Kashmir crisis update, February 11, 2020

Kashmir siege crosses the six month mark

Kashmir siege has completed six months and the signs of clampdown on various fronts have yet to ease. “Normalcy” has been redefined as lives of Kashmiris continue to the surveilled and policed, freedom of assembly, expression, and press still curtailed, thousands still languishing in jails, educational institutions still non-functional, and access to the world of information still cut off. Essentially lives of eight million Kashmiris in the Valley remain is a state of abnormalcy.

The longest ever e-curfew in Kashmir continues. While the Indian Supreme Court ruled that internet access is integral to individual right to freedom and expression, restoring 2G access and whitelisting merely 300 internet sites of the one and a half billion, defines a new kind of policed, immensely slow, controlled and meaningless access that continues to adversely affect students, researchers, business, and health care.

While there has been international condemnation of the Kashmir lockdown, the Indian government has worked hard to change the perception of its discriminatory policies among various diplomatic circles and sell false narratives through organized trips of foreign dignitaries and visits of foreign diplomats to Kashmir.

After August 5, the people of Kashmir feared exploitation and abuse of their resources, economic extraction in the name of economic development, and threat to Kashmir’s ecology. The recent business ventures in Kashmir have already started to put local business community at a disadvantage. And the destruction of ecology continues at a fast pace.

Harassment of journalists and curbs on journalism continue to be the norm. Kashmiri journalists are finally speaking out against threats and intimidation by government forces.

Tourism, the back bone of Kashmir’s economy is down by eighty six percent post-August 5, 2019. As per Kashmir Chamber of Commerce, internet shutdown has caused irreversible damage to the economy. Commercial losses are estimated to be over 15,000 crores with job losses of 496,000.

Detentions of ordinary people, lawyers, human rights workers, academics and politicians continue. Detentions of several politicians, including Indian loyalists, has been extended under the lawless Public Safety Act. The head of Kashmir Bar Association remains in detention in spite of failing health including a recent heart attack in jail. In spite of various appeals, the J&K High Court upheld his detention under the PSA.

The International Federation for Human Rights and People’s Watch urged India to immediately end all draconian restrictions on fundamental freedoms in Jammu and Kashmir, and fully reinstate communications. Kjell Magne Bondevik, former Prime Minister of Norway and Executive Chair of the Oslo Center urged the UN to take the lead in solving the long standing Kashmir conflict.

There are increasing reports of negative impact of lockdown on the population, especially children and adolescents who are feared to be scarred for life. According to health officials, depression among Kashmiris is manifesting more and in different forms. As per a psychiatrist in Kashmir, lack of access to the internet has further isolated the youth in the Valley leading to greater rates of depression. The professionals believe that full extent of damage will only be assessed after communication modes are fully operational.

The dramatic arrest of Davinder Singh, a high ranking police officer in Jammu Kashmir police, along with militants, on January 11, raised new questions about the relationship of the state actors and terrorism. As one journalist points out, the arrest of this officer highlights the nexus between terror operatives and security agencies. “It exposes institutional decay in the security apparatus in a region where the government’s obsession with security concerns rides roughshod over democratic norms and people’s civil liberties.”

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