‘The number of deaths exceeds 47
Mr.‘A’&‘B”: No. It is incorrect. Even the administration had admitted 50 killed. We have listed 73 dead bodies in the Idgah itself. About half of the 350 injured have succumbed to their injuries.
P.H.R.O. activists: How do you consider this incident as compared with the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy?
Mr. A”: It is very shocking and painful. The Jallianwala Bagh tragedy was nothing as compared with this inhuman firing.
A comparison with Jallianwala Bagh
Mr:‘C’: The crowd in the Jallianwala Bagh was a political gathering but these processionists were only mourning their beloved religious leader.
Mr:‘B’ : This incident has aroused anguish and anger against the Indian Government and the freedom struggle is likely to rise to its peak.
Mr. ‘D” : The state has attributed this murder to militants to isolate them from the public.
P.H.R.O. activists; Satish Jacob is of the view that murder has been committed by the HizbulMujahidin, as the Maulana was a supporter of the J.K.L.F.
Mr. A’: It is all nonsense. All militant organisations are united and unanimous on their common object. We militants have formed 50 organisations intentionally so that the State may not rope any one organisation in its net.
Migration of Pandits : A Jagmohan plot”
P.H.R.O. activists: Why are you forcing the Pandits to migrate?
Mr. A’: It is all wrong, It is a complicacy on the part of Jagmohan to conceal his terrorism and to defame the Kashmir struggle for independence. As a mouthpiece of the B.J.P., he wants to project the Hindu card for Indians. During the month long curfews, we used to collect rations from rural area as and under instructions of leaders, the Mujahideen distributed food to the Muslims only after the Hindus had been provided the necessities. It is correct that the Pandits were part and parcel of the Indian State, but wew do not victimise them. However, we do not spare persons, irrespective of their religion or caste, who are likely to cause damage to the freedom struggle.
P.H.R.O. activists: Are you being branded as Pakistani agents?
Mr.‘A’: We are indebted to everybody who helps our struggle unconditionally. If Pakistan helps us, we are thankful to it. Let us make it clear that we want an independent Kashmir. We do not intend to join Pakistan but emphatically say that in no case do we want to remain with India.
An assurance to Kashmiri Hindus
Kashmir is a Muslim majority State and the Muslims have every right to live or govern themselves according to their own way, but Hindus would not be deprived of their equal civic and political rights.
P.H.R.O. activists: Do you think it is safe to visit the spot of the firing?
Mr. A”: We would not advise you to do so as the security forces at present are posted there in strength and the State does not want you to place the facts before the world. Your organisation is deemed as an enemy organisation by the State. Harm can come to you, so, please be careful. We wish you and your organisation well.
Apart from the above mentioned version of the incident, the P.H.R.O. team obtained video recorded statements of several men and women participants of the funeral procession of May 21. Most of these statements are in Kashmiri and we managed to have these statements transcribed in English with the help of a Kashmiri friend, Ravi Dhar.
Bullets from behind Islamia College
Said one, “We were marching in the procession towards Islamia College chanting La Ilahaillalala…
“As I felt thirsty, I stopped for water. With me was another person. We saw C.R.P.F. coming from the other side of the road and a section of it marching towards Sheeshbagh Chowk.
“One of the processionists went up to them and said, “We are taking out the funeral of the Mirwaiz, so why are you not allowing us to go ahead?” At this, the police Officer initially fired three shots in the air. Thereafter there was a volley of bullets from behind the wall of the College where the security forces had taken up positions along with their L.M.Gs and other guns. The firing continued for about forty five minutes. Whosoever would advance, would get shot down. I saw about 250300 dying in this manner. The pall bearers of the Mirwaiz also fell and some bullets struck the body.
“We sent the dead to the Idgah nearby, not to the hospital. Only those who had life still in them were sent to the hospital…”
As the man was continuing, another person interjected to give his version of the events. He said,
A young man is shot dead
“Near Sheeshbagh Chowk one of the processionists went up to the police post to seek permission to go ahead. But he was slapped. At this a young man came forward and told the police, “if you want to beat us, beat me” Hearing his words, the police officer standing nearby came running. He shot this young man with his revolver. Soon after there was firing from all sides. It looked as if it were a battle front. This happened when we did nothing to provoke the police. We had only been saying, “Naraitaqdeer, Allah hoo Akbar”.
The following interview, conducted on 22.5.1990, was partly in Kashmiri and partly in Urdu. Much of it could not be heard properly as it was interrupted by the chorus of wailing by griefstricken women.
First woman (in white dupattas):
Q: While you were walking in the funeral procession of the Mirwaiz, you were shouting ‘La Illaha Illala la.” were you saying anything else which could provoke the police?
Ans: No, we were not.
Q: When you reached near Islamia College, what did you see happening?
Heaps of dead bodies
Ans: When we were close to Islamia College, we heard gun fire. For a moment, I could scarcely see anything. I saw heaps of bodies lying over the road. Ten to fifteen lay near my own knees.
Q: It is said that after the shooting was over the police searched the pockets of the dead and took away whatever they had on them. Is it true?
‘Ans: Yes, I saw them taking away chains, watches and other things.
Second woman (in Purple dupattas):
There was so much shooting that we could see nothing. Bodies lay everywhere.
Third woman (in white dupatta):
Q Were there some pregnant women also?
Ans: Yes, there was one. She too was killed.
Fourth woman (orange dupatta):
There was continuous shooting, many died. We were forced to stay indoors. We were not allowed to collect the dead. The dead bodies lay outside for a long time. When we went to collect them, we could not bear the sight of so many mutilated bodies.
The pregnant woman, too is killed
Fifth woman (in burqa) (in Urdu):
We were going peacefully when two vehicles stopped near us. The police in them asked us not to go ahead. Then they fired at us, killing about 300 people. The dead included many women and one pregnant woman whose child fell off and got trampled by the crowd. The police took away the valuable things that the people had of them.
Sixth woman (in Blue dupatta);
Thirty five persons lost their legs.
Despite our best efforts, we could not get a consolidated list of the dead and the injured from the Jammu & Kashmir Government. The official media first gave the number of the dead at 10 only. In the Parliament the number of the dead was given by the Government as 27. But Aftab, an Urdu daily published from Srinagar, gave the list of the 35 dead.
The AlSafaq Newspaper published a list of 76 names the same day.
Ministers, outside supporters mum
As pointed out by Prof. Sozin Parliament, the May 21 incident took place not in isolation but as a culmination of a systematic policy aimed at subduing by force of arms the people of Kashmir with security forces being armed with sweeping powers. This is further borne out by the calculated silence on the firing incident maintained by the Central Government and its new Governor in Kashmir Girish Saxena.
No one from the Government side or its outside supporters referred to the need for an enquiry, judicial or executive. Even the British colonial Government had instituted a high level judicial investigation into the conduct of the then Punjab administration in the matter of the Jallianwala Bagh incident.
It is, however, different that the common man as well as militant leaders expect nothing from the Government of India. They are content with the reality that the people of Kashmir should expect repression and more repression from the “Hindu Government of Delhi”.
Allegations of gang rape
Just as Prof. Soz mentioned, a militant leader, whom. P.H.R.O. interviewed, outside Kashmir, too, point’s to a series of excesses committed by security forces preceding the May 21 incident. In this connection, he refers to the alleged gang rape of women in Chhanpura Colony of Srinagar by “30 security men” and the looting of jewellery and other valuables “worth lakhs of rupees”.
More specific details of the Anantnag incident have been given by the militant. According to him, the marriage party, whose bride was gang raped by security personnel, was proceeding from Hakura (Anantnag) to Achhawal.
In Nanil village near Anantnag, in the course of a crackdown the security forces killed an ordinary fisherman and described him as terrorist and subversive. The fisherman used to look after his family by fishing in lidar rivulet,
The Government authorities do not care to react to these incidents nor are they willing to hold enquiries into them. Of course, there is no question of the culprits being punished “because that will demoralise the security forces”.
A queer campaign against “Islamabad”
The security forces are, of course, going too far in suppressing the Kashmiri people, according to the militant leader. Anantnag has been known for centuries as “Islamabad”, Common people travelling by buses, Tongas and other modes of transport to and from Anantnag continue to refer to this town by its traditional name. Most shops in the town have hoardings with Islamabad written on them. But the security forces, according to the militant leader, have taken it to their head to stop the traditional name of the town being mentioned by the public. Rifle butts have been frequently used to force shopkeepers to change their hoardings. Even passengers have been punished for seeking tickets for “Islamabad” and not for “Anantnag”.
“Shall we send you to Islamabad’? Is the frequent threat issued by the security forces to the bewildered, innocent citizens, according to the militant?
The militant leader denies any communal incident occurred in Kashmir despite widespread repression of the public by “the Hindu security forces’”. The migration of Pundits was B.J.P. inspired strategy adopted by Jagmohan to play for his masters “the Hindu card”. Had Pandits been driven out by Muslim militants, the former’s property could not have remained unharmed. Not a single house belonging to the Pundits has been damaged nor any one harvested their crops. In fact, Muslim neighbors are protecting the property of the Pundits. Of course, the militant leader admits, no Indian intelligence “agent” has a place in the valley.
‘What is the composition of the different forces within the Muslim fold? What is J.K.L.Fs strength? These questions were put to the militant leader for his replies.
Article extracted from this publication >> October 5, 1990
