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it'll soon be a year since Art. 370 was de-operationalized in a span of 15 hrs, under the longest ever communication + internet shutdown, while extralegal detentions continued without remedy.
collating some essential writing on this heartbreaking siege. feel free to add:
collating some essential writing on this heartbreaking siege. feel free to add:
the 3-essay series by @shrimoyee_n on @raiotzine
1. https://www.raiot.in/dismantling-370-in-kashmir-part-1/
"In short, while the constitutional changes are cataclysmic and seem irreversible, in the domain of the everyday, the legal conquest of Jammu and Kashmir is neither as complete nor unquestionable..."
1. https://www.raiot.in/dismantling-370-in-kashmir-part-1/
"In short, while the constitutional changes are cataclysmic and seem irreversible, in the domain of the everyday, the legal conquest of Jammu and Kashmir is neither as complete nor unquestionable..."
2. https://raiot.in/dismantling-370-in-kashmir-part-2/
"The changes... have transformed the occupation, characterized by the de jure (in law) “temporary” suspension of Kashmiri sovereignty, into a permanent and irreversible annexation of its territory in law and fact."
"The changes... have transformed the occupation, characterized by the de jure (in law) “temporary” suspension of Kashmiri sovereignty, into a permanent and irreversible annexation of its territory in law and fact."
3. https://raiot.in/constitutional-lies-and-the-afterlives-of-law-in-kashmir/
"In “debunking” specific myths about the law in Kashmir I must confront my debilitating doubts about reinforcing a big, fat, foundational lie –that justice for Kashmiris is possible in a legal system premised in Indian law and constitutionalism ..."
"In “debunking” specific myths about the law in Kashmir I must confront my debilitating doubts about reinforcing a big, fat, foundational lie –that justice for Kashmiris is possible in a legal system premised in Indian law and constitutionalism ..."
Anumeha Yadav, Menaka Rao for @scroll_in
4. https://scroll.in/article/937856/even-as-thousands-are-detained-in-kashmir-courts-and-legal-system-remain-frozen
"Interviews with the families of those detained suggest many are not able to file petitions. In a large number of cases, there is no first information report or any kind of paperwork to show for the detention."
4. https://scroll.in/article/937856/even-as-thousands-are-detained-in-kashmir-courts-and-legal-system-remain-frozen
"Interviews with the families of those detained suggest many are not able to file petitions. In a large number of cases, there is no first information report or any kind of paperwork to show for the detention."
Freny Manecksha on the PSA from 2016:
5. https://thewire.in/government/public-safety-act-kashmir
"It is also no secret that the police file open FIRs ... (Open FIRs are when police stations report incidents of rioting and so on, and cite “unknown persons” as the accused. This enables them to add names later.)"
5. https://thewire.in/government/public-safety-act-kashmir
"It is also no secret that the police file open FIRs ... (Open FIRs are when police stations report incidents of rioting and so on, and cite “unknown persons” as the accused. This enables them to add names later.)"
6. Gaurav Bhawnani for the EPW in May 2018 on the wide, vague charges, absolute executive discretion, absence of reasons, delays in issuing PSA orders, or orders against those already in custody such that the purpose of preventive detention is defeated. http://www.wandemag.com/rule-lawless-law-detentions-under-public-safety-act-kashmir/
this report just a month and a half after, recording 4000 arrests, torture, deaths in protests and restrictions on the right to worship thanks to the harsh curfew, the communication shutdown and its impact on journalists, students and public health.
7. https://www.fidh.org/en/region/asia/india/update-on-human-rights-violations-in-indian-administered-jammu
7. https://www.fidh.org/en/region/asia/india/update-on-human-rights-violations-in-indian-administered-jammu
@parvaizbukhari for @Adi_Magazine
8. https://adimagazine.com/articles/a-nation-rendered-numb/
"In village after village, residents narrated harrowing stories of what was done to them from the night of August 4 onward, after the total communication blackout was firmly put in place. ..."
8. https://adimagazine.com/articles/a-nation-rendered-numb/
"In village after village, residents narrated harrowing stories of what was done to them from the night of August 4 onward, after the total communication blackout was firmly put in place. ..."
"...Indian soldiers from the hundreds of camps that dot the rural landscape of Kashmir had repeatedly descended into villages, raiding and vandalizing homes, smashing cars, and destroying stocks of rice and pulses (sometimes even mixing in kerosene)"
"...Frightened villagers corroborated each others’ tales of torture and narrated instances of how their shrieks were broadcast over loudspeakers to terrorize entire neighborhoods. ... If their smartphones were returned, it was only after all incriminating video had been deleted."
@STI_RUBAN & @TahirFiraz in
9. https://adimagazine.com/articles/surviving-the-occupation/
"I cannot forget what my father’s uncle, Ba’jaan, told me when we were driving through the bazaar ... “Look around ... look closely at the faces of people. Can you find anyone with even a semblance of happiness on his face?”
9. https://adimagazine.com/articles/surviving-the-occupation/
"I cannot forget what my father’s uncle, Ba’jaan, told me when we were driving through the bazaar ... “Look around ... look closely at the faces of people. Can you find anyone with even a semblance of happiness on his face?”
"The siege since August 2019 has hurt us deeply. Our economy has suffered enormous losses. Start-ups died, mental health issues became widespread, scholars could not carry out their research, students couldn’t download study material..."
"No week passes without the death of yet another young Kashmiri. Every death is felt as a shared loss in Kashmir. The occupiers would prefer that we bear it silently. Yet, our existence is at stake and silence is not an option."
Sasha Bhat from Srinagar between Aug 1-16 2019.
10. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/08/talked-peace-calm-kashmir-190821140858021.html
"I watched the news and broadcasts from the central government, celebrating democracy and freedom. ...I marvelled at how a nation of a billion people can rejoice over the misery and occupation of people."
10. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/08/talked-peace-calm-kashmir-190821140858021.html
"I watched the news and broadcasts from the central government, celebrating democracy and freedom. ...I marvelled at how a nation of a billion people can rejoice over the misery and occupation of people."
Sankarshan Thakur for the Telegraph on the complete communication shutdown:
11. http://telegraphindia.com/india/diary-of-srinagar-lockdown/cid/1696258
"This was not even censorship, not about what you can or cannot report. This was being cut out and left cold."
11. http://telegraphindia.com/india/diary-of-srinagar-lockdown/cid/1696258
"This was not even censorship, not about what you can or cannot report. This was being cut out and left cold."
Safwat Zargar for the Scroll on the complete health care break down that the Indian state unleashed with the communication shutdown and security checks:
12. https://scroll.in/article/933393/in-kashmir-a-cancer-patient-struggles-to-get-to-hospital-for-chemotherapy-others-cant-get-home
12. https://scroll.in/article/933393/in-kashmir-a-cancer-patient-struggles-to-get-to-hospital-for-chemotherapy-others-cant-get-home
Safina Nabi for Newscentral 24x7 on the maternity health care crisis inflicted on Kashmiris by the Indian state:
13. https://newscentral24x7.com/kashmir-maternity-health-travel-restrictions-article-370/
"The family travelled for three hours from Hajin in Bandipora to Srinagar for her delivery." Oof.
13. https://newscentral24x7.com/kashmir-maternity-health-travel-restrictions-article-370/
"The family travelled for three hours from Hajin in Bandipora to Srinagar for her delivery." Oof.
Zafar Aafaq for the @project_polis:
14. https://thepolisproject.com/we-may-have-to-shut-down-permanently-online-media-in-kashmir-has-come-to-a-grinding-halt-by-zafar-aafaq/#.Xypj_BMzbv1
"In February 2019, the Indian government banned ads on prominent newspapers Greater Kashmir and Kashmir Reader. This meant a drastic decrease in revenues, forcing the newspapers to curtail salaries."
14. https://thepolisproject.com/we-may-have-to-shut-down-permanently-online-media-in-kashmir-has-come-to-a-grinding-halt-by-zafar-aafaq/#.Xypj_BMzbv1
"In February 2019, the Indian government banned ads on prominent newspapers Greater Kashmir and Kashmir Reader. This meant a drastic decrease in revenues, forcing the newspapers to curtail salaries."
Aakash Hassan for Medianama on the impact for students of the aggravating COVID lockdown amid the Kashmir lockdown:
15. https://www.medianama.com/2020/07/223-kashmir-internet-shutdown-students/
15. https://www.medianama.com/2020/07/223-kashmir-internet-shutdown-students/
Safwat Zargar for the Scroll on the absence of 4G internet during the COVID-19 pandemic, for healthcare and otherwise:
16. https://scroll.in/article/968719/a-year-without-high-speed-internet-ravaged-health-education-entrepreneurship-in-kashmir
16. https://scroll.in/article/968719/a-year-without-high-speed-internet-ravaged-health-education-entrepreneurship-in-kashmir
Hilal Mir for @Adi_mag in this excellent excellent piece
17. https://adimagazine.com/articles/war-against-words/
17. https://adimagazine.com/articles/war-against-words/
This open letter to the UN Secretary General against the forced demographic change being executed through the new domicile law in Kashmir:
18. https://phclondon.org/announcements/2020/open-letter-on-the-new-domicile-regulations-in-jk.pdf
18. https://phclondon.org/announcements/2020/open-letter-on-the-new-domicile-regulations-in-jk.pdf
@M_S_Beg for @thewire_in:
18. https://thewire.in/rights/kashmir-domicile-law
"the child of an Indian citizen ...is eligible, even if the child has never lived in Kashmir, but the child of a diasporic Kashmiri may not be... if the parent does not possess an existing certificate of residence."
18. https://thewire.in/rights/kashmir-domicile-law
"the child of an Indian citizen ...is eligible, even if the child has never lived in Kashmir, but the child of a diasporic Kashmiri may not be... if the parent does not possess an existing certificate of residence."
Safwat Zargar & Ipsita Chakravarty on the swift undoing of the land reform that Kashmir had painstakingly undertaken over the last 70 years
20. https://scroll.in/article/969275/a-year-of-government-policies-that-eroded-hard-won-land-rights-in-jammu-and-kashmir
20. https://scroll.in/article/969275/a-year-of-government-policies-that-eroded-hard-won-land-rights-in-jammu-and-kashmir
For a narrative of these land reforms, a two part essay at countercurrents by MJ Aslam:
20a. https://countercurrents.org/2019/01/historical-review-of-jk-land-reform-laws-from-1887-1976part-i/
20b. https://countercurrents.org/2019/02/historical-review-of-jk-land-reform-laws-from-1887-1976part-ii/
20a. https://countercurrents.org/2019/01/historical-review-of-jk-land-reform-laws-from-1887-1976part-i/
20b. https://countercurrents.org/2019/02/historical-review-of-jk-land-reform-laws-from-1887-1976part-ii/
The Association for Political and Legal Anthropology also has a series, edited by @bhanbrogmo, @AnthroHaley and @aziakashmir, to mark one year of the siege, accessible here. https://politicalandlegalanthro.org/speaking-justice-to-power-kashmir/
