They call us "terrorists".. are we; really?

They call us terrorists.. Are we really terrorists??

We are the victims of endian sponsored terrorism. The so called security forces(terrorist in uniform) which are according to them for our security enter in our homes, they kill our father's and brother's, rape our mother's and sister's. They burn our homes, ransack our properties and our souls and they call us terrorists?

we pour onto streets to protest the deaths of our brother's and the no-more-chaste sister's but they don't even let us protest. why would they? They fire bullets on us. we run to save ourselves, we take shelter in one corner,we look for something to defend ourselves, to protect the chastity of our sisters. We pick up stones and roar in one voice FREEDOM..they still keep firing,still martyrng our brother's, we have to face bullets in return of stones and yet they we are the "terrorists"?

Some young guns flee into the woods they have not a place to liveT, hey have no family left angry,upset and desolated. They join a caravan ready to cross over the border. Migrating from oppression to a land of there dreams. The land they always wanted to be with but the cries of there brethren in oppressed land rip there souls apart.They are restless, they still remember the haunting cries of there loved one's, who were murdered in cold blood by endian terrorists. Then they return back to the oppressed land, to avenge the death of there loved ones, to avenge the destroyed chastities of their sisters and mothers, to avenge their destroyed homes, they vow to take revenge and they are "terrorists"?

We are on streets from decades, we are hungry and thristy, tired and sick but not broken! theres no scope for peaceful protests, they incite stone pelting and yet we are the "mobsters"?
Our legs are weak, our feet are bleeding, we are unable to walk but we haven't given up, do we sound like "terrorists"??

These wounds will heal but the wound of hatred on our hearts for the fascist india and its policies towards kashmir; will never heal..

we are kashmiris
Seeking love,peace and justice,
But you inhuman people are trying to create a terrorist out of us..
LONG LIVE KASHMIR

BY SATAAR GOOR

Read more »

Please set Kashmir Free - KP

Please Set Kashmir Free- Malavika Sanghvi (Kashmiri Pandit)

Malavika Sangghvi As the daughter of a Kashmiri Hindu, whose family left its ancestral home in Srinagar during the turmoilthat followed Partition, I would liketo express a sentiment that I still haven’t heard in the rhetoric about Kashmir. I speak for those for whom Kashmir is not a symbol of one-upman ship with Pakistan, not a piece of a jigsaw puzzle that is intrinsic to the sovereignty of Indiaand not a football to be kicked around by cynical politicians, but as the daughter of a family in whose very lifeblood Kashmir courses every moment. Cut our hearts open and you will see Kashmir, put your ear to our sighs, and you will hear our yearning for the land where our family spent its last days intact and happy before Partition scattered us to the winds, rendering us refugees. Growing up dislocated in Mumbai, as a child, it never failed to surprise me when people who oftenhadn’t so far stepped out of their suburb, would say:”Kashmir is ours! We will never give it up! Let them try and take Kashmir from us!” Even at that early age, when I could have mistaken their jingoism for kindred sentiment, I realised that their virulence had nothing to do with my family’slove for Kashmir, but was misguided machismo. And I would find myself seething with rage at the audacity of their presumption. “But Kashmir was never yours,” I’d say in my mind. And sometimes, when more provoked: “You don’t deserve Kashmir!” And then I’d go home to my mother, whose ever present, unshed tears for her homeland, were a leitmotif of our life in Mumbai. Throughout my childhood, my family would go back to Srinagar (the ancestral home in Vazir Baugh had to be sold when my widower grandfather became too old to live alone) to stay with Muslim friends, with whom we shared a poignant empathy: we had lost Kashmir because we had moved away; they were losing it everyday, living there, witnessing its destruction. Over kawha, we would watch as the elders of our family weep for what had been. Like a woman too beautiful for her own good, Kashmir was a tragedy even then. It produced an ache in our hearts when we heard its name and thought of its ill fate: and then, because you cannot sit weeping over lost Valleys all your life,when we returned home we put Kashmir on the backburner. And on that backburner, Kashmir fermented Sheikh Abdullah, a man whose commitment to India was unquestionable, was humiliated, jailed, alienated. The most unimaginable genocide was committed on thepeople. Entire generations of its sons were mowed down by an army whose presence was as large as it was unpopular. And in its knee-jerk, misguided, ill-conceived approach to Kashmir the Indian polity revealed its shallowness. But through this all, intrinsically, those of us who have Kashmir in our bloods, know that the Kashmiri Pandits who have been driven out of their homeland are not enemies of the Kashmiri Muslims, in fact they are both victims of the historic blundering of the Indian government’s Kashmir policy. Take away Delhi’s political brinkmanship, take away the Hindutva sentiment that has played so neatly into the hands of Pakistan and its fishing-in-troubled-waters game and you may be surprised at how harmoniously Kashmir’s Hindus and Muslims can live. So, on behalf of my mother, my family, and all those who have loved and lost Kashmir, I beg:Please. We have done enough damage to and in Kashmir. Enough to last many lifetimes. The chinars are tinged with too muchblood. We have failed Kashmir and we don’t deserve her anymore. Leave Kashmir alone. Set her free. Email: s_malavika@dnaindia.net Originaly posted to dnaindia.com

Read more »

TWEET CHICKS AND FEARLESS GEELANI

So did read his tweet, “I do not want him (Geelani) to become a hero”. Omar Abdullah tweeted this in response to the Geelani’s program of offering the prayers in absentia for Osama Bin Laden. He claimed that it was he who made a hero out of him although unintentionally. Putting him under house arrests frequently prior to some of his public programs has made him a living martyr was, what Omar Abdullah was trying to convey. So, he did not arrest him that day. He allowed him to preside over the program. Geelani offered prayers in absentia along with thousands of his supporters in one of the uptown localities of Srinagar city. So far so good. Omar kept his promise this time. Indian media gave a great coverage to this event. Web portals of Indian newspapers ran the story on their front pages with headlines like, “Geelani prays for Osama” and “Osama is a martyr: Geelani”. Indian news channels ran the story on the prime time quite unlike of their usual black out of Geelani’s other public programs. Well, Indian media had a reason to cheer about at this unusual event hosted by Geelani. Again a rarity of sorts. They wanted to convey to US and Europe that Kashmiris are mourning for the enemy of the civilized world. Indian media could not have behaved otherwise, as we all know. Geelani Sahib also knew about this. But he did not cancel the program. Why did not he avoid such a controversial event? Simple, he did not avoid this event because he is not a hypocrite. Some say he lacks statesmanship. He should have shown some wisdom and avoided offending the West. Well does the West care about the rest? Have they ever thought about our sensibilities? Have they ever given us a reason to cheer? No they never give a damn to us.


Kashmiris are very sensitive people. When Indian security forces were killing innocent Kashmiris in 2010 and even before that, West always closed its eyes on Kashmiris. Kashmir is not so important for them because Kashmir does not possess oil wells and Kashmir has got no call centers filled with cheap cyber slaves. We have only one thing in us and that is our faith that, Western world will come to our rescue. Our faith should have been on something real and not on something so unreal. Our faith should be on our own abilities.


Whether it was a statesman like or not but I am sure it was an honest decision from Geelani to offer prayers for a person who was a fellow Muslim and who was killed in the cold blood. He was not even offered a burial but was thrown into the sea. Geelani offered prayers for a person whose body was not even handed over to his family members. He did not offer it for the enemy of the West. He offered it for a Muslim. It was purely a religious matter. Keeping aside the Indian media, shameful was the response of our own fellow intellectuals who usually pen down their pathetic judgments in the vernacular press. They criticized Geelani in their own peculiar way. Sajad Lone in one of his tweets called Geelani the biggest diplomatic victory for India.


What Geelani did was what he believed in and what they are doing is not what they are in reality. Hypocrites cannot hide their hypocrisy under the mask of intellectualism.

screenshot of Omar abdullah's twitter page

Coming back to Omar Abdullah. He tweeted that he was not going to arrest Geelani as arresting him makes a Hero. Well that statement was actually made to calm down those who were questioning the logic of allowing Geelani to proceed for the gathering. Basically Omar Abdullah wanted to make Geelani a Villain. Indian media picked up the plot and acted promptly but these media men forgot to cover another such gathering of Muslims who too were offering prayers for Osama. These people were so near to them but they preferred to go for Geelani instead. Shahi Imam of Jamia Masjid, Delhi too presided over the prayers in absentia for Osama but he is not any Geelani who will be given the coverage. Since then Omar Abdullah has not allowed Geelani to attend any of his programs. His lies are always overexposed. On all the occasions Geelani was put under the usual house arrest. Omar Abdullah did what his masters asked him to do but in doing so he has again reminded us that he is the real villain. It is beyond the capacity of a villain to create a hero. Only courage creates a Hero. And Geelani has got that courage in abundance. Those who fear Allah only are always feared. So do Omar Abdullah and other people of his ilk fear the God fearing Geelani. I am not referring to Sajad Lone here. Am I?


Koshur Mazloom © 2011

Read more »

An encounter with a Facebook friend in Kashmir

By : Subir Ghosh

I was a tad surprised when he told me that he wouldn’t be able to meet me late evening since it was late, and he would have to return home. You don’t always expect guys to rush homewards just because it is a trifle late. We had initially planned to meet early evening, but another appointment had held me up. So we caught up on phone, and fixed 8:30 the morrow morn for a tête-à-tête.

Since you don’t expect things to move at the same pace in Kashmir as it does in Delhi, I took it easy. I was late from word go; he wasn’t. The young man was there in the hotel lobby on time. The pleasantries done, we exchanged notes. Real ones this time, and not the Facebook kinds as we had often shared earlier. For this was a guy I had come to know from the world’s largest social networking site.

I had known him for a year or so, and had often fallen back on him for information. He had ungrudgingly come to my aid whenever I needed help with research. The info he provided was always based on sources whose veracity I could not question. One could not find a bias anywhere. There were times when I was moved by the amount that he would type only to help me in my work.

And then there was this evening when I found him doing weird stuff– the kind of silly things you do on Facebook when you are sitting idle. “Don’t have anything better to do?” I inboxed him. Pat came his reply, “What to do? There’s curfew outside. Can’t do anything else.” I chuckled. Cute young fella, I thought.

I had expected him to be affable, and this he was. He was also open-minded, candid. He said he had a Pakistan bent of mind. He also said the younger lot wanted neither India nor Pakistan; but complete independence. He did not seem to have issues there. I did not have any with him either. But funny that he talked of a "younger" lot; this fella himself is still in his twenties, I grinned to myself.

Yet his appearance, the way he presented himself was a bit misleading. I realised this in the course of our hurried conversation – when he dropped a bombshell. His brother, younger to him, had gone missing last year, shortly before the street protests had begun. A few days later, his body was recovered. It took close to a year for the family to get the relevant papers. And this had just happened.

It hit me hard. Disappearances and killings were what had dominated our exchanges on Facebook, but never for once had he told me of his own loss. I could see him putting up a brave face, his grief hidden behind his charming smile. I thought I saw his eyes glisten a bit when he said that his brother had been his backbone. Not the backbone bit, but I could relate to what it might mean for a man to lose his younger brother. I remember throwing up my own younger brother in the air when he was a toddler. Just for kicks.

My Facebook friend needed to rush to work, and our meeting had to be brought to a — to borrow a cliche — grinding halt. I hung around Srinagar for quite a few days more, but couldn’t find the time to meet him again.

As I kept interacting with people, from all walks of life, it slowly began to sink in. Most parents in Kashmir frantically wait for their sons to return to their hearth. And so would have been his parents. That was the reason why he had to ditch me that evening, and head for home.

I don’t know when I might visit Kashmir a second time. Or whether I will ever meet him again. But I do hope that he returns to his parents every evening.

PS: This piece could have well been titled Where parents wait for their sons to return home.

Read more »

List of detained prominent political prisoners

List Of Prominent Political Prisoners Currently Being Detained In various Jails Of India has been released in a seminar entitled “PAS-E-DEWAAR ZINDAAN, MAZLUMEEN… KYUN? AUR KIS HAAL MEIN??” Organised By Hurriyat G

DETENTION CASES:
M.Ashraf Sehrai ,Gh.Nabi Sumjhi, Masrat Alam Bhat, Qazi Yasir, Peer Saifullah, General Musa, M. Yusuf Falahi, Mehraj-ud-din Kalwal, Gh. Mohammad Bhat, Farooq Ahmad Gottapuri, Mir Hafizullah, Syedah Aasiyah Andrabi, Fehmeeda Sofi M.Yaseen Atai, Ab. Majeed Magray, Moulvi Bashir Ahmad, Ab. Ahad Parra, Aashiq Hussain Sofi, Moulvi Bashir Qureshi, Syed Imtiyaz Haider, Manzoor Ahmad Khan, M. Qasim Faktoo, M. Rafiq Ganaie, M. Rafiq Raina, Feroz A. Khan, Shakeel Ahmad Bhat, Gh. Qadir Bhat, Nisar A. Najar, Gh. Nabi Malik (Saddam), Showkat A. Hakim, Mehraj Din Sher-Gujri, Rayees Ahmad, Feroz Najar, Javaid Najar, M. Yaseen Yatoo, Haji M. Rustum Bhat, Bashir A. Sofi, M. Ismail Mir, M. Akram Najar, Gh. Nabi Gojri, Qazi Asgar, Qazi Irshad, Irshad Ahmad, Sona Ullah Mir, Nazir A. Lone, Muzaffar A. Dar, Younis A. Bhat, Muzaffar A. Najar, Shabir A. Bukhari, Shakeel A. Sofi, Showkat A. Teli, Nisar A. Bhat, Tariq A. Dar, Javaid A. Fazili, M. Rafiq Shah (Owais), Jan Mohammad, Khurshid Ahmad Lone, Tariq A. Ganaie Fayaz, A. Talaq Sheikh, M. Abbas, Javaid A. Mir, Nawaz A. Lone, Sabzar A. Bhat, M. Maqbool Konda, Bashir A. Bhat, Gh. Mohammad Mir, M. Ashraf Sofi, Farhat Ahmad, Naseer Ahmad Ganai, Sajad A. Nehvi, Ali M. Sheikh, SamiUllah Sheikh, Bilal A. Kakapori, Farooq A. Kakapori…..

Life Imprisonment Cases:

Dr. M. Qasim Faktoo, M. Ayub Dar, M. Ayub Mir, Engineer Farooq, M. Amin Dar(Banihal), M. Ali Bhat, Fida Ahmad, Shabir Ahmad, M. Hussain, Gh. Qadir Bhat, Gh. M. Bhat…..

Read more »

Martial law prevails in J&k - SASG

Indian Army is involved in war crimes in Kashmir and to hide those they need black laws like AFSPA : Geelani

Syed Ali Shah Geelani, chairman Hurriyat Conference has strongly reacting to the statement of general officer commanding-in-chief (GOC-in-C) of Northern Command, Lt General K T Parnaik, in which the latter stated that time was not ripe for revoking AFSPA from the state. In a statement, Geelani said there is martial law prevailing in Jammu and Kashmir. “Without the permission from the Army, no decision is taken in the state. AFSPA is a certificate for troops in Kashmir and under its garb they can kill Kashmiris,” he alleged. The Hurriyat chairman stated that Indian Army is involved in war crimes in Kashmir and to hide those they need black laws like AFSPA. This is the reason why Army generals always support AFSPA.

Sayed Ali Shah Geelani

Terming the state government as ‘puppets’ in the hands of New Delhi, Syed ALI Geelani said, “So-called state government has no role in the affairs of Jammu and Kashmir and it is being used at international level by New Delhi to show the world community that there is an elected government. (Chief Minister) Omar Abdullah cannot even transfer a police officer on his own. He has to take permission for that from New Delhi first.” Referring to the recent Dogra Certificate issue, Syed Ali Geelani said, “When the order had to be revoked, Omar Abdullah had to beg before New Delhi to revoke the order. State rulers have mortgaged their honour with New Delhi to remain in power.” He alleged that Kashmir had become a ‘profitable venture’ for security men. “They are looting our resources with both hands. Army does not want that peaceful solution of Kashmir problem must emerge as that will harm their interests. They want chaos and confusion as it suits their interests,” Syed Ali Geelani alleged. He appealed to the international community to put pressure on New Delhi for withdrawal of the AFSPA

Read more »

TERRORIZING THE TERRORIZED

'Crusade against terrorism'

When crusaders started their crusade against Muslims, they obliterated everything which they encountered on their way. They massacred women, children and old without any mercy. Christian crusaders were blinded by religious fanaticism. They laid the foundation stone of what is called in modern times is called, ‘Religious Fanaticism’ and which is strengthened by ‘terrorism’. But still no one talks about Christian crusaders today. When George. W. Bush announced his 'War on Terrorism" he called it a ‘Crusade’. What a dilemma. ‘Crusade against Terrorism’. In other words “Terrorism against Terrorism”. Let us not forget, Western bigots have been preparing the ground for this ‘Crusade’ since long. World Trade Center attack by Osama (no one though proved through a trial that it was he who attacked WTC but then he has already been punished for his unproven guilt) was a watershed event. Western media left no stone unturned to blame Muslims for the act. Fox news of United States of America pasted the caption ‘War on US’ over the TV screen for months altogether. They used to write war in green letters and US in blood red. This implied war on US was declared by green army of Muslims. Slowly and steadily they were successful to change the perception of their people about Muslims and message was clear. Muslims are not any ordinary people but are all terrorists. This was further emphasized by G.W. Bush by his slogan, "Crusade against Terrorism". For him ‘Crusade’ meant holy war and ‘Terrorism’ meant Muslims. However for us ‘Crusade’ meant Terrorism and ‘Terrorism’ meant Muslims. And we tasted that crusade. G. W. Bush managed to slaughter one million 'terrorists' read Muslims in Iraq and still counting. His crusade which started from Afghanistan is going on with venom still today. Thousands of Afghans and Pakistanis have lost their lives and still counting there as well. So, modern day Crusade has achieved far better results for them than the old times crusade. In modern day crusade they did not find any Salah u Din Ayubi to confront them.

But still question remains, How can they justify to their future generations that whatever they did was not terrorism? How can they prove that Muslims were all terrorists or all terrorist were Muslims? Let us leave that to their future generations to question and judge. Let us observe with objectivity and with facts provided by them only, how much role Muslims played in terrorizing them.

Muslims are Terrorists

"All Muslims are terrorists" was the accusation. When the hypocrites who made this statement realized no one in their right mind would believe that all 1.6 billion Muslims in the world could be terrorists, they reversed the statement to sound more objective and fair: Thus they modified it and claimed, “All Muslims may not be terrorists, but almost all terrorists are Muslims.”

Average American will continue to watch the mainstream media day in, day out and see pictures of “Muslim terrorists” flashed across the screen or spoken about for hours on the radio. Here are some hard facts to make it clear that every perception is not a reality.

The Facts

According to the FBI database, there have been 318 terrorist incidents in the US from 1980-2005. That includes 209 bombings and 43 arsons. Out of those incidents, 42% were committed by Latino groups, 24% by Extreme Left Wing groups, 7% by Jewish Extremists, 6% by Muslim Extremists, and 5% by Communists.

A RAND Corporation [funded by the U.S. government] report titled “Would-be Warriors” reveals some very interesting facts:

1. Not a single U.S. civilian has been killed by Muslim extremists since Sept 11, 2001.
2. Only 3 out of 83 acts of terrorism between 9/11 and 2009 were done by Muslim extremists. Most were by animal rights and environmental activists.
3. There was more terrorism in the 1970s than the 21st century. There were over 60 terrorist incidents per year on U.S. soil, most of them being bombings. That’s 15 – 20 times more terrorism than post 9/11.

Europol’s report titled “EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report” showed that 0.4% of terrorist attacks from 2006-2008 were committed by Muslim extremists. That means 99.6% of terrorist attacks were by non-Muslims, most of which were separatists and leftists.

U.S. Terrorist Organizations

If you were asked to name five major terrorist organizations in the US, how many could you name besides al-Qaeda? Most people couldn’t name more than one. So here are some to help you balance the distorted view that the media feeds you with:

• Animal Liberation Front: Is known for sabotaging animal testing facilities, etc. The FBI explicitly said that ALF is the “leading domestic terrorist threat.”
• Alpha 66 and Omega 7: Cuban exiles opposed to anyone who takes a moderate approach to Castro. They are responsible for many bombings.
• Army of God: Anti-abortion and anti-gay. Known for bombing at least two abortion clinics, a lesbian nightclub, and the Summer Olympics in 1996. They believe that Anglo-Saxons are the only true children of God.
• Aryan Nations: A white nationalist, neo-Nazi, and Christian Identity group. The RAND Corporation described it as the “first truly nationwide terrorist network.”
• Black Liberation Army: They carried out a series of bombings, robberies, and prison breaks.
• The Covenant, the Sword, and the Arm of the Lord: Another Christian Identity organization.
• Earth Liberation Front: Eco-terrorist group. The FBI in March 2001 said that it is the number one domestic terrorist threat.
• Jewish Defense League: Founded by Rabbi Meir Kahane, they executed at least 15 terrorist attacks in the U.S. [more than al-Qaeda] and are responsible for at least 60 bombings.
• Ku Klux Klan: A white supremacist, anti-Communist, anti-Semitic, and anti-Catholic group.
• Militia Movement: An anti-government movement. One common tactic is to explode pipe bombs at government facilities. They have about 20,000-60,000 members in the U.S.
• Phineas Priesthood: Another Christian Identity movement that is against interracial intercourse, homosexuality, abortion, and multiculturalism.
• Symbionese Liberation Army: A far left organization.
• United Freedom Front: A Marxist organization responsible for at least 20 bombings and 9 bank robberies.
• The Weather Underground: A far left organization responsible for at least 45 bombings between 1970 – 1977.
• Ejercito Popular Boricua [Boricua People’s Army]: They have been demanding independence of Puerto Rico from U.S. imperialism.
• New World Liberation Front: A far-left organization responsible for at least 70 bombings in the Bay Area alone.

International Terrorist Organizations

Of course, terrorism is not only an American phenomenon, but exists worldwide. Here are some examples abroad:

• Aum Shinrikyo: Japan. A new religious movement responsible for the 1995 Sarin Nerve Gas attacks in the Tokyo subway.
• All Tripura Tiger Force: India. Their goal is to expel all immigrants of Tripura. 90% of members are Hindu and 10% are Christian.
• Babbar Khalsa: India/Canada. A Sikh religious organization that blew up a 747 jet in 1985 killing 329 people [including 280 Canadian citizens].
• Communist Party of India (Maoist): Prime Minister Singh said that they are “the single biggest security challenge ever faced by our country”. They have killed over a thousand people.
• Provisional Irish Republican Army: Ireland. They have killed over 1800 people.
• ETA (Basque Homeland and Freedom): Spain/France. They have killed almost a thousand people.
• Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK): Turkey. A Socialist/Nationalist party demanding independence.
• New Peoples Army: Philippines. A Communist organization.
• National Liberation Front of Corsica: France. A separatist organization.
• Justice Commandos Against Armenian Genocide: They have been trying to force Turkey to admit to the historical Armenian genocide. Responsible for at least 23 terrorist attacks.

Notable U.S. Terrorist Attacks

The following is a very brief list of terrorist attacks on U.S. soil to make it clear that American terrorism is as American as cherry pie.

• 1910: Bombing of the L.A. Times Building by James and John McNamara who wanted to unionize the paper.
• 1920: Wall Street bombing by followers of Luigi Galleani with 100 pounds of dynamite that killed 38 people and injured 400.
• 1927: Bath, Michigan Bombings by Andrew Kehoe who was angry over taxes. He set off three bombs killing 45 people [including 38 students].
• 1971: Bombing of the U.S. Capitol Building by the Weather Underground in protest against the U.S. invasion of Laos.
• 1972: Bombing of the Pentagon by the Weather Underground in retaliation for the U.S. bombing raid in Hanoi.
• 1975: Bombing of the Department of State Building by the Weather Underground in response to war escalation in Vietnam.
• 1976: Hijacking of Cubana Flight 455 by CIA-linked Cuban exiles who killed all 73 people on board.
• 1978-1995: Unabomber Attacks by Ted Kaczynski who sent letterbombs to academics and other influential people.
• 1995: Oklahoma City Bombing by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols who killed 168 people.
• 1996: Centennial Olympic Park Bombing by Eric Robert Rudolph for which President Clinton called “an evil act of terror”. This was the largest pipe bomb in U.S. history.
• 2001: Anthrax Attacks by Bruce Edwards Ivins.
• 2007: Virginia Tech Massacre by Seung-Hui Cho who killed 32 people. He likened himself to Jesus Christ and expressed his hatred of the rich.
• 2010: Austin IRS Attack by Andrew Joseph Stack who flew an airplane into the IRS building because he was mad at the government.
• 2011: Tucson Shooting of Gabrielle Giffords where Jared Lee Loughner shot nineteen people.

Image is Everything

It is obvious that media gives maximum coverage to ‘Muslim Terrorism’ and usually labels it so and in other cases little coverage is given and the nomenclature is usually confined to ‘terrorism’ only without any prefixes before the word terrorism.The only statistics that are missing is the amount of media coverage per terrorist incident or group. It shouldn’t surprise anyone now that Muslims usually receive the most coverage despite the fact that they are near the bottom of the list when it comes to terrorist activity.

Now that the facts are clear, do you think anyone would dare to rephrase the statement and end with “almost all terrorists are…” Latinos, leftists, environmentalists, Christians, Sikhs or Jews? I doubt it. This twisted logic is only applied for Muslims, not anyone else.

No never. It will be considered a blashphemy and anti - semitism. But for Muslims no rules apply. Muslims are still the dreaded terrosits for them despite being slaughtered day in and day our in the name of 'Crusade against Terrorism'. Who wil turn the tables on them and call their criminal crusades, as acts of real terrorism. But then we Muslims do not posses Fox TV and CNN to do that job for us. We possess only collaborators in our ranks and puppets on thrones. Our media is an extension of their media. No one among us is ready to bust their myths. We have only been given a job of pleading not guilty and playing as victims which we actually are. But no one is ready to accept that. Hope our future generations will not take thing in thier stride. Hope they will confront them. Hope !

Acknowledgement:

Statistics and figures taken from the internet.

Koshur Mazloom

Read more »

It's time to declare India a Terrorist State

The only country in the world, other than Israel, to have acquired land through conflict or intimidation after the end of World War 2 is India. Israel has the excuse at least that in some of their conflicts with the Arabs they pre-empted imminent aggression and thus were not the aggressor per se. In the South Asian sub-continent, India has openly coveted (and/or made designs to take possession thereof) before actually annexing their neighbour or their prime real estate. In every incident of aggression, care was taken to garb the nakedly expansionist moves under some camouflage or the other.

EXTERNAL TERRORISM

The first to fall into India's grip was Kashmir, the legal subterfuge used was the Maharaja's Letter of Accession. This was followed by military intervention to annex Hyderabad, Junagadh and Manawadar in 1948. In 1960 it was the turn of the Portuguese possessions of Goa, Daman and Diu in a farcical war. The smaller princely States of India were just taken over lock, stock and barrel at the appropriate time. As the world started to look askance at naked aggression, India turned increasingly to subterfuge. In 1968 they formed the Research and Analytical Wing (RAW) whose main purpose at that time was to organise covert operations in Bangladesh, in this they were actively supported by the Border Security Forces (BSF) whose Deputy Director General (DDG), in this case Brig Pande, was based at Calcutta with an alternate HQs in 91 BSF at Agartala for operational purposes. With the creation of RAW, India turned from naked aggression to sophistication in the pursuit of its ambitions. RAW became involved in covert operations in all the peripheral countries around India. While RAW's role in the creation of Bangladesh did not get much attention, its operatives were in constant contact with hard-core India sympathizers within Awami League (AL) such as Tajuddin, Nazrul Islam, etc. Through these surrogates RAW maintained pressure on Sheikh Mujibur Rehman whenever he started weakening in his anti-Pakistan stance. After 1971, RAW retained its interest in Bangladesh, raising a parallel military organisation loyal to AL (and India) known as the Rakhi Bahini headed by Brig Nuruzzaman. As a Captain of the Pakistan Army, Nuruzzaman had undergone trial for treason in the famous Agartala Conspiracy Case. Though they were better armed and organised than the Bangladesh Armed Forces, the Rakhi Bahini was easily disarmed and demobilised by the Bangladesh Army post-Mujib. RAW agents have since become a permanent factor for destabilisation in Bangladesh, having subverted the loyalties of a large segment of the Hindu population. After Sheikh Mujib was assassinated, they re-created the 1971 vintage Kader Bahini led by the infamous Kader Siddiqui who operated from Indian territory from 1975 to 1985 and constantly troubled the Zia Regime (and later the Ershad regime) with many instances of terrorism. Today India sustains the Chakma revolt against Bangladesh in the Chittagong Hill Tracts by supporting the Shanti Bahini which makes cross border raids from training and logistics camps in the Indian Tripura State at Amarpur, Sabroom and opposite Baghban-Tilla.


Westerners were captivated by the marriage of the American Ms Hope Cooke with the ruler of the Himalayan kingdom of Sikkim in the early 60s. Set in a fairytale Shangri-La atmosphere Sikkim became known as one of free world's remaining ancient monarchies. But trouble incited by RAW was brewing from 1973 onwards. RAW planted agents in Gangtok, Mangain, Namchi and Gyalshing for cultivating sympathisers who would fan disturbances against the reigning monarch and would then 'request' for Indian help against the 'despot'. Just in case the anti-monarchist ploy did not work, RAW was ready with operational data required for military intervention. On 20 April 1975, the once friendly and peaceful kingdom of Sikkim became a possession of India.

Bhuttan's Jigme Wangchuk of the adjacent Himalayan Kingdom took this lesson to heart and while he clearly pouts at regional official functions he does not strain too much at the leash and studiously toes the Indian line, realising that his situation is probably more untenable than his once-upon-a-time Sikkim Counterpart. Nominally, he remains, along with the Maldives, as showpiece independent nations and the only ones on India's periphery 'without' problems with India. Just in case that he should ever dream otherwise, the Kingdom is prone to inspired pro-India riots from time to time. This domino will fall eventually or may not depending upon whether the Indians want to keep the showpiece going.

Nepal is the only Hindu Kingdom in the world. King Bhirendhra ran afoul of India because of his independent stance on regional policies. Previously known as an annexe of India, Nepal opened out to the world in the late 70s and early 80s. RAW was mandated by the Indian Government to bring Nepal into line. The first set was that India used a pretext to halt all supplies of food, medicine, oil etc. from going to this land-locked country. In the meantime RAW agents fanned out among anti-monarchist elements and as the economic blockade took hold, riots broke out all over Nepal escalating into full fledged political confrontation between the monarchy and the electorate. Acts of terrorism, including the explosions of bombs, sabotage of installations, attacks on prominent personalities, etc. proliferated. Faced with the possibility of large-scale anarchy and even take-over by India on the Sri Lanka pattern, the King opted to become a constitutional monarch and a 'friendly' government came to power in Nepal. This was a blatant interference in the internal affairs of another nation, RAW was used as the terror weapon.

Burma has not escaped interference from India. Having a long border with India, Burma is bedevilled by independence movements that freely roam across international borders. Such cross border operations have meant that Burmese troops have been engaged on yet another front to secure the country's frontiers. There is concern in Bangladesh that RAW agents were behind the trouble in Arakan Province that has resulted in 250,000 Arakanese Muslim refugees crossing over to Bangladesh. Normally Burma and Bangladesh enjoy excellent relations but this refugee problem has become a sore point that has almost led to war between the two countries.

The paradise that once was Sri Lanka is a case of the full force of application of the so-called Indira Doctrine, that this whole region is an area of unrestricted Indian influence. The former Chief of RAW, Kao, was mandated by Indira Gandhi to repeat the Bangladesh story and bring the Sri Lankans into line. RAW was given a free hand to destabilise the island republic, a country so at peace with itself and its neighbours that it had a maximum of only two or three active military units (less than 5,000 men under arms). The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Ramachandra, gave his consent to RAW setting up Tamil rebel camps at Ganda and Gorakhpur. Tamils were trained to bring about an armed rebellion to carve a Tamil State out of the predominantly Sinhalese island. Of the many groups that RAW trained, the most deadly were the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE) led by Prabhakaran, which murderously targeted the other fellow ethnic Tamil Groups in addition to bringing unrestrained terror to the Sinhalese majority in the island. The full face of terrorism was unleashed in the cities with car bombs, assassinations etc. killing and maiming thousands before the Sri Lankan Armed Forces could re-organise themselves and assert the rule of the law. With their LTTE allies ultimately besieged in the North and North East, the Indians gave the Sri Lankans an ultimatum to stop their offensive and virtually at the point of gun signed the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord in 1987. Indian forces started landing in Sri Lanka as the Indian Peace-Keeping Force (IPKF) to 'enforce' the peace even before the Accord was signed. This was Pax India-na at its most blatant. As often happens in a Client Patron relationship, the Tamil Tigers refused to fall into line with their Indian masters and the IPKF started to sustain heavy casualties from their former allies. The Indian Army blamed RAW for not providing accurate information about the former RAW proteges. The IPKF inadequacy in dealing with the LTTE became a debacle that forced the Indians to withdraw from Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan paradise that once was had now became Hell on Earth, the fighting between the now 3-4 division strength Sri Lanka Armed Forces (over 100,000 men under arms) and the Tamil Tigers goes bloodily on without quarter given or taken. As a revenge for having caused innumerable casualties and horrific damage, the Tamil tigers targeted the man who had mandated the IPKF to establish Pax-India-na in Sri Lanka, Rajiv Gandhi. In a classic Tamil Tiger operation, RAW trained operative assassinated Rajiv Gandhi, the blood cycle had come a complete circle. This is second time around that it had happened in the same family, the first being the gunning down of Rajiv's mother by Sikh Bodyguards in the wake of the storming of the Golden Temple at Amritsar and the killing of Bhindranewala and his close associates. Bhindranewala shot into fame from obscurity as a protege of late Sanjay Gandhi, Indira Gandhi's younger son, who mandated RAW to support his feud. As a sequel to Rajiv's assassination India closed down all camps and suspended the free movement of Tamils (now mostly supporter of LTTE) with India, one may well ask, if this is not an instance of an open display of export of State terrorism, what is? Unfortunately for India, the Tamils have plenty of sympathisers in Tamil Nadu and the problems persist, having come home to roost.

The Indian Ocean farce where 200 Tamil mercenaries from the Ealam Peoples Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF - another creation of RAW) were employed to stage a coup against Maldives President Mamoon Abdul Gayoom is a case in point. President Gayoom was prompted to ask for Indian help for rescuing his government. Anybody with scant knowledge of aircraft, ships and logistics would have worked out that the Indian forces were dispatched to the rescue much before the coup was even attempted. A grateful Gayoom has given Indian forces a major foothold deep in the Indian Ocean, a solid landbased aircraft carrier for dominating the oceanic area figuring in the designs of India hegemony.

Pakistan figures promptly as a major RAW target, with special emphasis on the separatist Sindhu Desh movement. A wing of the Indian Special Services Bureau (SSB) has established terrorist camps across the border from Sindh in Rajasthan in eight major locations, Ganganagar, Jaipur, Udhampur, Kishangarh, Bikaner, Barmer, Jaiselmer and Gandhinagar. Services of Hindus who had migrated to India during 1971 and whose relatives are still living in Sindh are coordinated through a RAW cell located at Jaipur called the Sindhu Desh Department. With the exit of the active elements of the Al-Zulfikar Organisation (AZO) from Afghanistan and Libya, AZO has been taken over lock, stock and barrel by RAW. The same style of paid gunmen and bomb explosions as was witnessed in Sri Lanka has been duplicated in Sindh. The cooperation between the KGB, Khad and RAW to destabilize Pakistan, particularly Sindh during the decade-old Afghan war, is well documented and known to western intelligence agencies.

RAW emerges as the only presently functioning instrument of widescale application of State terrorism. This is no rogue operation planned by some idealistic nuts running wild, this is a deliberate implementation of the policy of the Indian Government to annex and occupy neighbouring countries or to browbeat them into accepting Indian hegemony. That RAW takes the initiative to sow anarchy and disorder puts it in a murderous class of its own.

Pakistan's main claim to fame with respect to being judged guilty of State terrorism is Kashmir, there is widescale speculation that the US may declare Pakistan a terrorist State because of supposedly ISI-organised camps organise guerrillas to cross into Indian occupied Kashmir. The ISI learnt most of its expertise from close collaboration with the CIA during the 80s decade Afghan war when Afghan Mujahideen were trained in guerilla warfare in camps in the border region to liberate Afghanistan from Soviet yoke. Given the fact of Kashmir's disputed status and Pakistani emotions, the ISI could well be using that knowledge for operations in Kashmir but the insurrection within Kashmir is mostly indigenous, the people's will being spontaneous does not need orchestration. The ISI and other Pakistani covert agencies are also accused of providing help to Sikh militants demanding a separate homeland. Most of the Sikh militants are ex-Indian Army personnel who mutinied after the Golden Temple was desecrated. Support to them by Pakistan may be more moral than material in the circumstances. Kashmir is another matter, it is freedom struggle and the ISI need not organise camps since Kashmiris on both sides of the border are committed to freedom from Indian tutelage and thus would be crossing the border without official sanction. Even if the sanction is denied, the borders will remain porous, in the circumstances imposing a clamp down would be next to impossible.

INTERNAL TERRORISM

Many people wrongly believe that RAW is used by India only for the purposes of the State's external policies. RAW has another more vicious role, to support the security forces within India to cow down its own population.


Many people in the outside world are not aware of the Hindu class system, almost 53% of the population are of the lowest class, the Untouchables. With about 17% Muslims and 3-4% Christians of various denomination, only about 25-27% of the population is really enfranchised. Most of the government jobs go to this minority with a sprinkling drawn from the majority for purposes of window dressing.The only government employment really open to the majority population are the menial jobs, even in the Armed Forces Untouchables, Muslims and Christians are few and far between. Control of the government at all levels and of the Armed Forces thus gives the Hindu minority upper class dictatorial authority over the rest of the population. When VP Singh was PM he tried to overcome this inequity by enforcing a Quota system, riots broke out all over the country, mostly fanned by the civil administration. In Delhi most of the protestors were government servants, this was repeated during the Babri Masjid riots in December showing BJP's hold. To sustain their rule, the ruling classes use RAW as a weapon to stamp down dissent, spread disinformation, political character assassination, hit squads to commit murder, etc. The amazing thing is that they got away with it despite the fact that the maximum amount of movements for independence are raging within India.

To start with is the grey area of Kashmir which is legally not a part of India but is under Indian subjugation. To fight the freedom movement, the Indians have adopted a three track policy. First they have shored up the present Indian administration, particularly the law enforcement agencies to maintain civil order. Since the local police forces have been hopelessly compromised, the Indians moved in large number of units from the Border Security Forces (BSF) and the Central Reserve Police (CRPF). To augment their strength at key points, at least 2 more complete mountain divisions have been moved in, one from Eastern Command and the other from Southern Command. Both these formations were part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka. In addition, Brigade sized independent formations as well as special commando units have been posted to Kashmir. While the BSF and CRPF were known for their penchant to resort to atrocities against non-combatants particularly old men, women and children, the commando units were trained by Israelis to combat the urban guerillas on the counter-Intifida pattern. Most infamous among these special units are the so-called Black Cats (they wear black uniform). The prime modus operandi is to surround a locality and line up all the men held in that swoop. Hooded men, who are obviously either informants or guerillas who have been tortured and thus forced to cooperate, are then brought to identify possible dissidents. Some of those that are held simply disappear, in most cases their bodies turn up after a few days. There is no sanctuary, churches and/or mosques are entered at will, in many cases there has been gun-battles on the premises. A form of ethnic cleansing is in process in Kashmir, the country is being rid of Muslim Kashmiris. There have been as many as 40,000 documented deaths in the last 2/3 years, over double that have crossed over the LoC to become a fresh wave of refugees in Azad Kashmir.

An innocent young painter shot dead while painting a wall by BSF and SOG in HabbaKadal Srinagar

Almost a similar modus operandi is followed in Khalistan (Indian Punjab).Operation Blue Star in 1984 aimed at getting the Sikh militants out of the Golden Temple at Amritsar. The Sikh leader Bhindranewala was a RAW creation, a discovery of the late Sanjay Gandhi who thought he could be built-up as antidote to the growing Sikh freedom movement. Unfortunately for India, while before Bhindranewala the Sikhs were for greater autonomy within India,after Blue Star the great majority now want an independent Khalistan.Like in Kashmir, the province is in a state of virtual internal siege and the guerilla attacks are matched by the State's law enforcement agencies in the context of terrorism. Like in Kashmir, draconian laws ensure that fundamental rights remain suspended.

Over the broad mass of Central India, extending to the South is the shadowyNaxalite movement. Originating in a village called Naxalbari in West Bengal in the late 60s, this is essentially a revolt of the downtrodden class against the injustice of the rich and ruling, particularly the landlord class and government functionaries. At the beginning the movement was not really terrorist-oriented but the reaction of the civil administration forced them to respond with vengeance, now it is all out war with the Naxalites beheading their targeted enemies. Naturally the Indian Government's response, both Federal and State, has been to fight fire with fire with only lip-service given to civil liberties.

In the South is the land of the Tamils. In the 60s and 70s there was a budding secessionist movement, however with Indian moves on Sri Lanka in support of the minority Tamils against the majority Sinhalese, this movement was stymied. During the 80s, RAW created many camps in Tamil Nadu for the Tamil guerilla movements. Most of the supplies to Tamil areas were ferried across the straits to Jaffna and other areas by RAW operatives. A time came when the Sri Lankan Tamils had virtually free run of the place. However, with the advent of the IPKF into Sri Lanka, the major Tamil group, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE), led by Prabhaharan, revolted against Indian tutelage. RAW's proteges now became India's implacable enemies, the most bloody action was Rajiv Gandhi's assassination in typical LTTE style with the help of a girl from the LTTE suicide squad, she blew herself up along with the former PM of India. The Indian reaction against the Sri Lankan Tamils in India has been predictable and has created a backlash among the South Indian Tamil population.

Most of India's budding secessionist movements are too small to be well documented but the Indian response has been bloody and brutal. Some of the movements that are of significance are:-

a. Gorkhaland

The areas around Darjeeling, just south of Nepal, is inhabited by a large number of Gorkhas who are fighting for their own homeland. There is an uneasy peace at the moment because the Indians have promised autonomy.


b. Bodoland

Just west of Darjeeling lies Meghalaya where Bodo tribals are fighting for their independence. This freedom struggle started with bows and arrows, it is now a full fledged guerilla movement.

c. ULFA

United Liberation Front of Assam envisages an independent Assam as the local inhabitants feel they have been colonized by the Indians. As usual, the Indians have met terror with terror, razing entire villages to the ground.

d. Nagaland

The Nagas have been fighting for their independence since almost 1947. The British had promised them an independent homeland for their active support against the Japanese in World War 2. After the emergence of Bangladesh, the mainly Christian Nagas lost their main supply base for some time and they came to terms with the Federal authorities. However the promises made by the Indians were never fulfilled and as Bangladesh fell out with India, the Naga logistics improved and the guerilla movement goes on in full swing.

e. Mizoram

Like the Nagas, the Mizos are mainly Christians and their guerilla movement has followed the same route. Laldenga, their leader, had to come to terms after the emergence of Bangladesh. He was brought to Delhi for peace negotiations and then incarcerated when the talks failed in utter violation of the immunity given to him. Today the movement for an independent Mizoram goes on.

f. Manipuris

One of the greatest shocks of 'democratic' India that awaited tea planters of West Pakistani origin who moved into India while escaping from East Pakistan in 1971 (and were incarcerated in Indian Jails) was to find Manipuri children in many jails of Tripura State, particularly Agartala Jail. Under the Maintenance of India Security Act (MISA), a large number of Manipuri children of Manipuri influentials were kept as hostages for their good behaviour. For a time after Bangladesh became a separate country, there was relative peace in Manipur as the guerilla movement lost its supply sanctuaries. It is now a war-torn country with Indian forces being attacked by Manipur guerillas in areas stretching from Manipur south to the Burmese border.

CONCLUSION

In the face of overwhelming evidence of Indian sponsored State terrorism directed against (1) its neighbours and (2) its own population for years, the USA is not likely to discriminate against Pakistan on the basis of the evidence at hand and the nature of the international dispute with respect to Kashmir, though restraint may well have been advised by the US through diplomatic channels. One may well ask, what is any Pakistani government to do, turn the other cheek and act deaf, dumb and blind while Kashmiris are increasingly subject to atrocities? In Kashmir today, if death, rape and torture has become endemic, it is mostly at the initiative of Indian forces. To be fair while one may accept that we may have cast a stone or two, in the face of the Indian barrage of terrorism against all its neighbours, one will expect that justice will not be denied. If the world community has any even-handed non-discriminatory yardstick for labelling any nation a terrorist State, India outstrips everyone else by a mile!

Photographic evidence :

The 8 year old innocent was killed by Indians during current protests inKashmir

A group of Indian women shed their clothes and protest outside the Indian Army Assam Rifles anti-terrorism unit barracks in Imphal, Manipur.

GENOCIDE AGAINST MUSLIMS: The charred bodies of Muslim after the Hindus attacked, murdered and burned them inGujarat in 2002. The fate of Mulsims in India

GENCIDE AGAINST MUSLIMS IN GUJRAT: The bodies of dozens of burned Muslims waiting for a mass burial lay in a Muslim graveyard in Ahmadabad India

A Hindu Fanatic group attacking Muslim citizens in India

Read more »

Kashmir: Bullets for Books and Stones, Continued Crimes Against Humanity By The World's Largest Democracy

BY : MOHSIN MOHI-UD-DIN (kashmiri-American human rights activist, Fulbright Scholar-Morocco)


While Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao had met with her Pakistani counterpart, Salman Basir, for talks last month, Kashmiris have been mourning the widespread murders of Kashmiri youth by state security forces, some 15 people this past month. The murders have sparked the largest civil protests by Kashmiris in the last two years in the Indian Administered Kashmir valley, nestled between India and Pakistan. "Everything is dead. The curfew has kept us in our homes for the last two weeks. No work, no bread, no milk, no school. More than five people have been killed in the last 24 hours," said sources speaking with me over the phone from Srinagar, Kashmir. Adding fuel to the fire, earlier this year it was revealed that Indian paramilitary forces were engaged in staging fake encounter killings by kidnapping Kashmiri civilians and reporting the murders of the civilians as armed encounters with foreign militants/terrorists. With a continuing lack of justice and accountability suffocating Kashmiri civil society, Kashmir may grow more vulnerable to falling under a resurgence of armed uprising and religious radicalization that currently plagues the region, namely in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Further instability and lawlessness in the region will marginalize the efforts of the United States and other nations who remain invested in the security and peace of the region. This article is not about religion, or politics, or who is right. This article is about the young teenagers who have been murdered this month and the 2,900 mass graves that have not been investigated or reported on. This article calls on all parties to fulfill the demands that Kashmiris themselves are making for justice and accountability.




WIDESPREAD KILLINGS OF YOUTH
Reuters/Fayaz Kabil


Several weeks ago, a 17 year old Kashmir student, Tufail Ahmad Matoo, was walking home amidst a routine and civil anti-India protest by Kashmiris in the embattled region of Indian Occupied Kashmir. He was carrying his books. Like many Kashmiri youth of today, Tufail grew up having to endure an environment of indiscriminant arrests and killings by state security forces as well as militants. Today, an entire generation of young Kashmiris like Tufail have grown up witnessing the murder of over 70,000 people and the kidnappings and disappearances of over 8,000 Kashmiris, since 1989. The actions of Indian Security Apparatuses have marginalized the rights and needs of the Kashmiri people. Yet Tufail, like most Kashmiri youth, was focusing on his studies as means of escape. Unfortunately, like thousands of young Kashmiri boys before him, Tufail's life was cut short when he was shot in the head by a rubber bullet from Indian security forces and police last month. The killing of Tufail sparked civil protests across the Kashmir valley for the last several weeks. Two more Kashmiri youth were murdered by state security forces during funeral processions and civil protests in the days following Tufail's murder last month. As recently as this week, three more innocent Kashmiris have been killed, including a 16 year old boy who was murdered when security forces opened fire on protesters at a funeral procession of a 17 year old boy murdered Tuesday.


Just days after the student, Tufail, was murdered by state security forces, Rafiq Bangroo, 25, was severely beaten by the Indian Administered Central Reserve Police Force, CRPF, during a protest against Tufail's murder. Rafiq succumbed to his injuries. One day later, during the funeral procession for Rafiq Bangroo, the deceased's neighbor, Javaid Malla, 20, was shot and killed by security forces. Once again, curfews and civil shutdowns have left schools and businesses closed and the valley at a stand still. Indian paramilitary and police forces have been opening fire on protesters and taking men and boys into custody. This past Monday, 17 year old Muzaffar Bhat disappeared after troops chased him and a group of young boys throwing stones. Muzzafar's body was found the next day and he was allegedley beaten to death. At the funeral procession for Muzaffar, a 16 year old boy, Abrar Khan, was murdered by police during mass civil protests against the alleged killings. Some 15 Kashmiri civilians have been killed by Indian security forces since June. Kashmiris are again locked down under the gun of security forces that operate brutally with impunity. The beatings and shoot-to-kill tactics of state security forces legalized under draconian security laws continue to marginalize the basic rights, (such as the to life and movement), of millions of women and children of Kashmir.


The murders of several Kashmiri youth this past month by security forces clearly exhibits the widespread and systematic practice of shoot-to-kill strategies conducted by the state security apparatuses of India. Soldiers and state security forces are able to use bullets to combat stones and slogans under the protection of Indian security legislation, such as the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, AFSPA, which grants Indian paramilitary and police forces license to detain, shoot, and torture at will with virtual protection from being prosecuted by civilian courts and international bodies.




FAKE ENCOUNTER KILLINGS AND MASS GRAVES





Kashmir's history has seen over 70,000 casualties and 8,000 + documented enforced disappearances since 1989. As is often the case, reports in the media about Kashmir often document Indian soldiers' killings of militants as advertised by the state security forces of India. Yet, the international community and media remain silent on documented civilian killings as well as fake encounter killings in which Kashmiri civilians are killed in custody and pawned to the international community as 'foreign militants/terrorists'. The practice of fake encounter killings is widespread throughout the valley as it rewards Indian forces legitimacy in the eyes of the media that India's military presence in the Kashmir valley is imperative to stopping the 'militancy'. Consequently, Kashmir remains one of the most militarized areas in the world with over 500,000 Indian paramilitary forces policing a population under draconian security laws.


Examples of fake encounter killings are as recent as April 2010. The International People's Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice in Indian Administered Kashmir has reported that Shahzad Ahmad (27 years old), Riyaz Ahmad (20 years old), and Mohammad Shafi (19 years old) were executed in a fake encounter in Kupwara District. The men were last seen in the custody of special-counter-insurgency personnel. The family reported the men missing after several days. At the same time, the military reported that security forces killed three foreign militants in the area. After a police investigation, the bodies of the three alleged foreign militants were found. Army personnel are reported to have pressured local police to report the bodies as those of foreign militants. Once the bodies were exhumed however, it was concluded that the bodies were Kashmiri civilians, not foreign terrorists and autopsies showed the bodies to have been shot at close range, execution style. ( It must be noted that rarely do police investigations into arbitrary arrests and kidnappings yield results.) The murders of the three Kashmiri men have since been authenticated as fake encounters. In another example on April 14, a 70 year old Kashmiri pan-handler met the same fate and he too was mislabeled by the Indian security forces as a foreign militant. The indiscriminate killing of three youth in the past eleven days is evidence enough of widespread human rights abuse in Kashmir. Yet, there are thousands of more stories of fake encounter killings in Kashmir that are evidence to crimes by state security forces. Such widespread and systematic practices constitute crimes against humanity.


Adding urgency to the conflict in Kashmir is the recent discovery of over 2,700 unmarked graves in Kashmir. The Kashmir People's Tribunal recently documented the graves in a report titled Buried Evidence, authored by the conveners of the International Kashmir People's Tribunal , Dr. Angana Cahtterji and Parvez Imroz, two leading human rights investigators in South East Asia. The Tribunal reported over 2,900 bodies across 55 villages contained in over 2,700 mass graves. Since the release of the report, Indian security forces refuse an investigation into identifying the bodies. They claim the bodies to be those of foreign terrorists. (State security forces have also made attempts on the lives of both conveners from the Tribunal.) Of the few bodies that were exhumed, it was found that the bodies of the alleged foreign terrorists in fact were authenticated fake encounters in which Kashmiri civilians, who had been reported missing by their families, were taken into custody by security forces and then executed. The slain men were not foreign terrorists, but Kashmiris. The Kashmir People's Tribunal reports " it is reasonable to contend that the 8,000 + enforced and involuntary disappearances since 1989 would correlate to the number of bodies found in unknown, unmarked, and mass graves across Kashmir." Lawyers have filed thousands of petitions and the civilian population continues to engage in civil protests for accountability, however, the calls for justice and accountability remain unanswered. Consequently, young Kashmiri boys, like 17 year-old Tufail, continue to be victims of indiscriminant killings by the state security forces.

THE RISKS AND THE NEEDS

For every boy like Tufail that is killed, there risks more youth falling vulnerable to taking up the gun as a result of legislated political and physical oppression. One loss of an innocent young life is on its own deplorable, and yet, two more Kashmiri youth had been killed by Indian security forces in that same week, last month. This week, four more innocents were murdered during funeral processions and protests, among them two more 17 and 16 year old boys. The international community must demand more accountability from the world's largest democracy, India. As long as there exists such widespread and systematic extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances, the youth of today, who have seen nothing but failed political and judicial processes, will take to the gun and we may see a resurgence of the armed militant movement that devastated Kashmir and the region in 1989.


Making matters more fragile is the growing instability and armed radicalization in Taliban controlled areas throughout neighboring Afghanistan and Pakistan. Over two decades ago, U.S-backed Islamic militants, or, mujahideen, led an uprising against Soviet-controlled Afghanistan in the 1980s. The mujahideen's fight against abuses and crimes sparked the armed movement of youth in Kashmir in 1989 against Indian occupation and human rights abuse. Upon their victory in Afghanistan, the mujahideen fighters grew alienated and radicalized, eventually forming what we today identify as the Taliban. Today we see a resurgence of Taliban fighters in Afghanistan and Pakistan. This regional trend, coupled with the deteriorating human rights situation in Kashmir, may once again make Kashmir a potential time bomb for further instability in the region. The international community must not let its efforts for regional security be sabotaged by growing lawlessness and instability in Indian Occupied Kashmir. In Kashmir, everyone is guilty. Pakistan is to blame for decades of funding and training the militancy; Kashmiri militant groups are to blame for rash and inhumane killings of the civilians (including pandits); however, India and the India military are to blame for the failed security of the people of Kashmir which has resulted in crimes against humanity perpetrated by the India's security apparatuses. And while every party is guilty in some way, the source of the instability today, (as dictated by Kashmiri civil society and UN and international rights reports), stems from the indiscriminant killing of civilians by Indian paramilitary forces and the extra-judicial killings that continue unabated. Today, as has been the case for over two decades, it is the innocent Kashmiri women and children who are the greatest victims of Pakistan and India's policies and the international community's indifference.


Kashmiri civil society needs something to hold onto as they find themselves locked in an increasingly fragile environment: prospects for political or judicial resolution seem dim while desperate violent strategies may be gaining ground as they are in neighboring Afghanistan and Pakistan. Therefore, it is imperative for India's ally, the United States and members U.N Security Council, to ensure that India commits to transparent, independent, and robust investigations of extrajudicial killings and indiscriminant attacks on civil society in Kashmir. International rights bodies must be allowed access by India to perform independent investigations into mass graves documented in the Kashmir Tribunal's report. Additionally, draconian state-security legislation must be challenged by the international community because such laws allow for indiscriminant arrests, torture, and murder of civilians. Security legislation, such as the Disturbed Areas Act and the Armed forces Special Powers Act, must be repealed for they are in direct contravention of the basic tenants within the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, particularly the right to life. Any amended piece of security legislation must incorporate the UN Declaration on Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances and the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.


CONCLUSION


Kashmiri civilians are repeatedly murdered by Indian forces and then pawned to the international community as foreign terrorists. This should no longer be a tolerated enterprise for India's militarization of Kashmir. Kashmiri mothers, fathers, and the youth are against terrorism being that Kashmiris are themselves the main victims of grenade attacks by Pakistani-backed militants, as well as, the bullets and mortars of Indian state security forces. The Kashmiri people remain strong and they hold on to a hope that the Obama Administration and UN bodies will pressure India to: demilitarize the valley; repeal repressive security legislation; and account for human rights violations committed over the last 20 years. However, as Kashmiri youth continue to be murdered by state security forces this week, the avenues for legal and political resolution seem less attainable for the everyday Kashmiri. Should the world not come to the aid of the people of Kashmir, who for over two decades have had to endure the absence of justice and accountability, then the valley may forever fall in the spiraling gyre of lawlessness and violence that will stifle security in South Asia, and thus threaten the security of other nations.


Kashmiris believe in democracy and civil society and that is why they continue to carry out civil protests amidst the bullets and batons of brutal of state security apparatuses. Yet, they are human and they desperately hold on to the fragile hope for justice and accountability. It is time the world stands with them and not let more 17 year-old boys be slain in vain.


Click here to view the source 

Read more »