stampede of protestors. It is altogether a different thing that there were no protests there. The picture of that small boy on a stretcher with visible bruises on his torso ( they said it was broken ribs)will remain etched in the memories of thousands of people in Kashmir because we all know we can be on that stretcher in no time. His father kept wailing what was the fault of his son but he knew there will be no justice.

There are more such stories; a father was killed when he went out to buy milk for his daughter. A boy was killed when he went out to buy medicine for his brother, a brother left paralyzed by the bullets of security forces many years back. A 16 year old was killed when people coming out of a mosque after prayers were stopped which resulted in an argument leading to firing on the unarmed people. An unproved firing on peaceful protestors killed a 35 year old who refused to take water saying he was fasting (the month of Ramzan has started). He died fasting. A Journalism student was bundled into their vehicle by security forces in front of so many people and then his body was found after a few days. One hand was missing and his nailed were pulled out apart from other proofs of torture.

What is the government doing, it’s creating more violence. It’s creating a bigger problem than solving it. A small boy saw his friend die in such an incident for no apparent reason. Seeing his blood has changed the small boy for ever. He has become so violent that whenever there is a protest or disturbance they sent him to a relatives place in a far off village. They can do this only till he is young. And we have many such people in making.

Who can do these things and get away with it. India has and it has been for more than two decades. What really pains me is how unashamed they are, how the politicians and Indian media project things. After two months the Prime Minister of India gave a statement , though he condoled the deaths there was no mention of justice being done, leave alone a promise of looking into why is it happening he didn’t say that the killings will be probed and if found guilty the forces will be tried. Instead he praised his security forces and said the country should stand by them.

The Indian media is busy misleading its people. They are projecting stones to be the cause of killings. Here the point is not a single policeman died where as 58 people died with many more having critical injuries. The bullets are deliberately aimed at vital organs with an intention to kill as corroborated time and again by doctors. Second and more important is that they are projecting the facts as if people are being killed because they protest hiding the fact that it is the killing that started the protests. India is a so called democracy and protests should be welcomed. That is idealism perhaps.

Various groups on facebook have come up to protest and the government has tracked various persons, harassed them, and filed false cases. They have not stones, they can do no violence so what is the government afraid of. Deeds speak louder than words.

The protests are going on. People are not afraid of death. Just last evening every locality witnessed protests and a lot got injured as well.

I leave you with two links.

This one is from a young Kashmiri writer vividly describing our plight.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/Politics/Nation/Kashmir-unrest-...

And this one is from a renowned Indian columnist who has not failed to see the writing on the wall. Read this as it will give you some insight about the Kashmir problem.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/sa-aiyar//Independence-D...