KASHMIR READING ROOM YEARLY REPORT 2019 - 20 2 DEDICATION Kashmir Reading Room dedicates this report to all Kashmiris who have given their lives to resolve and to end this conflict. To us, you exemplify the best of humanity - humility, courage against all odds, a burning conscience and above all the determination to ensure that the crimes of our oppressors are not forgotten. We depend entirely on exceptional readers and contributors who support us. Kashmir Reading Room’s yearly report and general research is free to access. Your support and help is required so that we can carry on our essential work. Please visit Jklpp.org and make a contribution to support our work. You may also support us by sharing, liking and supporting us on our social media platforms. Visit us at - jklpp.org Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/KashmirReadingRoom/ Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/kashmirreadingroom/ Twitter- https://twitter.com/KReadingRoom Email- [email protected] KASHMIR READING ROOM YEARLY REPORT 2019 - 20 3 Table of contents Introduction 6 Part 1 - Contributions from different regions of Jammu & Kashmir and India 9 Section 1 - Political Developments 10 1. Hindu Rashtra’s Propaganda on J&K 12 - Sandhya Gokhale 2. Trifurcation to Bifurcation: Autonomy Demands, Regional Politics and Internationalisation 16 of the Kashmir Conflict - Amina Mahmood Mir 3. Ladakh Experience as a Union Territory 22 - Mustafa Haji 4. ‘The Kashmiri Nation will Rise’ 27 An Interview with Sampath Prakash 5. Remembering Afzal 30 - Amrit Wilson 6. Hindu Forum of Britain and Keir Starmer’s positioning on Kashmir 33 - South Asia Solidarity Section 2 - Law and Policy 35 1. The Kashmir Conflict and International Peace and Security 36 Post August 2019 - Madeeha Majid 2. Article 370: From Erosion to Cremation 41 - Mihir Desai and Saranga Ugalmugle 3. Domicile Law and India’s Naya Kashmiris 47 Incremental Dispossession, Statelessness and Displacement - Mirza Saaib Beg 4. The Constitutional Courts and Kashmir 53 Rights Dependent on the Goodwill of Court Can Never be Secure - Saranga Ugalmugle and Clifton D’ Rozario KASHMIR READING ROOM YEARLY REPORT 2019 - 20 4 5. Indian Judiciary’s apathy to Habeas Corpus Petitions of Kashmiris 61 - Gayathree Devi KT and Sameer Rahid Bhat 6. Detention of Freedom, Thought and Expression through the Public Safety Act 66 - Saaquib Amin Parray Section 3 - Economy 73 1. Unilateral Integration, Global Pandemic and Declining Economy 74 An Overview of the Economic Situation of J&K by KRR 2. Dismantling Land Reforms in J&K 80 Land Grab Under the Garb of Developmentalism - Shinzani Jain 3. Ecological Vandalism in J&K 86 The Aftereffects of Abrogating the Special Status - Sushmita 4. Tales of a Vanishing River 91 Notes on Sand Mining in Kashmir - Basim-U-Nissa and Salik Basharat 5. The state of Bakarwal Tribes in times of COVID Crisis 102 - Afreen Faridi Section 4 - Culture and Minorities 107 1. Deification of Land and the State 108 Industry-Military Complex in Kashmir - Swathi Sheshadri 2. Coming Together on One Platform 117 - Jang-Vijay Singh 3. Kashmiri Sikhs after Abrogation 125 - Khushdeep Kaur 4. Attacks on Religious Places of Minorities 132 Post Abrogation of Autonomy - Arman Kazmi Section 5 - Conflict and Society 138 1. Debunking the Colonial Discourse 139 Gender and Kashmir - Misbah Reshi KASHMIR READING ROOM YEARLY REPORT 2019 - 20 5 2. Punitive Childhood 145 Child Rights Post Abrogation - Malika Galib Shah and Junaid-Ul-Shafi 3. Mental Health and Kashmir 155 A Longitudinal Perspective - Dr. Amit Sen 4. Militarism in Kashmir Since August 5, 2019 160 - Sarthak Tomar 5. Enforced Homelessness 167 Collective Dispossession and Punishment in Kashmir - Mariyeh Mushtaq Section 6 - Media 172 1. Amidst Harassment and Persecution, Resilient Journalism Continues 173 - Freny Manecksha 2. Bureaucratic Strangleholds over Media Freedom 180 - Geeta Seshu 3. State of Supreme Lawlessness 185 - Mirza Saaib Beg Part 2 - Letters, Statements and Reports by Kashmir Reading Room 192 Part 3 - KRR Report to the UN 211 KASHMIR READING ROOM YEARLY REPORT 2019 - 20 6 Introduction Kashmir Reading Room (KRR) was set up in 2014 by a group of working professionals – lawyers, doctors, academicians, researchers, activists, and journalists – based in different parts of the world. Our objective is to promote free political thought and adopt mechanisms of active and comprehensive dialogue to generate international awareness on the conflict in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K). We believe that it is imperative to sensitize people on the political, legal, and everyday struggles of people in the erstwhile princely state of J&K including the frontier regions of Gilgit Baltistan and Ladakh. Through our efforts, we endeavour to foster an understanding between people of India, Pakistan, and all five regions of the erstwhile state of J&K. It is our belief that this process is imperative to facilitate the resolution of the conflict. August 5, 2019 has been marked by Kashmiris as a day when India’s expansionist policy on Kashmir has been laid bare in an undeniable manner. India unilaterally suspended the civil and political rights of people of J&K and imposed a severe lockdown and communication blockade for months, in the absence of the legal authority to do so. This was the longest ever internet and communication blockade in the history of any democracy in the world. Kashmiri leaders representing all shades of political opinion were detained, including the former Chief Ministers, one of whom was previously in coalition with the ruling party in India. Thousands of Kashmiri civilians were detained amidst spec- ulation and rumours about the possibility of war with Pakistan. The anxiety of Kashmiris was fuelled by the additional troop deployment in the valley. When the Bills were debated in the Indian Parliament on August 5 and 6, there was no consultation with Kashmiris or their representatives. This was compounded by the internet and telecommunication ban due to which Kashmiris did not have any access to information about decisions that would have a significant impact on their lives. This report covers the events leading up to this forcible integration of J&K with India and the ground realities in the last one year. Due to the overwhelming nature of the humanitarian and political crisis in Kashmir, the history of the conflict and the con- comitant human rights issues have been extensively researched and documented by scholars of the Kashmir conflict. Given the ghastly nature, human rights abuses strike as an urgent concern. However, to understand the conflict it is pertinent to examine the control mechanisms employed to enforce the occupational structures. The law and policy measures constituting these control mechanisms deserve comprehensive engagement. This report documents the changes taking place on the political, legal, policy, and economic sphere since August 2019. Ad- ditionally, it provides an overview of the human rights violations and disenfranchisement of Kashmiris that is still underway, a year after the amendment of Article 370, bifurcation of the state, conversion into two Union Territories and the effective annexation of J&K. In order to generate international awareness and dialogue on these concerning developments, KRR has engaged with political representatives through regular interactions, reports, letters, and statements. Some of these have been included in this report. We would like to inform the readers that the views, and opinions expressed in the contributions belong solely to the respective authors, and not necessarily to KRR. This report has been divided into three sections. The first section includes opinions and analysis from a diverse range of contributors - from India and all regions of J&K. The second section of the report includes the letters, statements and repre- sentations drafted by KRR since August 5, 2019. The third section includes a report submitted by KRR to the United Nations (UN). This report covers human rights violations under international law, most notably the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which has been ratified by India. INTRODUCTION KASHMIR READING ROOM YEARLY REPORT 2019 - 20 7 The section on Political Developments covers the international and regional developments that took place in the past year, most notably - bifurcation of the erstwhile State, Ladakh’s position on the Union Territory status and the propagandist nar- ratives invoked by the Indian state machinery to justify the annexation of J&K. This section includes an interview by KRR with Sampat Prakash, an octogenarian trade unionist from J&K on his views on the abrogation of autonomy, domicile law, among other things. The section on Law and Policy contextualizes the position of Indian and International law on the legislative measures affect- ing the annexation of J&K. The legislative changes and the state excesses have been challenged in the Constitutional Courts of India and J&K. The developments in the cases filed in the Supreme Court of India and the J&K High Court since August 5, 2019, have been covered in this section. Additionally, while the litigation on the constitutional validity of amendments to Article 370 is sub-judice, the Indian government has hastily introduced measures with the intention of causing demographic changes in the valley through the new Domicile Law. The section covers an analysis of these aggressive moves by the Indian government. The amendment of Article 370 and the ensuing lockdown has severely affected the economy of J&K. It has been argued that by the Indian government and state agencies that Article 370 has restrained developmental activities in the state. The validity of these claims is examined in this section. The section on Economy briefly covers the history of progressive reforms and development in the state. It provides an overview of the deteriorating economy and ecology of the state due to prolonged lockdown, COVID crisis, and exploitative economic policies. The de-operationalization of Article 370 has effectively led to the abrogation of Article 35A which ensured special rights to the people of the state and prohibited the transfer of land away from permanent residents.