SRINAGAR, INDIAN-ADMINISTERED KASHMIR – Restrictions, curfews and violent protests continue in Kashmir, as the conflict between the government, separatists and angry citizens rages on. The volatile situation that began in June has had a disastrous impact on daily life. The cost of basic goods is still on the rise and black markets are thriving. Many residents have been unable to get medical care and many employers are urging their workers to relocate or resign.
Protesters have found reason after reason to riot here since June. They have consistently resorted to stone throwing, setting public buildings and schools on fire and other violent acts. The players in this seemingly endless drama range from separatists who want an independent Kashmir state to those who are insisting that India’s central government remove the thousands of Indian troops sent to keep the peace. Still others say they are rallying for the release of political prisoners while yet another faction says their primary concern is the ban on a law that grants immunity to security officers.
Before this week, the death toll of the summer’s violence exceeded 70 people. But the threat of desecrating the Koran last weekend in the United States during the observance of the ninth anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks spurred the worst instances of violence yet with 16 killed in just a matter of days.
Protests Began in June Over a Military Murder Case
The complex situation began to unravel when Tufail Ahmad Mattoo, a resident of Saida Kadal, was killed near Ghani Memorial Stadium in Srinagar, one of Kashmir’s capital cities, on June 11. Mattoo was hit by a teargas shell fired by police and Central Reserve Police Force officers who were attempting to quell a protest over what has become known as the Machil fake encounter case. The case involved an army colonel and two officers who allegedly conspired to kidnap and kill three teens from Sopore, a well-to-do town in the district of Jammu and Kashmir. The military officials later claimed the boys were terrorists.
The Army ordered a probe into killings after police filed a report that accused one major of criminal conspiracy. Later, Colonel D.K. Pathania was removed from his command and another officer was suspended for their alleged involvement in the murders.
On June 11, when news about Mattoo’s death during the protest spread, larger protests broke out. As clashes between stone-throwing teens and security forces increased, each death spurred greater violence, causing more deaths. Most of the protesters and bystanders who were killed were teenagers and children, including Sameer Ahmad Rah and Milad Ahmad Dar, both 8, from Harnagh village in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
India Sends in the Army; Curfews Ordered
As the conflict continued into July, the situation worsened when the Army moved more than 1,700 soldiers into city streets to maintain law and order. The Army conducted what is known as a Flag March, a colonial-era parade intended to show military might and quell protestors. Despite the march and the mandatory curfews put into place, the violence continued as thousands ignored the curfew and continued to stage protests.
Throughout July, government buildings were set ablaze including police stations, police posts and camps. By August, railways had suspended all operations after protesters burned down several railway stations and targeted the tracks in some towns, including Sopore and Budgam. Protesters even blocked the Srinagar-Jammu national highway by cutting down trees and laying them across the roadway. By the beginning of this week, the death toll had climbed to more than 80, with 13 more killed this week.
Prices on Basic Goods Soar, Sepratists are Reinvigorated
Since June, businesses and educational institutions have, for the most part, remained closed. Most markets are deserted and roads are free of traffic.
Age-old tensions that date back to the 1940s have re-emerged here as leaders of the “Quit Kashmir” separatist movement have used the recent tension to again lobby for independence.
In between calls for strike, the separatists typically announce day-long breaks in the action, allowing people to stock up on essential commodities. But the separatists shut downs and government curfews have made the price of daily essentials skyrocket.
“It has been a hectic process to manage a kitchen these days. Prices of vegetables and other edibles has been a great issue,” says Fahmeeda Akther, a housewife in Srinagar. “Profiteering and black market [shopping] has shot up and there is no one to question it.”
During the first weeks of the curfew Akther says, “We couldn’t get milk, bread and other daily necessities. Life got crippled.”
The poorest residents of Kashmir have been hit hardest. Many local ration depots have begun to engage in profiteering. Shahzada Bano, a housewife, says she borrowed some money from a neighbor to purchase a ration, but she was denied at the ration depot saying the supply has been exhausted. Bano alleges that the employees sold rations to others at exorbitant prices.
Bano says her child fell ill during the height of the protests and was not able to see a doctor. Her husband ventured out in search of help, but was “thrashed and threatened by [protestors]. He returned empty handed,” she says.
According to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Kashmir valley has suffered a loss of more than one billion rupees a day since the conflict began in June.
“Various sectors here besides horticulture suffer a loss of more than a billion [rupees] a day,” says Nazir Ahmad Dar, president Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry, KCCI, in an interview last week. “It is high time for Government of India to come forward and intervene.”
“Every year such things happen especially when tourism season is at peak,” Dar says of the conflict-rich Kashmir Valley. “We’ve been suffering for [the] last 63 years, especially during last two decades. Business and trade are badly hit.”
Medical Care is Limited, Patients with Disease and Injury Suffer
In the last three months, access to basic and emergency medical care has also been extremely limited. Shamima Mir, a local resident says that her father suffers from carcinoma, but could not get his life-saving drugs from their local hospital due to the curfews and protests. “Drugs on the [black] market are beyond our affordability and accessibility,” Mir says.
Inflow of patients to local hospitals has also severely declined over the past 12 weeks. Patients have had difficulty reaching hospitals when they need timely medical help and many routine appointments have been canceled and surgeries delayed. Several local hospitals are reporting seeing a drastically reduced number of patients, despite the ongoing violence that would typically bring in more patients.
The good news is that hospitals are not running out of basic medicines and materials. “There is no shortage of medicines within hospital,” says Dr. Reyaz Ahmad Rengraz, deputy medical superintendent or the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, SKIMS.
A doctor at the Bones and Joint Hospital in Barzulla, who spoke on condition of anonymity, reported that a number of patients in the emergency ward have had their surgeries delayed due to inadequate staff. “About two to three surgeries per day have been delayed as adequate staff isn’t available to perform surgeries,” the doctor says.
Employers Asking Employees to Resign or Relocate, Education also Hampered
Many employees working in the private sector, including the major telecom companies, say they have been asked to resign or relocate in an attempt to cut costs and liabilities.
“We’ve been asked by our head office to relocate or to resign,” confirms one employee of a telecom company, who asked to remain anonymous. “Under both circumstances we are rendered helpless.”
As the valley continues to reel under strikes, restrictions and ongoing violence, education for most young people has been put on hold. Though the University of Kashmir had asked its professors to complete syllabi on time for the fall semester, attendance at all schools has been hampered and many parents say they choose not to send their children out in case there is another major incident.
“We attend school only when there is no strike call or curfew. Our teachers have asked us to complete [our work] at home,” says Akeel Ahmad, a student in Srinagar.
Some private schools have asked students to download course materials from the school website and prepare accordingly, an option not available to public school students. Other educational institutions have relocated some of their students to other branches in India.
On Friday, as the Muslim world celebrated Eid ul-Fitr, the festival observed after one month of fasting during Ramadan, a government middle school in Wangam-Kralgund, Handwara and another school in Tangmarg were set on fire when fresh clashes broke out.
Public Services Halted, Tourism Nonexistent
As the curfew and strikes continue, the summer capital is literally stinking with huge piles of garbage scattered along roadsides. Heaps of garbage can be seen in every neighborhood. Residents from numerous areas have expressed their concern over the delay in collection and clearing of garbage, citing health and sanitation issues.
Random stone pelting has gaining in popularity by prostestors over last few months, which makes public servants and tourists unable and unwilling to venture into streets.
“We left at 4 a.m. to reach the city to see our ailing relative,” says Mohammad Shaban, a visitor accompanied by his wife. He said they opted to visit in the wee hours of the morning to avoid protestors.
Protestors say that police often instigate the stone pelting, while authorities claim that youth and protestors initiative the clashes. One protestor told The Press Institute that because the protestors were part of an “anti-gun culture,” they resorted to throwing stones when provoked.
Describing the stone pelting as an “outcome of insurgency,” noted attorney Raouf Ahmad says, stone throwing is “natural and spontaneous. It is their anger as they’ve been seeing security forces and police on [the] streets all the time. They don’t have guns so they pelt stones. Basically, no one here wants to see armed forces on street.”
The Stone Pelters Association, SPA, made a statement on July 24 appealing to the masses to observe the strike.
“We’ve no guns to fight back security forces [with], leaving behind stone pelting as the only option. We’ll continue with stone-throwing,” the statement read.
Violence and Protests Mar Holy Festival
Kashmiri residents have endured almost daily demonstrations since June. But none have been worse than the violence last weekend during the holy festival of Eid.
Clashes erupted here again on Saturday after a congregation met for Eid ul-Fitr prayers on September 11 at the revered Hazratbal shrine, on the outskirts of city. Protestors attacked a police barrack on the lawn of the shrine by setting it ablaze and also torching a police vehicle.
Later, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, chairman of a sepratist faction of Hurriyat Conference, led a procession through the city. Farooq and members of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, a separatist group, and other separatist leaders addressed the gathering.
Thousands of people assembled at Lal Chowk and hoisted green flags over the Ganta Ghar clock tower in the city center. Later, protesters set ablaze buildings that housed the offices of Power Development Department and Crime Branch.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah accused Mirwaiz of “betraying trust” that was granted to his group when they were granted permission to march to Lal Chowk. Abdullah says the violent incidents will result in a setback for their political initiative in the state.
“Mirwaiz promised that it [would] be completely a peaceful procession. But after he addressed a mammoth gathering of 2,000 people at Lal Chowk, PDD headquarters and an office of Crime branch was set on fire,” says Kuldeep Khoda, director general of police.
Later, police charged Mirwaiz with instigating the public, destroying public property and unlawful activities.
Sixteen people including a policeman were killed last weekend and dozens more were wounded on September 13, following alleged reports of desecration of holy Quran in the United States.
The next steps for the Kashmir Valley remain uncertain. Angry protestors and sepratists continue to march, disobey curfews and incite violence with no end in sight.