A spiral of violence has claimed more than 30 lives in Kashmir following the shooting of 17 year old medical student Tufair Ahmed Matoo in mid June. Protestors are breaking the curfews set by the security forces and coming onto the streets to display a growing rage at the lack of accountability. So far no police or army personnel have been prosecuted or held to account for the years of murders, rapes and disappearances in the Valley. South Asia Wired talked to a professional woman in Srinagar who has been involved in Kashmiri civil society for years, and asks to be called “a reliable source”.
These are her direct words.
In all these years I’ve never felt as much despair as I and all Kashmiris have been feeling over this last month. 36 people have died in this latest round of violence – nine on Sunday’s protests alone. That’s 36 families who will suffer for the rest of their lives, 36 families who will always harbour a hatred of the central government.
Our boys are being killed indiscriminately and no one in the security forces is being held accountable. And now the young boys can no longer be controlled or restrained. The “Old Guard leaders” of the separatist parties, from the independence movement, even [veteran Kashmiri Hurriyet leader] Gilani are now redundant. The young boys have somehow organized themselves and they’re now prepared to die to get the Indian security forces out.
The government is not working anymore here – neither the state government, nor the central government. They’re going to be bringing in more security forces, the Rapid Action Force (currently also being used to violent effect in India’s other hotspot the Red Corridor in the east). But it will just lead to more violence. I know a family who’ve just had the fifth funeral in the family in the last month or so – the fifth young boy in one family to die. And that’s not so unusual here - hardly any Kashmiri in the Valley has not been affected by a death. Each of these boys being killed - it hurts me in my heart. What if it was my own child who got shot in the head?
The protestors were calling for bundhs (closing down) of shops and roads. But they have these all over India – in Delhi, in Kolkatta – and there, protestors get lathis (sticks used by the police). Here our boys are getting bullets straight to the head. When a teenager throws stones, you don’t respond with bullets.
Boys as young as 14, 12 are being arrested and put into prisons with criminals. I’ve been asking for juvenile detention centres but we don’t have a single one here – all these young boys are being put into prisons, and the police say they are released after a day, but actually a lot of them are being kept for up to two years – take a boy of 14, put him in with criminals and who will come out in two years time? A criminal who is bitter and hates the state.
Why can’t they find a way out? Why can’t all the sides – the state and central government, the Hurriyet people, all of them just sit down and have serious talks – they say they’re having peace talks, but no one is really talking seriously about peace, and now this violence is like a wildfire that no one can control.
There’s been a strict curfew these last 3 days - people call me saying they have no food in the house, but they can’t go out and nothing is open where they can buy food. What can I do? How can I help so many?
We’re so tired. We’re so angry. I’m getting sick from it. I have chest pains.
Our minds are being broken like this. I think most of us are just off our rocker now. Sometimes I think they should just gas us all and be done with it.
