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Hardly any of the Kashmiri security personnel I reached out to after Ummer’s death were willing to speak to me. I contacted six security personnel— including veterans and serving army officers. All of What happens when a Kashmiri them refused to speak to me even off the record. A former army officer I met in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district told me that he would be happy to serve me a cup of coffee and discuss films, but not his professional life. On 22 May, I visited the sprawling headquarters joins the of Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry at Rangreth, on the outskirts of . At the heavily guarded gate, a group of Kashmiri soldiers checked and not- Moazum Mohammad pieces together an account of the fraught relationship Kashmiri personnel share with their communities ed down my credentials. Inside the complex, I met two Kashmiri soldiers—one hailed from south t around 9 am on 10 May 2017, the Kashmir and the other from north Kashmir. body of 22-year-old Lieutenant Though they insisted that they had no trouble vis- Ummer Fayaz Parray reached his iting their homes, both soldiers did not give me home in the cluttered village of their names. “I am returning from my home right Sarsuna, in Kashmir’s . now,” said the soldier from north Kashmir, who UmmerA had been abducted in Shopian village was dressed in civilian clothing. The other soldier the previous night, and early that morning, his said that he joined the army in 1997, during the body was discovered in Hermain village. His death peak of the militancy. “Nobody kills you unless was widely covered by the mainstream media. you commit wrong,” he told me. Many politicians released statements condemn- At the headquarters, I also met a 52-year-old ing Ummer’s killing, and others paid tributes to former army official. He, too, spoke to me only on him for his service to the nation. Before burial, the condition of anonymity.The officer, who retired the army officer’s body was draped in the Indian tri- only recently, said he joined the army a few years colour. Soldiers offered a gun salute to their slain prior to the surge in militancy in Kashmir, which colleague, and lay wreaths by his body. began in 1989. For 13 years after that, he told me, he These were extraordinary sights for the villagers did not visit his home, located in a south Kashmir of Sarsuna who attended the funeral. The cere- district. (As we spoke, a person standing a few yards monies at the funeral were a declaration that the away, at the door of the room in which we stood, young man was an officer of the Indian armed urged the former officer to leave. “Come out. We are forces — a fact that many of them had, until then, getting late,” the man shouted.) been unaware of. “Nobody in the village knew For over a decade, the former officer said, he that he was in the army,” Ummer’s uncle, Manzoor would call his family to Jammu and meet them Ahmed Parray, said. “They believed he was study- there. In November 2002, he was posted in out- ing outside.” “We knew he [had earlier] studied in side the state, when his father died. He was able to army school but we did not know he was working visit only on his father’s chehlum—the fortieth with the army,” a villager, who asked not to be day after his death. That was the first time he visit- named, later told me. ed his home since the 1990s, the former officer told The road to Sarsuna—located around 65 kilo- me. “My brother told me not to visit. Despite that, metres from Srinagar—passes through green fields, “When I came out, I reached home late evening, for two days. I visited with a canopy of apple and cherry trees. The village I saw a person the grave at 4 am,” he said. comprises over 100 households, and a majority of leaving through During his visit, he continued, he ran into a for- its residents run or work in apple orchards. I the gate. But I did mer school classmate. He told me that his classmate reached the village at about noon on 15 May. It was not see them was a former police official, and had been dismissed quiet; the only people in sight were young boys taking away my from the service. The classmate had then joined the returning home from school. son” . “We had lunch together at my At Ummer’s home, the dull silence remained. JAMEELA AHMAD home but he did not know I was in the army,” he In a dimly lit room on the first floor of the two- told me. At the time, he added, “I also did not know Ummer’s mother storey house, I spoke with the slain officer’s fami- (Clockwise from left) Lieutenant Ummer Fayaz’s he had been dismissed and was now a ly—his parents, Jameela and Fayaz Ahmad; his mother, Jameela; the funeral of Lt Fayaz (above); militant.”During this lunch, the classmate said that uncles Mushtaq Ahmad and Manzoor Ahmad; and Lt Fayaz at the Indian Military Academy in he had heard of an army official visiting the village. and his grandfather, 73-year-old Mohammad The classmate insisted that he has to visit the offi- Ashoor Parray. Through our conversations, I had cial. The former officer said he tried to dissuade his to repeatedly encourage his family to speak— they friend, but was unsuccessful. were hesitant, and worried about what would hap- with the prospect, but decided to keep it a secret. “When he insisted, I revealed that I am the sol- pen if their statements were published. Their “We did not fear for his life when he joined army. He dier. He did not believe me. But I showed him my accounts — and my interactions with other was appointed on merit as an officer. We were hap- I-card,” he added. The former officer’s classmate Kashmiri security personnel — offer some insight py,” Manzoor said. Like many other Kashmiris, then warned him. “I have been sent here for recce,” into the fraught relationship these officials share Ummer “too, had gone to offer his services for the he told me his classmate said. “We have to lift you with their own communities. country,” Ashoor, Ummer’s grandfather, said. in the evening and you should leave before that On 30 April, Manzoor told me, Ummer arrived In Sarsuna, “only 15–20 people are government happens.” Following this incident, he said, he did for a 15-day leave of absence from his posting, in employees,” Mushtaq, Ummer’s other uncle, told not return home for over a year. Aknoor, in Jammu. Six months earlier, Ummer me. “The rest of the village works in their fields.” He Yet, a number of Kashmiris appear to be to sign- had been posted there with the infantry unit of the continued, “Nobody works in the police or the army ing up to join the army. According to Colonel Rajesh 2 Rajputana Rifles regiment in the Indian army.He here.” Mushtaq said that many of the young people Kalia, a Kashmir-based defence spokesperson, the had taken leave to attend the wedding of his cousin in the area were employed with the Rehbar-e- recruitment rallies the army has conducted in the — one of the daughters of his maternal uncle— Taleem—a government scheme under which edu- valley in recent times have received an over- which was scheduled to take place a few kilometres [dead] body would return,” he told me.“We never flashlights, entered the paddy fields surrounding cated young adults are locally whelming response. Kalia said that in from Sarsuna, in Batpora village in Shopian dis- knew such a thing would happen.” the village to look for Ummer. “My legs were caked employed as teachers in primary and So far Sarsuna has north Kashmir’s Pattan district alone, trict, on 11 May. When the mother and son reached Batpora vil- with mud and dirt,” she said. She added that she middle schools. If it were not for the seen only one villager 19,000 Kashmiris applied for soldier’s Manzoor told me that he picked up Ummer at lage, the celebrations were ongoing in Jameela’s did not inform the police or her husband about scheme, Mushtaq said, “They too join the militancy — posts in the army during a recruitment Wanpoh, along the 300-kilometre Srinagar-Jammu brother’s home. “My brother has four daughters Ummer’s abduction until the following morning. would have joined the army.” So far, Fayaz’s uncle, rally held between 4 April and 12 April. national highway. “I took him to Anantnag where but no son. Everyone was excited till this hap- “I believed he would return after being ques- Mushtaq told me, Sarsuna had seen Mohammad Ayub “The response and enthusiasm shows my two school-going children live in a rented room. pened,” Jameela said. “At around 8.30 pm, I was in tioned,” she said. only one villager join the militancy— Parray, who was motivation of young boys for a better We spent the night there and came here [Sarsuna] the washroom, which was outside the house, when At 5 am on 10 May, Fayaz told me, he received a Fayaz’s uncle, Mohammad Ayub killed in the 1990s future,” he said. On 28 May, a day after the next day without announcing about his arrival three men carrying guns entered the house,” she call while he was offering morning prayers at the Parray, who was killed in the 1990s. the Hizbul Mujahideen commander to anyone,” he said. said. “I heard some screams, but I thought someone neighbourhood masjid in Sarsuna. He then lapsed Sabzar Bhat and his associate Faizan Ahmad were Apprehensive about Ummer’s safety, the fami- fell from a window.” Jameela continued, “When I into silence. Manzoor said that some locals in early a month since his killing, it is still killed in , the army held an entrance exami- ly maintained this secrecy over the next few days. came out, I saw a person leaving through the gate. Hermain had discovered a body at the local bus stop unclear who is responsible for Ummer’s nation for junior commanding officers and other Manzoor said that Ummer spent two days with his But I did not see them taking away my son.” that morning. “A doctor who is posted in the con- Ndeath. Several news reports, as well as the ranks.The army later released a statement not- family in Sarsuna, and that no one apart from the Manzoor was not present in the house at the cerned hospital saw the identity card in his pocket security forces in the region and central and state ing that “defying shutdown,” nearly 1,300 aspirants family knew of his presence. “Even my sister, who time of the abduction, but had pieced together an and confirmed his death,” he said. The family mem- leaders, suggested that Kashmiri militants may appeared for the exam. lives in the adjacent village, could not meet him account based on the observations of the family bers added that the wedding was postponed. be responsible for the abduction and killing. On 12 I asked a young man who had applied for a sol- because we did not tell anyone,” he said. He added members who were present, such as Ummer’s I asked the Parray family about how Ummer May, the United Jihad Council, an umbrella group- dier’s post this year why he had done so despite that Ummer then returned to Anantnag, and came cousins and a maternal uncle, who is partially blind. came to join the army. They told me that, until fifth ing of militant outfits in the state, released a state- being familiar with the risk that Kashmiris in the back to Sarsuna two days before the wedding. He said they told him that three persons who wore grade, Ummer studied in a neighbourhood school. ment denying any involvement in Ummer’s death. armed forces face. “As Kashmiris, we are killed by masks and were carrying guns had barged into the Then, Manzoor told me, they decided to send him “Our militants are not involved in murder of Lt bullets. As an army man, the same bullet will kill n 9 May, at about 3 pm, Ummer and his house. They made their way to Ummer, who was sit- to a school outside the village. Ummer applied to an Ummer Fayaz. Such a killing is condemnable,” Syed me,” he said. “But till that time, I will earn for my mother, Jameela, left for Shopian on a ting with the bride-to-be on the first floor. “We have army school in Ashmuqam, in south Kashmir. “We Salahuddin, the chief of the Hizbul Mujahideen family.” Jameela, Ummer’s mother, had attributed Omotorcycle. “He was happy and eagerly to talk to him for 10 minutes,” the gunmen told the sent him to army school so that he could focus on and of the UJC, said in the statement. He alleged the decision to destiny. “It was god’s will to make looking forward to attending the wedding,” Jameela family, Manzoor said. “We don’t know how many his education,” Manzoor said. “He passed the that Ummer had been “murdered by the Indian him qualify exams,” she said as I was leaving their said. Her eyes were moist as she spoke. Fayaz told [gunmen] were outside,” he added.“Once I learnt school’s entrance examination and got admitted.” agencies and militants are being accused of it to home. “Today, [his death] is also god’s will.” me that, before leaving, Ummer insisted that his Ummer had been taken away, I urgently went out In 2012, Ummer qualified for admission into shield the real face of the Indian agencies.” father come to Shopian soon as well.“You have to in search of him,” Jameela said. the National Defence Academy. Fayaz said that Ummer’s family members were hesitant to come tomorrow,” Fayaz recalled Ummer said. “We Jameela, along with a few relatives and some Ummer had not undergone any coaching for the accuse anyone. “We can’t say who killed him, but This is an extract reprinted with permission from the would not have allowed him to go there if I knew his other residents of Batpora, equipped with entrance exam. Ummer’s family was very happy those who killed him committed a sin,” Fayaz said. June 2017 issue of The Caravan. © Press

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Hope Rajdeep, Barkha and others NDTV The robot era won’t need a lot more electricity journalists who got Padma Award for their interdependent journalism return it to protest the CBI raids. as it means no AC and fridge at work Yashwant Deshmukh@YRDeshmukh Barring NDTV no other channel is showing the Press Club event live. So much for the Media do other automated processes for electrical load, they create an solidarity against raids on NDTV. Seriously. moving materials around the factory economic incentive to conserve floor, an electric utility executive electricity elsewhere — in lighting UK ELECTION RESULTS might reasonably hope that they will and heating, for example, which Osh Jordan@NumbersMuncher soon drive greater electricity serve humans more than machines. It was all downhill for Theresa May from the demand. But a look at the past 10 The potential for near-total moment she latched on to those tiny little years of electricity consumption in automation — and with it the “lights- Trump hands. #UKelections the top 10 countries suggests they out factory” devoid of human labour Sunil Sawhney@Sunil_Sawhney might not. — would greatly reduce or eliminate UK elections summarized -- Gamble in April Four countries on the list have the systems designed to keep people costs May dearly in June!! increased their consumption since comfortable. In Google’s data centres, 2006 — Korea's power use is up the temperature is 80 degrees Rajdeep Sardesai@sardesairajdeep almost 40 per cent and Fahrenheit (27 Bangladesh pulled off a surprise victory Exit pollsters redeem themselves in Britain: Singapore’s is up 30 per Where robots require degrees Celsius) in Teresa May learns oldest lesson of politics: against New Zealand on Friday to stay in cent. But Taiwan’s use is significant electrical the “cold aisle” never take voters for granted! #UKelections the Champions Trophy race up only modestly. And load, they create an sections where BANGALDESH DEFEATS NEW ZEALAND the US, by far the largest economic incentive to people work, and 120 Anindya Jana@arj3333 electricity consumer in conserve electricity degrees elsewhere. CBI RAIDS ON NDTV Pak defeats SA. Sri Lanka defeats and now the group, is up by just 1 elsewhere — in And the ambient Prashant Bhushan@pbhushan1 Bangladesh defeats New Zealand. Big brothers per cent. lighting and heating, noise is so loud, Raids on NDTV take place 3 days after BJP of champion trophy, pull up your stocks. It’s not as if any of for example humans can’t enter spokesman is asked to leave Razdan's show. these countries are without ear The message is clear. Govt intimidating the Revanth@revanthpilli deindustrialised. Germany has a protection. Continue the process of #NZvBAN and the mighty Bangladesh defeats media Dinosaur robots act as receptionists at a hotel in Tokyo heavily industrial economy, and its automation, and more energy- almighty new Zealand Swati Chaturvedi@bainjal producers are automating as much as consuming systems disappear. No Let's have no doubt that the raids on Aaesha Ahmed@iaaesha BLOOMBERG In the wealthy countries of Asia, possible. Siemens, for one, has people means no refrigeration, no #PrannoyRoy are a message to the media. As We have seen India defeating 10 June robots have already arrived. South boosted production at one factory cooking, no TVs in the break room. Shourie said to me "a diffused undeclared convincingly now Bangladesh defeated New Korea, Singapore and Japan are the ninefold in three decades without Every manufacturing company is emergency". Zealand,this Champions Trophy is full of As robots come to dominate three most automated appreciably increasing its workforce. looking for low to zero to negative upsets. manufacturing, and automation eats manufacturing economies, Yet, as a whole, Germany uses 5 per growth in electricity use. So while Arvind Kejriwal @ArvindKejriwal its way into more business processes, according to the International cent less electricity than it did 10 intensive and pervasive industrial We strongly condemn raids on Dr Roy n NDTV Mazher Arshad@MazherArshad societies are beginning to address Federation of Robotics. In Korea, 1 years ago. automation must be a tempting group. Its an attempt to silence independent New Zealand become first team to be out of the future of work for humans. manufacturing worker in 21 is a To be sure, this is correlation, not narrative for power company and anti-establishment voices Champions Trophy 2017. All other seven teams still in the competition. What a win for Another issue — for the power robot. The US, Taiwan and five evidence, that increasing automation executives looking for new sources of Rahul Roushan@rahulroushan Bangladesh. industry in particular— is whether wealthy European countries fill out lowers energy use, and there are demand, it’s more likely that the programmable machines might also the top 10. many other variables in the mix. robot era will arrive with no need for significantly increase electricity use. Since robots run on electricity, as Where robots require significant extra energy.