India lacks conscience

Indian occupied troops, in their fresh act of state terrorism have martyred 17 people in Indian occupied Kashmir. The youth were killed during a siege and search operation in Largo Ramahama village in Kulgam Tehsil. Indian forces are using arms against unarmed protesters. Earlier, complete shutdown was observed in the valley to mourn the killing of PhD scholar Dr Manan Wani and his associate Aashiq Hussain Zargar by Indian army soldiers. In the second week of the current month the occupied Kashmir authorities launched a massive crackdown in South Kashmir ahead of the so-called Municipal and Panchayat elections, arresting dozens of people in Pulwama district. The personnel of Indian police and its Special Operations Group (SOG) raided several villages of the district including Kalampora, Qasba Yar, Drubgam, Bellow, Murran, Rohmoo and Nowpora over the past couple of days and detained scores of people. The Indian occupied forces are committing heinous crimes in Indian occupied Kashmir and the same has been documented by the UN Human Rights Commission in its recent report. The Indian occupied Kashmir is the most militarized zone of the world with a large deployment of occupation forces. The people there are living in an extreme fear and terror. Particularly children are living in the most militarized atmosphere, with the presence of 7, 00,000 troopers. Over the last 15 years since 2003, 318 children in the age group of 1 to 17 have been killed and so far no one among the perpetrators of these heinous crimes has been brought to justice. Of the 318 children killed, 121 fell in the age group of below 12 years, while 154 were between 13 to 17 years of age. Infants up to 2 years of age too have become victims of violence as 13 infants have been killed in last fifteen years. The youngest victim of violence in last fifteen years was the 10-month-old baby Irfan who was killed in 2010, when his mother was caught between forces and protestors in Dangiwacha, Baramulla. Out of the total 318 children killed in the violence, 72 were girls, which accounts for 22.64% of the total children killed. At least 16,436 people including 4571 civilians have been killed in Jammu and Kashmir in the same period (2003 – 2017). The numbers indicate that in the last fifteen years Kashmir in an average year witnessed at least 1,095 killings. The pattern of killings of children in the fifteen-year period suggests that children were direct targets of state violence, as part of its stated offensive to curb uprising and militancy. There are also a good number of children blinded due to the firing of Indian forces’ personnel on protesters during the 2016 mass uprising. Will the India’s conscience ever wake up?