By : Khan
 Each year, the Amnesty International (AI) and global human rightsorganizations publish their annual findings on the record of human rights in all almost parts of the world. India, otherwise known as the biggest democracy and a so-called secular state presents worst picture of human rights violation. In the Indian Held Kashmir (IHK), Amnesty International observed that, “Tens of thousands of security forces are deployed in Indian-administered Kashmir to fight the militancy which began in the late 1980s. AFSPA - the Armed Forces Special Powers Act - allows troops to shoot to kill suspected militants or arrest them without a warrant.” These members of Indian security forces have killed over 100,000 Kashmiri people since the start of movement in 1989/90. But, not a single member of the security forces has been tried in civil court for the charges of human rights violation. This is mainly because, AFSPA allows impunity to the security forces personnel and under its cover, they can go to any limit to torture the people.
In its current report; 2014/15, AI has emphasized India to revoke this draconian law from IHK and hold independent and impartial inquiry into the cases of human rights violations. According to Minar Pimple, the senior Director of Global Operation of Amnesty International, “This lack of accountability has in turn facilitated other serious abuses.” He further stressed that, “By not addressing human rights violations committed by security force personnel in the name of national security, India has not only failed to uphold its international obligations, but has also failed its own constitution.” Indeed, the lack of fair trials has led to this grave nature of human rights violations by Indian forces in IHK for two and half decades now.
The previous Indian governments were mainly involved in human rights violations in IHK only. However, the current Government under Prime Minister Narindra Modi has chalked out alternative strategies to deal with Kashmiri freedom struggle. It has intensified the human rightsviolations in IHK on one side and tried to create a systemic rift among the Kashmiri masses on religious and communal basis. Under this strategy of divide and rule, Indian security forces, Indian spying networks and above all, the coalition of RSS and RAW are influencing and even forcing the people to present a divided character of the state.
The people in Jammu Province are influenced to project their separate identity, rather being called as ‘Kashmiri’. Within Jammu, Muslims are threatened by BJP and RSS to be with them, rather siding with the Muslims of Valley. It was this fright, panic and manipulation, which allows BJP to secure all seats of Legislative Assembly from Jammu in 2014 elections. In Ladakh, the Buddhist character has been made as more pronounced then the Kashmiri one. The docile people of Kargil-Daras are influenced on the basis of sectarianism. In Valley, the BJP is trying to create secure zones to rehabilitate the Kashmiri Pandits, majority of whom moved out by Indian security forces in 1990. BJP Government under Modi is perusing Pandits’ re-settlement in Valley as priority number one. All these moves of Indian Government are to isolate the Muslims, constituting majority in IHK and subsequently bringing demographic changes in the entire area of state under its occupation.
This indeed is the most dangerous scenario, Kashmiri masses are facing currently in IHK. The Indian atrocities and long-term plans to do away with the Kashmiri identity have forced the masses in the occupied Kashmir to re-think their decision of switching away from armed struggle to a peaceful political struggle in 2003. Now the discriminated and alienated youth in IHK have a greater realization that, India has to be stopped from terrorizing the Kashmiri masses through use of force and they cannot see dividing Kashmiri masses on ethnic, sectarian and communal basis by RAW and BJP. There have been a re-start of mass Kashmiri protests like 1990s with pro-Pakistan and anti-Indian slogans. Pakistani flags fly high in all these protests to demonstrate that, Pakistan, not India is the ultimate destination of Kashmiri masses.
For Modi’s BJP, Indian security forces and above all for the RAW-RSS nexus, this is a great set back. They perhaps thought that, winning twenty-five Legislative Assembly seats mean conquering Kashmir or turning Kashmiri masses in favour of India. The reality is that, the on-going Kashmiri protests are more sever in nature and propelled by a clear philosophy for freedom from India and against India plans of dividing the Kashmir on any basis. The Indian strategy has proved counterproductive and reactionary. Today, a Kashmiri from IHK is more pro-Pakistan as he was in 1990s. This has evolved over the years and as a reaction of continuous Indian atrocities over the masses under the draconian laws like AFSPA, India has imposed over the IHK since 1990.
The Amnesty International has once again shown its great concern over this law and many other similar Indian laws, allowing violation of human rights in IHK with absolute impunity to the security forces. In its previous reports since 1990s, this global organization and many otherhuman rights organizations too have been raising their concerns about. Amnesty International and other human rights organizations can present the facts, but have no authority to take action against the perpetrators and states undertaking such inhuman acts.
The 2014/15 report of Amnesty International is an eye opener for the global institutions like; United Nations, the major powers and to the civilized international society. All should influence India for bringing an end to the human rights violations in IHK and give Kashmiri their right of self determination. The moral and political obligations on Government of Pakistan are to highlight these massive Indian human rights violations of Kashmiris through its diplomatic mission at the global level. Pakistani media and scholars should project the Indian human rights violations in IHK more objectively and on humanitarian grounds.