Kashmir – A Valley of Landmines

To term, the disputed valley of Jammu and Kashmir as India’s largest ‘incarceration facility’ won’t be far from reality as inmates have certain basic rights and whose violations result in international backlash and public uproar. However, Kashmiri inmates are those unlucky ones who have been deprived of every basic right. In the 21st century today when human rights and equality are being extensively and campaigned for; slavery’s abolishment is being widely praised and contended for; animal rights have also been categorized as inviolable and animal cruelty is unequivocally unacceptable and intolerable – Kashmiris have been subjected to a fate worse than that of slaves as they are being exploited by Indian army by being used as a bait and preventive ‘tool’ against landmines.

A Kashmiri named Muhammad Yaqoob’s story is a testament to the cruelty and inhumane policies implemented in the occupied valley.

It was December 2000 when Indian troops ‘picked’ 30-year-old Muhammad Yaqoob to accompany them on their patrol along Line of Control (LoC); 20 years ago it was a routine practice of the Indian Army to pick Kashmiri youth from villages along LoC to accompany them on their patrol along the 734-kilometre-long LoC. The purpose of this patrol was to counter the ‘infiltrators’ from the Pakistani side and was in fact a kind of ‘forced’ un-paid labour subjected on villagers living along LoC. Kashmiris who fell victim to landmines and faced serious injuries or even death were often left uncompensated along with their families.

In the morning Muhammad Yaqoob was returned to his home ‘bloodied’ in injured as he had stepped onto a landmine resulting in the loss of one of his leg. That one night had left him permanently disabled for the rest of his life. Yaqoob’s villagers had then taken him to a nearby army hospital where he was provided with free first-aid; however, he was forced to pay for major surgeries and other essential medical procedures. When Yaqoob’s brother went to the police station to file a legal complaint against the incident, he was shocked to see that an FIR was already registered on Yaqoob and his family’s behalf on behest of Indian Army personnel and which stated that Yaqoob was injured by stepping on a landmine while he was collecting wood’ in the forest.

Indian Army first started planting landmines along LoC during the Indo-Pak War of 1965, a process that continued unrestrictedly since then. During the Indo-Pak War of 1971, 1999 Kargil conflict and 2001 military standoff between India and Pakistan, India continued to extensively pursue its objective of planting landmines along LoC without any regards to the threat it posed to human lives both from across the border and Kashmiris on their side as well. Muhammad Yaqoob is a testament to how Indian forces brazenly continued to exploit Kashmiri villagers to protect their troops.

In 2008, India’s Director Military Affairs Brigadier S.M. Mahajan had justified planting landmines along LoC contending that it was aimed at preventing cross-border infiltrations of Kashmiri freedom fighters; however, only a handful of reports have emerged since then that indicated Kashmiri freedom fighters felling prey to these landmines as mostly civilian Kashmiri population inside IoK has been affected by these weapons. India has intentionally failed to disclose statistics and figures regarding those who have fallen prey to these landmines and how many of them were Kashmiris and Indian troops. According to the statistics provided by ‘Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor’ (a research group), around 3,191 people fell prey to these landmines between 1999 and 2015 – of which 1,083 succumbed to the injures whereas 2,107 were seriously wounded.

Landmines planted along LoC are threatening Kashmiris in more ways than one. Khurram Pervez – a renowned Kashmiri human rights activist, argues that once these landmines are planted in the fields, the local population is barred from carrying out any agricultural activates – which leaves the Kashmiri population incapable of addressing their economic needs and to produce food for their livestock as well; a prospect that has resulted in severe food shortage in the valley. Furthermore, livestock has also been falling victim to these landmines which are in fact a major asset for the local population.

It is no secret that Kashmiris in IoK are being subjected to Indian atrocities and brutalities with severe adverse effects on the economy, culture and daily lives of Kashmiris. Provision of landmines along LoC and protecting Indian troops at the expense of Kashmiris and the resulting adverse effects of these landmines on agriculture is an aspect that has largely been left unnoticed by the international community.

India’s actions and policies reflect a much more nefarious agenda at play i.e. Indian government and army both intend to stimulate a mass migration of Kashmiris to Pakistan that’ll result in a significant demographic change in the disputed valley, as it will reduce its Muslim majority population; which then will be followed by the arrival of ‘settlers’ from all across India and changing Muslims’ status from majority to a minority in the disputed valley.