WHILE India continues to push the fiction that it has brought normality to held Kashmir through the constitutional subterfuge of August 2019, periodic acts of violence perpetrated by its security forces in the disputed region point to a much darker reality. Over the past few days, the custodial killings of three Kashmiri men, apparently by the Indian military, have highlighted the state-sponsored violence that Kashmiris are being subjected to, while Indian officials have sought to ‘pacify’ the region in the aftermath of these crimes. The killings occurred after Indian troops were ambushed by fighters, resulting in the deaths of at least four security men. Following this episode, eight civilians were picked up for questioning in the Poonch region. A week ago, the families of three of these detained men received calls to collect their bodies. The families say their loved ones were tortured by Indian forces. A highly disturbing video circulating on social media appears to show Indian troops sprinkling chilli powder on the exposed body parts of detained men. The Indian military says it is investigating, while Defence Minister Rajnath Singh travelled to Indian-occupied Kashmir to ‘condole’ with the families of the victims, promising them ‘justice’.

Sadly, justice has eluded the people of Kashmir since partition; their wishes have been ignored, and India has sought to create new facts on the ground to cement its illegal occupation of what remains an internationally disputed region. The Indian supreme court’s recent validation of the BJP government’s dubious decision to annul the region’s limited autonomy has further emboldened those in New Delhi who wish to subjugate Kashmir like a conquered territory. International human rights bodies have frequently been pointing to the use of torture and violence by Indian forces in the region. Unfortunately, the Indian state uses ‘counterterrorism’ as a convenient alibi to deny the Kashmiri people their rights, and inflict odious violence upon them. How many more Kashmiris will have to be tortured and killed for the international community to realise that India must be held to account for its cruel policies in the held territory? Instead of taking the path of dialogue and engaging Pakistan and the Kashmiris to arrive at a peaceful solution, India insists on flexing its muscles, and crushing the Kashmiri struggle through the use of gratuitous violence.

Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2023