D.S.Gill The Government of India has been preferring military and police initiative rather than an amicable, political settlement in Kashmir. This policy has caused people of destruction of property, killings, torture and humiliation to the innocent people of Kashmir including molestation and rape of their womenfolk during the last four years. There seems to be no relent in the Union’s policy of confrontation. It appears that this policy has specially been devised by the Center to teach civilians there a lesson for supporting the Kashmir liberation movement. The Indian security forces, besides using force against Kashmir activities occasionally indulge in mindless violence resulting in killing of innocent persons, arson and loot, of course, in retaliation to some militant violence directed against the security forces personnel. Is it right for the Indian security forces to resort (o such means and make innocent persons their targets which cause further alienation of the people? And petty militant actions, for which the people have to suffer heavily at the hands of the security forces, also cause to an extent, an alienation of militants from the public.
The recent burning of the twin historic Chowks, Lal Chowk and Budshah Chowk, and the ruination of the nearby areas follows the gradual destruction of many localities in Kashmir during the years of militancy, as the security forces retaliate against civilians. All this has caused a tremendous loss to the Kashmiri businessmen. Not only that, the armed and security forces have intentionally damaged and destroyed the state and private horticulture industry in the Valley. They have forcibly occupied the hotels and have completely shutdown the tourism industry and its auxiliary business. The normal development of Kashmir state has been stalled. The roads are in bad shape.
Many things have become once again clear after the events which took place at Lal Chowk, the nerve center of Kashmir, on April 10, 1993. It is now amply clear that no lesson has been learned from the January 6.1993 Sopore carnage. On April 9, 1993, the security forces killed a Hizbul Mujahedeen leader, Mohammed Maqbool Iilahi, after taking him into custody; His body was first seen in the police control room at Batmaloo where hundreds of Kashmir stood at its gates waiting to identify the body. This cold blood killing led to protests by the people. The unguarded Sanatan Dharam Sabha building in the Lal Chowk area allegedly became the “natural” target of the enraged mob on April 10, according India controlled media reports. While, on the other hand, International Human Rights Organization (IHRO)’s coordination group intimated its head office that the security forces fired upon the protesting people on that day and set ablaze the state capital’s commercial center just to punish the Kashmiris for joining the protest strike against the custody death. It was against this background that a IHRO team comprising its Chairman D.S.Gill and General Secretary Mohinder Singh Grewal visited the Valley for a week (April 1622) to have the first hand information of the incident and to study the general human rights and political situation there. The team met a cross section of the people. They included Justice Mufti Bahauddin Farooqi, a former chief justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, Dr.Ghulam Rasul Mir, Journalist Mukhtar Ahmed (Independent, London), Latif Ahmed, Bashir Mohammed, Ayaz Ahemd, Abul Rauf and M.L.Sadiq.
The THRO team, after making on the spot study of the Lal Chowk incident and collection of evidence, came to know the fact that the mysterious fire broke out on April 10 after the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) had vacated its head office in the Sanatan Dharam Sabha building where it had been pitted for months. The BSF withdrawal is considered by Justice Farooqi and many others as mischievous. It was shown up as paving the way for Kashmiris to set the Sabha building ablaze and the fire later having spread to other buildings. But, most of the people had alleged before the THRO team that the entire area including the Sabha building was burnt by the Indian security forces themselves.
One person in confidence, however, told the team that the irate mob, mingled with militants, set the Sabha building on fire and demolished the bunkers in the Lal Chowk area. But none also except State officials corroborated his version of the incident. “Even if the officials are right to say that the irate mob had set the Sabha building on fire how could they explain the setting ablaze of a number of buildings in several other areas” asked the “Kashmir Times,’ 4 daily, in its editorial on April 13,1993, further adding that “there is no valid official explanation as to who ordered the removal of BSF men from the Sabha complex, and the vocation of bunkers in Lal Chowk and what was the objective of such hasty action?”
The loss to the business markets Was SO extensive that the fire continued to smoulder even after two days, several shops housing textile and electronic goods were reduced to ashes while a cinema house was completely gutted. Numerous residential buildings in the adjoining Badshah Lal Chowk Maisuma area also were gravely affected by the fire. More than 200 shops, about a dozen hotels and a cinema were completely gutted. Four persons were reported to have died in the orgy of the Indian violence. Most people who met the team told that the BSF set the entire market areas afire to financially wreck the Kashmir people. They also felt that the BSF’s withdrawal from the S.D.Sabha building was 4 calculated moves aimed at razing to the ground the Lal Chowk area. This view was later endorsed by Justice Farooqi, Chairman of the J&K People’s Basic Rights Committee, at his residence. One Bashir Ahmed further told that, in fact, the BSF was planning to avenge in one way or the other the killing of its four personnel who had a few days earlier died in a mine blast at the hands of the militants, “The government also in playing politics,” a BSF jawan on duty in the Civil Line are replied to “The Hindustan Times’ on April 12. adding that he had not slept for the past four days and was sad because his colleagues had been killed in a grenade attack by militants.
Though the state government has ordered an enquiry into the incident, most people told the IHRO team that since the security forces were responsible for the wreck nothing would come out from the official enquiry.
Journalist Mukhtar Ahmed claimed that the Lal Chowk incident was the most serious development after the January & Sopore incidents when the BSF indulged in arson and looting causing destruction of huge property and valuables, besides killing dozens of civilians, Justice Farooqi quoted 43killed in the retaliatory violence by the BSF at Sopore on January 6.1993, He had himself conducted an enquiry into the Sopore mayhem. According to the ex-chief Justice of the J&K high court, the BSF personnel camping at Sopore poured their wrath and fury on the innocent people in and around Main Chowk and its adjoining area on Sopore Bandipore Road consisting of residential houses, shops and other commercial establishments which left 43 dead, 14 injured and eight missing, besides on ugly trail of loot, plunder and arson, The BSF reduced to ashes more than 1 km long chunk of residential cum shopping complex consisting of 37 residential houses (including the 10 which were partially destroyed), one cinema house, 234 shops, 61 godowns, two state owned buses, One truck, one Maruti car and one scooter. All this was estimated to be of the value of nearly 30.crores of rupees.
“So acting, the BSF had rendered shelter less 63 families of 385 persons and deprived of their means of livelihood 392 families of 2798 people, And all this, only because their (the BSF) sense of pride and Prestige was hurt by the action of presumably a militant who relieved a BSF jawan on duty in the market of his LMG in broad day light and escaped through a nearby lane leading to the old DSP’s office,” Said Farooqi. And destroyed Property there, Busher had said: “Sopore tragedy is a part of human reprisal.
According to IHRO records, the Sopore town, earlier on September 20, 1990, was made target by the BSF again in retaliation to take revenge from the unwary and innocent people for a militant action. The BSF men indulged in orgy of violence, arson and indecent behavior at night. They set ablaze houses, shops and other property in Arampom settlement, molested women and killed Minajuddin Soft (16), Sana Ullah Sofi (22) and Ghulam Mohiuddin Mir (28) in cold blood, for they had tried to resist BSF jawans’ attempt to molest their women. In consequence of this dastardly act, 52 families lost their hearths and homes and all other valuable possessions. The estimated loss exceeded Rs two Crores, The security forces had made the apple town their special loss exceeded Rs two Crores. The security forces had made the apple town their special target. On June 26, 1990, the security forces burned the main shopping complex and transport and complex and, exactly a month after, on July 26, set ablaze Iqbal market, thereby causing a loss of Crores of rupees.
Indian military and paramilitary forces have played a havoc with the lives and property of the innocent people of Kashmir ostensibly to avenge attacks by the militants, We quote a few other examples from the IHRO research work: the incidents of arson at Chak Kawoosa (171990), Adina (971990), Wattagam (971990), Shah Faisal Market, Sopore (11101990), Pazipora (1081990), Handwara (1101990), Anantnag (27101990) and so many times in Srinagar. These are only the glaring examples of large scale destruction of property, apart from loot, humiliation and killings by the security forces. These incidents have rendered thousands of people destitute and homeless.
‘The trading and commercial activity in Kashmir has almost come to an end. This has seriously impaired and already ailing economy of Kashmir. And even during crackdown operations, cash, jewelry and other valuables are looted by the central security forces. The Kashmir people are today living in a miserable situation.
Horticulture in the state has also suffered severely at the hands of the Indian security forces. Apple orchards, mainly in Sopore and Islamabad areas, of dry fruits (almonds) near Khanmoh in Pulwama district and of Tral and Chhipayan around Anantnag, are the worst affected. Fruit is forcibly removed by the secuty forces from orchards. They sometimes pluck raw fruit and destroy the crop. Even the state owned orchards were not spared by the central forces, but, in these cases too, the real sufferers are the contractors as they had already made the payments to the government concerns. This was revealed to the team by orchard Owners, contractors and traders in this business. The General Manager of the Processing Division of J&K Agro Industries Corpn, Khanmoh, Muzaffar also told the THRO team at Srinagar that inspite ofthe presence of three chowkidars in the orchard, the army men forcibly removed the almonds from the 25 kanals orchard owned by the corporation, “In that area, many private orchard owners have themselves cleared off their orchards, fearing further destruction by the army men,” he said. A small farmer from Khanmoh area complained that his saffron flowers” crop was completely damaged by the army jawans.
And the JHRO’s question who really is responsible for the human sufferings in the valley?, most of the people, including hotel waiter, gardener, boathouse owner and the man in street, replied that it was the Indian state. They added: “Our only “crime” is that we want freedom.”
Article extracted from this publication >> May 21, 1993
