Cycles of Violence

Cycles of Violence: The Impact of Human Rights
Violations on Children in Kashmir

by
Dilnaz Boga
MA Thesis for the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies

Date of submission: June 2004
Supervisor: Dr. Wendy Lambourne
University of Sydney
Acknowledgments
________________________________________________________________________
I am thankful to the people of Kashmir for letting me into their hearts and lives to help
me understand their will for freedom, their pain and strength. I will never forget Jammu
and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Chief Yasin Malik and his cry for azadi (translated
freedom in Urdu) in the Martyrs Graveyard on Martyrs Day in Kashmir in November
2002.
I would like to thank my parents for trusting me to make the trip to Kashmir. I am also
very grateful to Sudharak Olwe, Chief photographer from Sunday Times, The Times
Group (Mumbai) for sharing his contacts and for teaching me to shoot from the heart in
Kashmir.
I am indebted to the Editor of the Indian Express (Kashmir) Muzamil Jaleel for helping
me with his passionate articles about the land he loves so much. Rafiq Maqbool, a
photographer with Associated Press (Kashmir) has my deepest gratitude for taking me to
witness my first episode of bloodshed and sorrow at Bandipore. Also, he cannot be
forgotten for giving me the scare of my life for being injured in a grenade attack.
I am also thankful to Krishna Vasu from the NGO, Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties
Committee for sharing all the literature they had accumulated during their fact-finding
mission in Kashmir. I also thank journalists Shahnawaz Islam and Khushnuma
Dadachanji from the Times Group for keeping me at the back of their minds and emailing me articles pertinent to my thesis topic. I am also obliged to Dr Kusum Gopal of
the Gender Institute of London School of Economics for her valuable input. Thank you,
Dr. Wendy Lambourne from the University of Sydney for all your support and
encouragement. Also thanks to Suneeti Rekhari from the University of New South Wales
for proofreading the thesis.
Last but not the least, I need to thank God for giving me the opportunity and the capacity
to understand and empathize with the lives of Kashmiris and the strength to make a
difference through dissemination of information.
Introduction
________________________________________________________________________
My dissertation titled Cycles of Violence: The Impact of Human Rights Violations on
the children in Kashmir attempts to unmask the ill effects of violence in Kashmir on its
children. The topic aims to pinpoint human rights violations and the impact of the effects
of these atrocities on the lives of children between the ages of 8 to 17; and how cycles of
violence are continued through generations.
The idea for this topic was born in November 2002, when I visited Kashmir for ten days
in my professional capacity as a journalist. I interviewed the Jammu and Kashmir
Liberation Front (JKLF) leader Yasin Malik for the Sunday Times (Mumbai), the Times
of India.
Being a patriotic Indian, the idea of dividing Kashmir an integral part of India, was
implausible to me. What struck me most about the interview was the impact Maliks
childhood had had in framing his future stance on the subject. The hardships he endured
at the hands of the Indian security forces because of what he believed in baffled me. This
lead me to think that if every Kashmiri child is exposed to social injustice and degrading
and inhumane treatment, then a whole generation of individuals is at risk of either turning
to violence, or developing maladjusted and destructive tendencies in their personalities.
I discovered the basis of Maliks belief system was based on what he had seen and
experienced as a young boy. After all, we are a product of heredity and environment.
This prompted me to delve further into this issue of how exposure to violence affects
children.
Kashmir used to be one of the hottest tourist spots of the world in the seventies and
eighties. These days, the story has changed. Now, Kashmir has bunkers on every block
on the street, especially in its capital city, Srinagar. The danger and the hostility of the
paramilitary forces that monitor the civilians cannot be concealed. Suspicion is not easy
to shrug off, said a jawan (soldier translated in Hindi). Either its them (militants) or
its us. It doesnt take half a minute for a jihadi to run to our bunker and kill us all. Why
should I take a chance? I have young children at home.
Shopkeeper Bashir Butt (66) in Srinagar echoed a common sentiment, The government
can do what it feels. Sometimes, they sever the phone lines, theres a curfew every
evening, anything can happen anytime. People here are used to these things. No one cares
3
about life or death anymore. Guns, bombs and blood are a part of our life. Our children
dont know any better, but we do.
The purpose of this discussion is to highlight the plight of the Kashmiris, especially the
children who are trapped in a never-ending cycle of violence. The idea behind choosing
the topic is to spread awareness about the impact of violence on the Kashmiri children
and identify ways to help them out through NGO intervention and strict monitoring of
human rights.
The dissertation spreads over five chapters. The first chapter provides a background to
the conflict along with a historical perspective that traces the roots and the intensity of the
struggle over 56 years. This chapter ends with a description of the current scenario,
legally and politically, in the state of Jammu Kashmir.
The second chapter titled; The Valley of Blood discloses the types of human rights
abuses that different factions indulge in at different points in time. Here, brutal acts from
groups like the Indian Armed Forces, the Renegades and the militants are highlighted to
gauge the effects on the population. Reports submitted by Amnesty International,
International Red Cross, the United Nations, local NGO accounts, news articles (local,
national and international) are used to show the experiences of the civilian population in
the Valley.
In search of a lost childhood, the third chapter, addresses the issue of the effect of
violence on the lives of children, in conjunction with those of their parents. Specific
issues like the experiences of children in relation to rape, torture, murder and death, and
those concerning men, women, girl and boy children will be discussed. The reasons for a
lack of performance of the children in schools and colleges are explained, along with
comments from sociologists, therapists, psychologists, local journalists and others who
have studied the children closely.
These accounts are correlated to theories that support my contention, including those of
psychologists who draw parallels to theories on the behavioral problems that emerge
from the impact of violence on children. My personal observations of the children in the
troubled Valley are recounted. Studies from other conflict torn countries will be
introduced to analyze the situation the children face. Behavioral disorders, mood
disorders, phobias that affect the children will be discussed. The reasons for the problem
of a high rate of suicides among the teens will be elucidated.
4
Chapter four, Present imperfect, future tense cites the results of trauma faced by
children. The seriousness of the problem will be analyzed and recommendations will be
made to rebuild childrens war torn lives. Also, the problem of Indias militarized society
will be dealt with, along with the need to replace the culture of violence with a culture of
peace thereby creating a new identity.
Finally, in Chapter five, I conclude by stating how violence affects the children in
Kashmir, and the perpetuation of the cycles of violence as a result of what the children
have been exposed to. The implications of the cycle of violence will be analyzed and
recommendations will be made to help save the future of the Kashmiri children and break
the cycles of violence that plague India.
Contents
Chapter I Historic roots of the conflict
Chapter II The Valley of blood
17
Chapter III In search of a lost childhood
27
Chapter IV Kashmir: Present imperfect, future tense
42
Chapter V Conclusion
57
Bibliography
51
Appendix
57
Chapter I
_______________________________________________________________________
Historic roots and current context of the conflict
Kashmir is much more than a dispute over real estate, a matter of national
prestige, or a threat to Indian secularism. If the nation continues to remain
desensitised to the human tragedy that is Kashmir, the very existence of
India as a civilized entity will be gravely threatened.
Balraj Puri
Kashmir: Towards Insurgency (1993)
Kashmir, a part of the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir, is an area on the northern
borders of India and Pakistan, with a population of about 12 million, out of which 70 per
cent are Muslims and the rest include Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists. Hindus live mostly in
the south and around the city of Jammu. Wedged between Pakistan, India, China and
Afghanistan, lies greater Kashmir (including both the Indian state of Jammu and
Kashmir and Pakistan-controlled Azad Kashmir or Pakistan Occupied Kashmir). It sits
squarely in the middle of a web of disputed borders. 1 (See Map in Appendix)
The Kashmiris
The Kashmiri peoples main occupation is agriculture. Most of the Kashmiris work on
farms. Others are engaged in small industries making shawls, rugs and carpets. Kashmir
is well known for its wool and, in particular, its shawls and carpets. Much of the farmland
is under intense cultivation, producing corn, wheat, rice and saffron amongst other crops.
Fruit and nuts are also produced in quantities including pears, apples and walnuts.
Tourism was a thriving industry until the initiation of violence in this picturesque Valley.
History of conflict and agreements
There are various interpretations of the history of Kashmir and several parties from India,
Pakistan and Kashmir contest some of these, as they are mere interpretations of events. I
1
Kashmir: The view from Delhi, International Crisis Group Asia report no 69, 4th December 2003.
A Muslim online directory maintained by Gharib Hanif, UK. Accessed on 29th December 2003 from
http://www.ummah.org.uk/kashmir/
2
have chosen historical events to understand the facts that surrounded the pre-Partition era,
post-Partition and the present day conflict.
On midnight of 15th August 1947, the Partition of India entailed the division of a single
region under British rule into two separate nation-states, which therefore constituted the
artificial creation of two nations. When India gained Independence from the British,
Maharaja Hari Singh of Jammu, ruler of the princely state of Kashmir, was undecided on
the issue of accession of Kashmir to either Pakistan or India, or whether to remain
independent. To this day, boundary issues left unsolved by the British are a cause for
strife between the two countries. During the uncertain times surrounding the Partition in
1947, an entirely indigenous revolt against the Hindu-ruler broke out in the Kashmiri
town of Poonch, which had a predominantly Muslim population. Starting in June 1947,
two months before the Transfer of Power, a no-tax campaign began, which evolved
rapidly into a popular secessionist movement. Finally, infiltration by armed Pakistani
tribesman to aid the Muslims in Poonch caused the Maharaja to decide to accede to India
on 26th October 1947. Soon Indian forces arrived in Kashmir to repel the tribal invasion,
resulting in a fully-fledged war between the two newly independent countries. India and
Pakistan declared a cease-fire in January 1949 after a United Nations Commission
proposed a referendum for self-determination among Kashmiris, to which both parties
agreed. However, the cease-fire left 84,000 sq. km of Kashmir under Pakistan's control,
which until now has remained occupied. 3
A UN Resolution was passed at the Security Councils 26th meeting on 21st April 1948 on
the issue of Kashmir. This resolution, confirmed by numerous subsequent UN
resolutions, called on India to withdraw its forces from Kashmir and pursue a path to
establish conditions suitable for a plebiscite. Kashmiris would be allowed to vote on the
fate of their land as an independent state, an accession to India, or an accession to
Pakistan. Since the plebiscite did not occur due to Indias claim to the province, the
Indian presence can be viewed as an illegal occupation. The ongoing presence of Indian
troops in Kashmir is therefore a violation of international law and the rights of the
Accessed on 23rd December 2003, from the Indian newspaper, The Indian Express and The Indian
Express web site, www.expressindia.com/kashmir/conflict.html
indigenous population to self-determination, thereby constituting in effect an illegal

occupation. 4
Britain, which furnished the Commanders-in-Chief of both India and Pakistan at the birth
of the two Dominions, could have prevented the problem of Kashmir from arising in the
first place: by preventing the tribal raiders attack on Kashmir, an operation that was
planned in the same building that housed Pakistani Army Headquarters, or, failing that,
by carrying out the threat of withdrawing all British officers when Pakistans Regular
Army entered Kashmir in early 1948. Instead, Britains representatives connived at
Pakistans gross violation of the Mountbatten Plan, which had given the Rulers of
Princely States unfettered discretion to accede to the Dominion of their choice. That this
was no aberration on the part of some individuals became evident from Britains role in
the ensuing proceedings of the United Nations Office on the Kashmir question. 5
India and Pakistan, in the mid-1950s, took refuge in cold war politics. Pakistan joined the
South East Asian Organization and Central Treaty Organization, both of them American
sponsored Asian groupings. Pakistan also sought and obtained American military aid and
promised to allow US bases in its territory. Pakistan undoubtedly hoped to use these
alliances and links with US to put more pressure on India vis--vis Kashmir. But the
move only caused by India to take refuge in 1957, in Soviet vetos. 6
Pakistan, on 5th August 1965, attacked India and the war ended in a fresh cease-fire on
23rd September, and the Tashkent Agreement was signed between Indian Prime Minister,
Lal Bahadur Shastri, and Pakistan President, Ayub Khan, on 10th January 1966. 7
On 3rd December 1971, India officially declared war with Pakistan following a civil war
in erstwhile East Pakistan (Bangladesh). Two weeks later, the war was called off,
followed by the Simla Pact in 1972, concluded between Prime Ministers Zulfikar Ali
Bhutto and Indira Gandhi. 8 The two countries agreed to respect the boundary, known as
the Line of Control (LoC), until the final resolution of the issue.
Ahmed, N. (2001) The Rape of Kashmir. Parallels with the Israeli Occupation of Palestine, Online
Centre for Afghan Studies, London, January. The author is a political analyst and human rights activist,
based in London.
5
Lt. Gen Sen, L. (1969) Slender was the thread: Kashmir Confrontation 1947-48, Orient Longman, New
Delhi. Pg 296.
6
Blood in the Valley: Kashmir Behind the propaganda, a report by the joint fact-finding Committee of
Organizations for Democratic and Civil Liberties, 1995.
7
Accessed on 23rd December 2003, http://www.kashmir-information.com/LegalDocs/Tashkent.html
8
Accessed on 23rd December 2003, http://www.ummah.org.uk/kashmir/docs/simla.htm
In the wake of the controversial 1987 Assembly elections, Pakistan started promoting
secessionist groups and aiding militancy in the Valley in the late eighties. In June 1999,
Pakistan launched an intrusion into Kargil, only to pull out in July, after both sides
suffered heavy casualties. 9
From 1947 to the present day, attempts to hold plebiscite in the region have met with
fierce opposition from India. India has claimed that legislative elections were sufficient to
serve as a plebiscite proving that Kashmiris wish to remain in India. Only the set of
elections held in Jammu and Kashmir in 1977 was even arguably fair. There has been
widespread rigging and intimidation of voters even as late as the polls in May 1996.
Officials predicted a turnout of 25 per cent, a dramatic increase from the 5 per cent who
voted in 1989. Reporters from all over the globe wrote about the excessive use of force
by the security forces.
10
This excessive use of force by the security forces has pushed
the Kashmiris further away from the Indian state, both psychologically (they feel like
they dont belong to India) and patriotically (they want independence due to the tyranny
inflicted upon them by the security forces).
The conflict in Kashmir has undergone three phases. The first phase of 25 years from
1947 to 1972 was dominated by the territorial nature of the dispute between India and
Pakistan. It resulted in three wars between the countries and the Simla Agreement,
providing for the resolution through peaceful bilateral consultations. The second phase
from 1972 to 1987 witnessed a lull. The third phase from 1987 to 2004 has been
characterised by the internal nature of conflict. It has witnessed confrontation between
sections of the population in the state as well as the central government. The current
phase of the conflict is a result of three factors. First, due to underdevelopment of
agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry and lack of industrialization on account of
Article 370, the economy has not developed the productive capacity to absorb investment
and generate employment, creating a pool of unemployed youth, available for militancy.
Second, the central and state governments have failed to check corruption and
highhanded security measures that have caused more discontent. Third, Pakistan has
sponsored terrorist groups, many of them manned by non-Kashmiri mercenaries,
9
Accessed on 23rd December 2003, from the Indian daily, Indian Express,
www.expressindia.com/kashmir/conflict .html
10
Article titled US media term occupied Kashmir elections sham, fake written on 24th May 1996, and
accessed on 23rd December 2003,
http://www.lib.virginia.edu/area-studies/SouthAsia/SAserials/Dawn/1996/30My96.html
10
resulting in heavy loss of life and forcing the Indian government to depend on security
forces to contain terrorism.11
In November 2000, former Indian Prime Minister A B Vajpayee announced a unilateral
cease-fire in the Valley, which was extended till May 2001. Realizing the urgency and
importance of easing strained relations with Pakistan, he even invited Pakistani military
ruler General Pervez Musharraf for talks on 23rd May 2000. However, the Agra Summit
failed to reach any agreement between the two leaders.
The Government of India (GOI) welcomed peace proposals to Pakistan, stressing the fact
that any dialogue would be meaningless unless Pakistan dismantles terrorist training
camps, stops aiding and abetting terrorism, stops training ISI [backed] fundamentalist
groups.
12
According to the former ruling party, Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP),
ideologically-oriented Pakistan-backed cross-border terrorism, which is characterized

by the ethnic cleansing of Hindus and Sikhs within Jammu and Kashmir, is primarily
responsible for the current crisis in Kashmir. It is yet another attempt by Pakistan and
Muslim secessionists to force a second partition on India. 13
Meanwhile, BJP remains averse to any compromise with the Kashmiri separatists,
maintaining that any negotiations will be explicitly within the framework of the Indian
constitution. The All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC), an umbrella group of Kashmiri
separatists has met with the Indian representative (interlocutor) N N Vohra in October
2003. Another meeting with senior party members of APHC and the Indian government
took place in January 2004.
14
Here, once again, a dialogue was not sustained and a
failure strengthened the hands of the APHC hard-liners, who rejected the Indian proposal
as inadequate and added to the frustrations of moderate Kashmir leaders.
Senior Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz, in an interview to a popular Indian news portal,
www.rediff.com, mentioned, We appreciate the efforts by India and Pakistan to improve
their relations. For the first time in 55 years, the countries seem to be serious about
resolving issues and we hope that the will continue in the same vein after the SAARC
(South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation) to be held in Islamabad in January
2004) conference as well. For 55 long years, India and Pakistan seemed not interested in
11
Reshaping the agenda in Kashmir. International Centre for Peace Initiatives, Mumbai 2002. Pg 46
Ball in Pak. court, says Venkaiah Naidu, The Hindu, 5th May 2003.
13
Accessed on 2nd December 2003, www.expressindia.com/kashmir/full_story.php?content_id=38083
14
Kashmir: The view from Delhi, International Crisis Group Asia report no 69, 4th December 2003
12
11
resolving their outstanding issues. We had to look for ways to solve the issue on our own,
hence the offer to hold dialogue separately with the two governments. 15
The situation today
It was reported on 10th June 2004 that the Election Commission issued a fresh
notification calling upon legislators in 18 states to choose their nominees according to the
revised schedule of the biennial polls for 57 seats and by-elections for eight seats, with
polling on June 28. The last date of filing nominations has been fixed as 17th June.
Withdrawal by candidates will take place before 21st June and polling will he held on 28th
June. Meanwhile, toeing the separatists line, National Conference asked the central
government to involve Kashmiris in the sustained dialogue process and set a specific
timeframe for the resolution of the vexed Kashmir issue. General secretary of the
National Conference (NC) Sheikh Nazir Ahmad said the party believes in negotiated
settlement of the Kashmir issue and wants that a timeframe should be set for its
resolution. We are of the firm opinion that Kashmir issue can be resolved through talks.
But these negotiations cannot be stretched for no end. There needs to be a timeframe for
the resolution of the Kashmir imbroglio, he said. 16
Violent decades of bloodshed
All killing is a denial of love.
J P Vaswani
The latest phase of violence lasting from 1989 to this day has led to a tremendous loss of
lives. Different sources mention different statistics ranging from 30,000 to 70,000. The
first two years of violence in the Valley was essentially indigenous, and it was carried out
by the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF). Since 1992-93, it has been captured
by Pakistans intelligence agencies. In 2002, there were 4,000-armed terrorists in the
state, and many more were waiting at training camps on the Pakistani side of the LoC. 17
15
End bloodshed in J&K, says Hurriyat, written on 2ndJanuary 2004. Accessed on 3rd January 2004 from
http://in.rediff.com/news/2004/jan/02jk2.htm.
16
RS polls notification issued and NC seeks specific timeframe for dialogue on Kashmir written and
accessed on 11th June 2004 from www.kashmirtimes.com.
17
End bloodshed in J&K, says Hurriyat, written on 2ndJanuary 2004. Accessed on 3rd January 2004 from
http://in.rediff.com/news/2004/jan/02jk2.htm. Pg 15
12
The plight of war-affected children, including orphans, sexually exploited children and
children traumatized by armed conflict, is one of the most disturbing human security
issues the world faces. There are an estimated 100,000 children in Jammu and Kashmir
who have been affected by violence and orphaned by conflict. 18 The mental health of the
children has been influenced by the violence and this has resulted in irreversible damage
in their condition as the government has consistently ignored this issue.
In their fourth annual review of armed conflict around the world compiled as a report for
both the Humanitarian Law Project of International Educational Development and the
British Parliamentary Human Rights Group, Karen Parker, US public advocacy attorney
and human rights expert, described the Kashmir dispute as follows:
The crisis in Indian-occupied Kashmir has worsened since 1990 due to
escalating pressures for the plebiscite and increasing Indian military
presence to quell independence movements. As of January 1997, troops
are said to number more than 600,000 (estimates vary from 600,000 to
800,000). Fact-finding missions to Indian-controlled Kashmir verify a
widespread pattern of human rights and humanitarian law violations.
Captured Kashmiri fighters are killed without trial and civilians are
tortured and raped. Estimates place deaths between 1990-1997 at more
than 20,000, mainly civilians. 19
This managed to get no attention from international human rights agencies. Pakistan has
tried to internalise the matter many times about the violation of human rights in Kashmir
by government forces, in spite of having insufficient support from the UN. But on 17th
August 1995, the United Nations Security Council expressed its concern about the killing
of a Norwegian tourist, Hans Christian Ostro, by terrorists. 20
Recently, peace-building measures have started to bring about a newfound hope in the
hearts of the people in spite of the incessant insurgency. Air links and road links to
Pakistan have resumed. At Udoosa, at the LoC, on 19th December 2003, prospects rose
for the reopening of the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road, which once linked the two parts of
Kashmir. Former Indian Prime Minister A B Vajpayees offer to open this historic road
was endorsed not only by the Assembly but also by the assembly in PoK. This not only
18
19
Ibid, Pg 31
Ahmed, N. (2001) op. cit.
13
gave a boost to international relations, but also bridges the gap between people. In fact,
most people who live along the border have relatives and friends who live on the other
side. This is the road of our dreams, said Sharief Khan, a village elder. If it opens, it
will lead the two countries to peace. He said everybody in these villages has a relative
on the other side. For decades, this Control Line has been there like an invisible wall
which has divided us. We dont even trust our ears when we hear there is a chance that
the barriers might be lifted one day.
21
This time peace seems as close as it never was
before; hopefully, the people on both sides of the border will be able to reap its benefits.
Condemnation by international NGOs
The US State department, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have
recorded varying categories of human rights violations in Kashmir. These include
political and extrajudicial killings, disappearances, rape, torture and custodial abuse
arbitrary arrest and detention, wilful destruction of property, denial of fair trial, arbitrary
interference into privacy, family, home and correspondence, use of excessive force and
violations of humanitarian law, suppression of freedom of speech and press, suppression
of freedom of peaceful assembly and association and suppression of religious freedom. 22
Even though the peace process is time consuming, the violence has refused to die down.
In an article titled Soldiers herd Kashmiris to polls on May 23rd 1996, it was reported
that Indian soldiers dragged people from heir houses on the morning of the elections.
Shots were fired and tear gas shells were launched to intimidate crowds and force them to
vote in Baramulla, 35 miles northwest of the Kashmiri capital, Srinagar. 23
On 26th December 2003, a powerful explosive device went off in Pattan, killing one
person and injuring a dozen. Nonetheless, as a confidence building measure, the
government plans to open the highway that has remained unoperational since 1947. This
highway that pierces through the LoC is the main link between the two divided parts of
Kashmir. 24
20
Nirmal, C (Ed). Human Rights in India Historical, Social and Political perspective. Institute of Indian
and International Studies. Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2000
21
Jaleel, Muzamil Uris winter wish: Road to reunion, Indian Express, accessed on 26th December 2003,
www.expressindia.com/kashmir/full_story.php?content_id=37621
22
Accessed on 29th December 2003, http://www.ummah.org.uk/kashmir/problem.htm
23
Article titled Soldiers herd Kashmiris to polls on May 23rd 1996,
www.cnn.com/WORLD/9605/23/india.elex/index.html
24
Accessed from BJP Today. Terrorism and Human Rights. Chaman Lal Gadoo. Vol 12, No 4 16th to 28th
February 2003, Pg 23.
14
The territory of Jammu and Kashmir, as it was formulated days before India and Pakistan
got independence was 220,000 sq. km. Kashmir, the only region of that is the cause of the
strife is only 15,660 sq. km, especially the Valley within an area of 7,150 sq. km. The
minimum area both sides want is a 10,000 sq. km. area of Kashmir that India is unwilling
to surrender, and which Pakistan continues to claim. The total area shared between India
and Pakistan is 4 million sq. km. and the 10,000 sq. km. area is only 0.25 per cent (a
quarter of a per cent) of it. Kashmir also occupies one quarter of a per cent between the
two countries in terms of economy and population. 25
One has to keep in mind the historical events outlined in this chapter in order to
comprehend the conflict surrounding the region. To understand the conflict better, one
can also rely on the UN Resolutions on the subject, as they are a clear depiction of a
culmination of events preceding the Partition.
25
Reshaping the agenda in Kashmir. International Centre for Peace Initiatives, Mumbai 2002.
15
Chapter II
________________________________________________________________________
2 The Valley of Blood
Sometime theyll give a war and nobody will come.
Carl Sandburg
This chapter introduces the reader to the players in the conflict and the types of human
rights abuses rampant in the Valley. Since the beginning of the Kashmir conflict,
different groups have victimized members of the general population be it the security
forces abusing innocent civilians, the Renegades or reformed militants exploiting
helpless people, or militants exercising their power to control the population. Day after
day, civilians continue to suffer in the most brutal manner under the barrel of the gun.
Young Kashmiri men were arrested tortured and killed by the Indian
soldiers; women of all ages were abused and raped. The aim was to break
the will of the people, but instead many young men now took up arms
without bothering where they came from.
The Clash of Fundamentalisms: Crusades, Jihad and Modernity
Tariq Ali (2003)
2.1 Overall human rights violation scenario
Civilians report hundreds of cases of torture, deaths in custody, extrajudicial executions,
mass murders, sexual violence and disappearances every year. In spite of several letters
to the government by local and international NGOs, no one is held responsible. This
unaccountability and lack of fear of punishment encourages the freedom to abuse and
leads to unbridled violence. This contention will be proved in this chapter.
Everyday, there is an attempt made to break the will of the people. This has had serious
consequences on the mental health of the civilian population, especially the children.
According to an Amnesty International Report released in 1999, a 10-year-old schoolboy
was killed and several others injured during a cordon-and-search (CAS) operation in
16
Nowpara village, when members of the Border Security Forces (BSF) opened fire
indiscriminately. An investigation was reportedly ordered, but has remained incomplete
to this day.
26
This is a typical case of human rights violations by the security forces. In
this case, like numerous others, justice is not served to the people who have been
victimized by their circumstances for decades. This feeling has ignited a deep-seated
hatred for India in the minds of the Kashmiris, who feel marginalized and discriminated
against by the government.
In the name of national security, India passed counter-terrorism legislation that severely
curtailed democratic rights and freedoms, as well as turning a blind eye to the pervasive
abuses noted year after year by the international community. There is a National Human
Rights Commission but its powers are severely limited. Perhaps as important is the
national mood of increasingly tolerance for dissent, which has transformed Indias
intellectual life over the past decade and a half. Most Indians, willfully ignorant of the
horrors taking place in their name, continue to chant the mantra of democracy; there is
an Alice-in-Wonderland quality to the national image of pacific mysticism and tranquil
co-existence. 27
The Government of Jammu and Kashmir estimates almost 4,000 people have disappeared
since the onset of the armed conflict in 1989. Despite promises from the elected
authorities in 2002 that the perpetrators of the abuses would be prosecuted; in practice,
only a fraction of the cases were investigated. The conflict has undoubtedly taken a heavy
toll on the Kashmiris. According to local observers, since October 2002, 60
disappearances have taken place. Reality paints a gruesome picture as civilians bear the
consequences of military presence.
According to Amnesty International in 2001, there were around 1,200 civilian casualties,
including women and children, and hundreds of others were seriously injured. 28 Since the
late eighties, civilians have borne the brunt of human rights violations by the security
forces, the Renegades and the militants. This has left them in a state of despair and
26
India. If They Are Dead Tell Us - Disappearances in Jammu and Kashmir. Amnesty International
Report 1999. Accessed on 2nd September 2003, http://www.amnesty.org/ailib/aireport/ar99/asa20.htm
27
Mahmood, C. (1994) Trials by Fire: Dynamics of Terror in Punjab and Kashmir. In Kashmir
Insurgency from 1989. The New Cambridge History of India Series, Volume 4. Cambridge University
Press, New York.
28
Accessed on 27th December 2003, (Kashmir Human Rights),
www.kashmir-hr.net/mainfile.php/news200208/193/?print=yes
17
hopelessness. Due to the failure of the justice system, the security forces have not been
reprimanded, and this has served in increasing numbers of cases of abuse over the years.
2.2 The perpetrators
2.2.1 The security forces and law enforcers and the consequences of impunity
No doubt, it is hard to fight terrorist elements who want to die for a cause they believe in.
No doubt, it is hard to live in constant fear of being killed by a stray bullet, a mine or a
grenade. No doubt, it is hard to fight for endless years in the most inhospitable region in
the world, and not worry about the family that depends on you, emotionally and
financially, back home. Life is hard for the security forces that live by mottos like Duty
unto death (belongs to the Indian Armys faction called the Rashtriya Rifles). But this is
no justification for the barbarism that innocent people have to endure at their hands.
Law enforcement personnel have intimidated complainants, members of the criminal
justice system have failed to ensure redress and state agencies have ignored court orders.
The Indian Army, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the J & K Police, the Special
Operations Group (SOG), sometimes known as the Special Task Force (STF) and the
BSF violate human rights, along with militants, who forcefully use the villagers as
camouflage or human shields. Recently, the BSF was removed from Kashmir by the
Central government and was replaced by the CRPF.
Some people blame the SOG for the excesses, custodial deaths and extortion. SOG
comprises of local policemen with special privileges. Earlier, officers who were not
accountable or answerable to the local Superintendent of Police or the District Magistrate
headed the SOG, and its personnel were allowed to move about in plain clothes without
insignia or identity but carrying dangerous weapons. The last government disbanded it. 29
Parvez Imroz, a high court lawyer specializing in human rights cases in Kashmir, says,
A considerable number of civilian deaths have been blamed on militants, when in fact
the Indian security forces are responsible. The world should be clear that Kashmir is
caught between two kinds of terror: one perpetrated by Pakistan-backed gunmen and the
other by the Indian state. 30
29
Ibid
Accessed on 30th December 2003,
http://us.oneworld.net/external/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.uk%2FArchive%2FArticle%2F0
%2C4273%2C4351509%2C00.html
30
18
On March 8, 1996, Imroz had tea with another High Court lawyer specializing in human
rights, Jalil Andrabi. Thirty minutes later, a unit of the 35 Rashtriya Rifles (35RR), an
Indian paramilitary force, stopped Andrabi and his wife. Andrabi's body was later found
in the Jhelum River. According to the unpublished findings of a Special Investigation
Team (SIT) commissioned to inquire into the killing; their conclusion was that Andrabi
was arrested and killed by Major Avtar Singh of 35RR. The same officer has been linked
to 10 other killings, including witnesses in the Andrabi inquiry, and yet today Singh is
still a serving officer.
31
This case, like many others reported by local and international
NGOs, proves that the local population has to pay a high price as security forces enjoy
impunity, which encourages them to be even more violent.
In a letter to Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayed on 25th November 2002, Amnesty
International summed up the nature of destruction of the Kashmiris in simple words:
For years, Amnesty International has been gravely concerned at the high
level of human rights abuses reported from the state. Those responsible
have included the security forces, police and armed opposition groups.
Torture, including rape, deaths in custody, extra judicial executions and
disappearances have been perpetrated by agents of the state with
impunity.
The letter goes on to say that, Special laws in force in the state have been used to stifle
political dissent. Landmines, increasingly laid by security forces and militant groups have
killed and maimed many civilians. Armed groups have for many years harassed,
intimidated, tortured and killed non-combatants. Their targets have included civilian men,
women and children as well as journalists and, increasingly, members of religious
minorities. 32
Firing indiscriminately on civilians during peaceful protests, funerals and demonstrations
are not uncommon incidents in this troubled state. The Bijbehara massacre of 1993 was a
well-publicized case, where a procession protesting the siege of the Hazratbal shrine by
the army was fired upon and 47 people were killed in the Anantnag district. A magisterial
31
Ibid
Accessed on 7th December 2003, http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engasa200202002 and
www.amnesty.org.au/airesources/newsletterAugSep2002/worldnews.html
32
19
inquiry held to investigate this incident which occurred on 22nd October 1993, held that
the firing was unprovoked and unjustified and recommended prosecution of 12 BSF men.
BSFs own inquiry held 14 men responsible, yet nobody has been punished until now.
Killings also take place when armed personnel take reprisal for militant attacks on the
civilians. 33
One horrifying example of unbridled violence occurred on 10th May 1995 in Char-eSharief, 30 km southwest of Srinagar, where the armed forces desecrated and destroyed a
14th century Muslim shrine of patron saint Sheikh Noorud-Din Wali. In the operation to
flush out militants from the city, the army razed 2,200 shops and made 30,000 people
homeless. 34 Incidents like these have not only alienated the people from the Indian state,
but also from their countrymen. Kashmiris feel that their countrymen are immune to their
plight stated a Kashmiri civilian who wished to remain anonymous. 35
Government officials have long claimed that security personnel in Kashmir have been
disciplined for abuses. When interviewed by Human Rights Watch, Chief Secretary
Ashok Jaitley expressed concern about reports of human rights violations, particularly
custodial killings. He acknowledged, however, that while disciplinary action was taken
against security personnel involved in large massacres in the mid-1990s, no prosecutions
took place. He stated:
We ask the army and BSF for reports about incidents and allegations of
violations, and people are punished. But it is disciplinary action only; it's
impossible to prosecute in a court of law, as no witness will step forward.36
33
Blood in the Valley. Kashmir behind the propaganda curtain op. cit. 1995, Pg 81.
Ahmed, N. (2001) op. cit.
35
In an interview to the author on her trip to Kashmir.
36
Accessed on 30th December 2003, http://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/kashmir/impunity.htm
34
20
This supports my contention that the security forces, in spite of numerous complaints to
the authorities, remain free to abuse innocent civilians, without respect for State, Central
or International laws. These human rights violations also form a large part of the violence
that the children are exposed to on a regular basis in Kashmir.
2.2.2 Concealed Apprehension Technique (CAT) used by the security forces
A Cat is usually recruited through Renegades (reformed militants turned informants), or
if they are detained for a minor crime, or wanted for aiding militants. The only way to
escape the armys wrath is to agree to act as an agent for counter-insurgency. The army
gives them drugs as an initial incentive, and soon they become addicts, which helps to
keep them in the armys control. Cats are given weapons and ammunition and are let
loose on the public to help the army hunt for militants. Their job is to threaten and
terrorize the people to reveal information about the militants. Cats enjoy total immunity
for their actions and live in the shade of the armys camps. Explains a Sub-inspector of
Police, All of them are criminals. They enter any house, behave as they please with
women, forcibly extort money from the civilians and beat them up if they disobey or
resist. 37
Mass killing also occurs during Crackdowns, when the forces cordon off the area and
ask all men to come out of their houses and gather in one place. An informer or cat is
brought to identify those who support militancy. The identified persons are either picked
up or taken to the army camp or a local residence is converted into an interrogation
center. A house-to-house search then takes place, during which women are sometimes
sexually assaulted or verbally abused.
38
This proves that civilians are the hardest hit by
the conflict.
37
Kashmir: An inquiry into the healing touch. A report to the people of India. Association for Democratic
Rights, Punjab Human Rights Forum, Andhra Pradesh, and Organization for Protection of Democratic
Rights, August 2003, Andhra Pradesh, India. Pg 15
38
Ibid, pg 83.
21
It was about the year 1994-95 that this phenomenon of recruiting offenders started. The
RR was the first wing of the army that took such offenders under their wing. They were
used against the militants, their supporters and sympathizers, as well as journalists and
human rights activists critical of the States methods of dealing with militancy. It is a
public secret that the elections that heralded the restoration of democracy in Kashmir
were made possible by the depredation of these Cats. 39 In Kashmir, not only the security
forces enjoy impunity, but also those who obey them. The law of the gun prevails in
Kashmir, while the civilian population continues to suffer.
2.2.3 Renegades and militants
Since the late 1980s, human rights abuses by the forces have not only left the people in a
tragic state, but have also managed to drive the Kashmiris further away from India in
spirit. After all, the differences between an Indian soldier who exploits, and a Pakistani
militant who abuses are insignificant. Abuse, regardless of the source, has the same
psychological effect on human beings. Armed militants indigenous, Pakistan-backed or
foreign, intimidate the people, indulging in extortion, sexual exploiting women or merely
using civilians as camouflage to protect themselves from the security forces.
Writer Tariq Ali commented on the numerous armed militant groups that operate in
Kashmir, and explained the internal problems that complicate negotiation issues for the
Indian government:
In the 1990s, in Kashmir, the number of armed Islamist groups multiplied
as more and more veterans of the Afghan war came across the border to
continue the fight for supremacy there. The main rivals were the
indigenous Hizbul Mujahidin and the Pakistani-sponsored and armed
Lashkar-i-Tayyaba and Harkatul Mujahidin. The groups killed each
others militants, kidnapped Western tourists, drove Kashmiri Hindus out
of regions where they had lived for centuries, punished Kashmiri Muslims
who remained stubbornly secular, and occasionally knocked off a few
39
Grim realities of life, death and survival in Jammu & Kashmir. A report by the fact-finding team from
Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee, Human Rights Forum, Organization for Protection of
22
Indian soldiers and officials.

The Clash of Fundamentalisms: Crusades, Jihad and Modernity
Tariq Ali (2003)
The Indian Ministry of Home Affairs 2002 Annual Report states that 60 to 70 per cent of
militants come from outside the state and are under the direct control of Pakistans Inter
Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI), with local persons playing the role of porters
and guides. An incremental use of suicide bombers has also been observed, although
their numbers fell from 28 in 2001 to ten in 2002. 40
A private think-tank, South Asia Terrorism Portal, estimates casualties between 1988 and
2002 at 33,747, which includes 12,216 civilians, 16,960 insurgents and 4,571 security
personnel.
41
the high number of civilian casualties indicate the level of destruction
endured by the Kashmiris.

During the 2002 state elections, militant attacks stepped up. The law minister in the
National Conference government Mushtaq Ahmed Lone was assassinated. Independent
candidates and political activists were attacked, and some were killed. Even Abdul Ghani
Lone, a moderate who led the Peoples Conference of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference
(APHC), and was willing to negotiate with the Government of India on participation in
the polls, was killed.
42
The main aim of the militants in this case was the elimination of
the well-respected moderate, which in turn ensured the derailment of the peace process.
One of the most brutal incidents of the militants atrocity was reported on 29th March
2003. In Panihand, a village in the Rajouri district, heavily armed militants were looking
for one Mirwaiz. As he was not available, they got hold of his wife Fatima, his son
Mohammed and his relatives Nazir and Noor. They also visited the house of Abdul
Khaliiq; beat him, picked his relatives Noor and Nasir. These seven persons including
Fatima had their noses chopped off by the militants. As the army pressurizes the people
not to co-operate with the militants on the border villages, the militants in return exhibit
Democratic Rights, Peoples Democratic Front and Peoples Union for Democratic Rights. Hindustan
Printers, New Delhi, 2001. Pg. 33.
40
Accessed on 29th April 2003 from The Hindu. Article titled Threat of internal security: report.
41
Accessed on 8th May 2003 from
www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/jandk/data_sheets/annual_casualties
42
Kashmir: The view from Delhi. International Crisis Group Asia. Report No 69. 4th December 2003
23
extreme brutality to dissuade people from succumbing to the army. For this, they target
the headmen of the villages in order to intimidate the villagers. 43
2.3 Types of abuses
2.3.1 Civilian deaths or disappearances
Of all men's miseries the bitterest is this, to know so much and to have
control over nothing.
Herodotus
The disappeared victims include juveniles, women and the elderly, and members of all
professions, including businessmen, lawyers, labourers and teachers. Many of them
appear to be ordinary citizens picked up at random without any connection to the armed
struggle.
In a report called, Kashmir: An enquiry into the healing touch by a group of NGOs on
25th February 2003, Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayed was quoted as stating that
1,553 persons disappeared in 2000, 1,586 in 2001 and 605 in 2002, making it total of
3,744 in a three-year-period. 44 This depicts the extent of suffering of the Kashmiris.
Most detainees in Kashmir are never formally arrested yet are detained for months or
longer without charge. There are 40 official detention centers in Kashmir; some detainees
are also held outside the state in Delhi or Uttar Pradesh. In addition to the official centers,
the government also operates some secret facilities.
45
This is clearly a human rights
violation that occurs regularly in Kashmir, despite laws and the presence of monitoring
agencies like the National Human Rights Commission and State Human Rights
Commission. This also depicts the poor level of efficiency of these agencies.
2.3.2 Torture and incarcerations
It is hard to come to precise figures for the violations, as cases that occur in the remote
areas often go unreported. Moreover, one cannot depend of the figures or the official
43
Kashmir: An inquiry into the healing touch. A report to the people of India. Association for Democratic
Rights, Punjab Human Rights Forum, Andhra Pradesh, and Organization for Protection of Democratic
Rights. Published in August 2003, Andhra Pradesh, India. Pg 27
44
Kashmir: An inquiry into the healing touch. A report to the people of India (2003) op. cit.
45
Accessed on 30th December 2003, from www.hrw.org/reports/1999/kashmir/judiciary.htm#P447_101125
24
versions released by the security forces. Data is usually collected from/by local and
international non-government organizations (NGOs) or newspapers.
This is not the only problem faced by the common people. Local human rights
organizations estimate that there are at least 40,000 people incarcerated in the various
jails of the state. Such is the savageness of the abuse that Amnesty International stated,
The brutality of torture in J & K defies belief. It has left people mutilated and disabled
for life. 46
Civilians are tortured to extract confessions in and outside these prisons. They are
randomly picked up for interrogation, and often end up missing. Torture includes
beatings and electric shocks, hanging people upside down for many hours, crushing their
legs with heavy rollers and burning parts of their bodies. 47
The security forces on the basis of mere suspicion often torture civilians. Human Rights
Watch interviewed four doctors in Kashmir who treated torture victims. Sources at the
Soura Medical Institute in Srinagar revealed that more than 180 patients with tortureinduced renal problems were registered since 1994, some one hundred of which were
admitted since 1996. These figures only include those cases serious enough to require
treatment in the hospital. Doctors say that those most at risk include persons with lowered
immunity that may suffer kidney damage after even a mild beating. Those who have
received treatment for torture-induced renal problems have been mostly young males. 48
By the end of 2001, India had not ratified the UN Convention against Torture, which it
had signed in October 1997, nor had national legislation been drafted to enable its
ratification. Therefore, no code or law specifically forbids torture as a criminal offence.
The UN Special Rapporteur on torture was not granted access to the country by the end
of 2001, despite repeated requests. 49
This shows the attitude of the government who has no intention of protecting the human
rights of the citizens, or stopping the violence in the state. Therefore, the hatred that
Kashmiris feel for the Indian government and the security forces is understandable.
46
Blood in the Valley. Kashmir Behind the propaganda, 1995, op. cit. Pg 71.
Oberoi, S. Kashmir bleeding. Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, March/April 1997, Vol. 53, No 3.
48
Accessed on 30th December 2003, from www.hrw.org/reports/1999/kashmir/abus-tor.htm
49
Accessed on 30th December 2003, from http://web.amnesty.org/web/ar2002.nsf/asa/india?Open
47
25
2.3.3 Rape
Rape is an ordinary feature in this region, and the culprits the renegades or the security
personnel often go unpunished. Rape is used as a weapon to both, intimidate the
population and to annihilate their ethnic identity.
50
According to a news article, at least
three personnel of the notorious Border Security Force's 58 Battalion gang-raped a 17year-old Gujjar girl on 17th April 2003, in Kullar, Anantnag district, 100 km from
Srinagar. The rape took place at gunpoint in the presence of the girls widowed mother,
relatives and neighbours. This is not for the first time that such a shameful and inhuman
incident has taken place in the turbulent Kashmir. 51
It is difficult to get the people to talk in specific terms of sexual assault. There are
frequent allegations in the Press, and the fact that demonstrations and protests follow the
incidents indicates that the allegations have a basis. Apart from rapes, sexual assaults are
common in the remote villages of Doda district, which has been a hotbed of militancy.
Mehbooba Mufti, Vice President of the Peoples Democratic Party, in spite of repeated
complaints stated that no specific action was taken against the security forces. Mufti is
one of the few mainstream politicians who has taken a public stand against atrocities of
the armed forces and other undemocratic acts perpetrated by the State and Central
governments in the course of tackling the ongoing freedom movement. 52
2.3.4 Forced migrations and massacres
Kashmiri Hindus (known as Pandits) have been in exile since early 1990 after militants in
the valley took to terrorism and drove them out. Almost 700,000 of them live in
despicable conditions in refugee camps in Jammu. Called migrants by the
administration, the Kashmiri Pandits are in fact refugees in their own country due to total
50
War, the Impact on Minority and Indigenous Children, Minority Rights Group International, September
1997 Report. Preface.
51
Article dated 22nd April 2003, titled The victim with her family members by IOL South Asia
Correspondent, accessed on 4th October 2003 from http://www.islamonline.net/english/News/200204/23/article16.shtml
52
Printers, New Delhi, 2001. Pg. 20.
26
failure of the Indian State to provide security and safety to them when they were
persecuted, threatened, tortured and murdered by terrorists. 53
According to the office of the Relief Commissioner in Jammu, 28,561 families (which
could mean 150,000 persons) had registered as migrants with the office until 1997. The
State government estimated the number of migrants to about 60,000. But NGOs like
Panun Kashmir put the figure to 700,000. In addition, many migrated to other parts of
India as some states offered them special reservations. 54
The most recent killing of the Pandits in spite of several assurances from the government,
occurred on 24th March 2003 in Nandimarg, a village on the border of Pulwama district
with Anantnag. Once upon a time, the village had 60 Pandit families, until that fateful
night in March, only eleven remained. When a group of NGOs visited the village on 28th
May 2003, only two families remained. That night, a group of armed men, dressed in
army uniforms arrived at the village informing the residents that a crackdown was about
to begin. The armed men rounded up 24 villagers, placed them in the centre of the village
and shot them dead. Eleven of them were women and two were children. Other major
massacres that have occurred in the past took place in Wandhama (January 1997),
Sangrampura (March 1997), Parankote (April 1998), Chapnan (June 1998),
Chattisingpora (March 2000), Pahalgam (August 2000), Quazigund-Achabal (August
2000), Sheshnag (July 2001) and Rajivnagar (August 2002). Interestingly, many of these
killings have taken place at politically crucial junctures. Outside the state, militants are
blamed for the incidents, but in Kashmir there is a widespread suspicion that the hand of
the Renegades or other outfits sponsored by Indias intelligence agencies or the armed
forces cannot be ruled out. So far, none of the investigations have revealed the identity of
53
Accessed on 3rd January 2004, from http://www.panunkashmir.org. Panun Kashmir is an NGO run by
Kashmiri Pandits Democratic Rights, peoples Democratic Forum and Peoples Union for Democratic
Rights. August 2001. Pg 39
54
Printers, New Delhi, 2001.
27
the killers, nor has any militant group ever claimed responsibility. 55
Analysis
In Kashmir, all sections of the population have been affected by the atrocities committed
against them by different factions. An estimated nine out of ten victims of todays armed
conflicts are civilians and more than half of the civilians are children.
56
For years,
civilians in Kashmir have endured humiliations of all kinds both, psychological and
physical. Time and again, their cries for help have fallen on deaf years. Even today,
justice has not been served.
The population has been intimidated by the security forces on suspicion of aiding
militants; by the Renegades, for their own purposes; by the militants, for informing the
security forces of their whereabouts and by the Cats, who intimidate people for their own
gains. All these factions enjoy impunity from the Indian government. In fact, Cats and
Renegades are paid to render their services to the Indian army.
While the government refuses to acknowledge the suffering of the people by not
punishing the guilty, the Kashmiris continue to drift away from India in spirit. In other
cases, some civilians have crossed over icy, treacherous terrain to Pakistan to receive
weapons training to avenge the atrocities committed by the security forces. An example is
cited in the following chapter. This reinforces violence that is already deeply entrenched
in the militarized society, perpetuating cycles of violence.
On her visit to Kashmir, the author observed that the fear of torture and incarcerations has
led many families to send their young male members out Kashmir, so that they dont
disappear. Even young women and girls do not venture out of their houses after dark
for the fear of being accosted by a member of the security forces or the militants.
State terror, to suppress the minority will humiliate its members so thoroughly that they
are incapable not only of resistance but of basic dignity as well. In India, honour means
everything. Insults to the body and souls of the individuals are parallel to insults to
community and faith. 57
55
Kashmir: An inquiry into the healing touch. A report to the people of India (2003) op. cit. Pg 28 30.
57
Mahmood, C. (1994) Trials by Fire: Dynamics of Terror in Punjab and Kashmir. In Kashmir
Insurgency from 1989. The New Cambridge History of India Series, Volume 4. Cambridge University
Press, New York.
56
28
The violence not only has a negative impact on the adults, but also the children. The
poignant combination of extreme youth with seriousness of purpose is quite dangerous.
Even if the children are not directly exposed to violent incidents, they are affected by
their home environment, where adults live in the constant fear of being picked up by the
forces or singled out by militants. This will be explored in the following chapter.
29
30
Chapter III
________________________________________________________________________
In search of a lost childhood
Youth is the first victim of war; the first fruit of peace. It takes 20 years or
more of peace to make a man; it takes only 20 seconds of war to destroy
him.
King Baudouisn I,
King of Belgium (1950-1951)
This chapter addresses the psychological effects of stress emanating from violence on the
children and their parents and how it perpetuates the endless cycle of violence in
Kashmir. Issues like the experiences of children in relation to rape, torture, murder and
death, and those concerning men, women, girl and boy children are discussed in this
chapter. The reasons for a lack of performance of the children in schools and colleges are
explained, along with comments from sociologists, therapists, psychologists, local
journalists and others who have come in close contact with the children professionally.
Mental health in Kashmir
Like most of India, mental health in Kashmir is a neglected area. The Valley has one
psychiatric hospital, fewer than ten psychiatrists and very few counselors in the whole
Valley. There, the doctor sees sixty patients a day, at least fifty-two more than he
should, said a psychiatrist.
58
This shows the lack of infrastructure provided by the
government.
Records from the outpatient department of Srinagars Hospital for Psychiatric diseases
show that in the 1980s about hundred people were reporting for treatment per week;
today, almost 200 to 300 people arrive everyday. Most self-admitting patients are women
between sixteen to twenty-five years of age. Because of the social stigma attached to
mental disorders, doctors believe that no more than 10 per cent of those in need of
psychiatric care is actually approaching the hospital.
59
Here, the difference between the
58
Ibid
Bukhari, Fayaz, Article titled Dying day by day Taking stock of mental and social health in Kashmir
.Himal magazine. Accessed from http://www.himalmag.com/2002/november/report.htm. Referred by social
worker Krishna Vasu.
59
31
growing demand and supply is painfully obvious. This has significantly contributed to the
uncontrolled growth of this problem.
Data reveals that the occurrences in the number of neurological and psychological
disorders showed a substantial increase from 1989 to 1990, from 8,848 to 9,242, with a
slight decline between the years 1991 to 1993 and an increase in 1994 to 8,887 as
compared to 3,350 in the previous year. 60
One cannot dare to imagine the lives people lead in this disturbed zone. Women too, live
in constant anxiety. When any family member leaves the house, the whole family is
worried. Is he going to come back, will he be killed in cross firing? Will he be
kidnapped or taken away by the security forces or the police? These are just some of
the questions that prey the minds of the inhabitants of the Valley, daily. 61
Just living under stress, as everyone in Kashmir does, is enough to cause disorders,
commented Dr Hamidullah, head of the Hospital for Psychiatric Diseases, Srinagar. His
colleague Dr Mushtaq Margoob reiterated, All children go through some trouble during
adolescence. Over that, they have to put up with the uncommon tension all around. This
has forced them to bottle their natural aggression and fears. Everything builds up in them
and comes out as conduct and behavioral disorders, irritability, distractibility, aggression
and the like. 62
For the children who have lost their parents in the conflict, their future is even starker.
For example, the Government officials who took care of a Kashmiri orphan and described
him as mentally alert but depressed and frightened. Psychiatrists categorize this as
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which accompanies any kind of trauma like
witnessing a violent incident or the death of a loved one. 63
In addition to widespread suffering and death, conflicts have three powerful psychosocial
effects. First, they create widespread emotional wounds associated with experiences of
displacement, trauma, losses of family and home, fear of sexual violence, changes in
social and economic status, uncertainty of the location and safety of loved ones, and
doubts about the future. Second, they leave in their wake deeply divided societies in
60
Towards understanding the impact of conflict in the Kashmir Valley on women and children (1996) op.
cit.
61
Accessed on 10th September 2003 from www.kashmir.co.uk/vok_b.htm, from an article titled Kashmirs
orphaned thousands.
62
http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/dec/13child.htm, op. cit.
63
Ibid
32
which betrayal, hate and the shattering of social trust are prevalent. Third, they leave
highly militarized societies in which paramilitary or militia groups remain active at
community level.
64
Psychiatrists like Dr Wahid Khan say the sheer strain of survival
amidst bloodshed in Kashmir lowers a childs threshold to mental ailments. 65

Physical and psychological trauma
Children and babies of all ages have been killed or injured. They have all witnessed
bloodshed, violent crackdown operations by the army and live ammunition flying about
everywhere. Schools have been invaded and massacres have taken place where children
were involved. In 1997, there were 225 children in treatment for broken bones due to the
violence. 66
The conflict is also giving rise to a growing rate of child labour in the state. Yasmin Ali, a
student of Communications and Journalism, at the University of Kashmir stated, In
order to make up for the loss of income incurred by families where the father of the
family is deceased, children are forced to work as labourers, carpet weavers or handicraft
workers in the villages. She adds, in Budgam, the children of many single-parent families
begin working as carpet weavers at the age of thirteen to supplement the familys income.
In addition, many children have also been orphaned. According to Dr Nusrat Andrabi,
since the conflict many government-run orphanages and privately owned orphanages
have become defunct, and have ceased to provide even the basic needs of food and
shelter. According to the Ministry of Welfares Report, more than 50,000 families are
homeless, with thousands of orphaned children and many single-parent (female led)
families. 67
When a parent dies, children may be expected to assume adult roles, possibly forcing a
premature foreclosing of their identity. The meaning of death is conceptualized by a child
according to his/her cognitive abilities. Young childrens egocentricity leads them to
64
Wessells, M. (1996) Psychosocial Intervention and Post-war Reconstruction in Angola: Interweaving

Western and Traditional Approaches. This is an unpublished paper. (Copy provided by the author).
65
Accessed from www.rediff.com on 8th January 2004 from
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/29child.htm
66
Accessed on 11th September 2003 from www.ummah.org.uk/kashmir/kchr/folks.htm, from the article
titled Children in the maelstrom.
67
Towards understanding the impact of conflict in the Kashmir Valley on women and children Save the
Children Foundation (UK) and NorthWest India Program Office, Leh. 1996.
33
believe that something they did or said caused the death. This makes them withdrawn,
angry or act out. 68
Crackdowns are particularly hard for women and children in Kashmir because they are
forced to sit in crouching position for long hours, without food or water and even without
being able to relieve themselves. One high school student mentioned that no woman went
out after 5 pm as it was regarded unsafe. 69
Dr Andrabi added that there were a large number of mentally retarded children in the
Kashmir Valley; however, there are no facilities that cater to them. Thus, this population
ends up living on the street, exceptionally vulnerable to many hazards associated with the
conflict. Some live with their families or friends and the rest become street urchins,
relying on beggary or work as labourers. Some girl children have turned to prostitution,
while nearly 20 per cent of the teenagers have joined militant outfits, either out of
financial need or because of their psychological need to join such organizations or due to
their identification with militant heroes. 70
Sahba Husain, a consultant with Oxfams Violence Mitigation and Amelioration Project
(VMAP) set to analyze the impact of conflict on peoples lives within India, stated:
According to a district chief medical officer, one of the most negative and
critical outcomes of this prevailing atmosphere of violence has been the
loss of trust and confidence in oneself and others. 71
This proves the contention that human rights violations have a negative impact on
children, physically, emotionally and psychology, driving them to a life of violence and
eventually, continuing the vicious cycles of violence. The conflict has left deep
psychological scars that prevent children from having a future without trauma.
Lack of facilities due to the conflict
According to a study conducted by Nazifa Alvi, a doctoral candidate at the University of
Kashmir, Srinagar, including fifty medical officers from fifty different medical
68
Adams, D. and Deveau, E. (1995) Beyond the Innocence of Childhood, Helping Children and
Adolescents Cope with Death and Bereavement, Volume 3, Baywood Publishing Inc, Amityville, New
York. Pg. 101-138
69
cit. Pg 246
70
Ibid.
71
Husain, S. (2002)Will peace return? Trauma and health-related work in Kashmir. (Ed) Urvashi Butalia
Speaking Peace: Womens Voices from Kashmir, Kali for Women, New Delhi, Pg 243.
34
institutions, she discovered that only 82 per cent of officers reported having
immunization facilities. The reasons given for a lack of these facilities were a greater
need for an uninterrupted supply of electricity, a need for refrigeration units, and a need
for the services of vaccinators. All these facilities are unavailable due to the conflict.
Only 15 per cent of health centers arrange vaccinations on a daily basis, 19 per cent on a
bi-weekly basis and 66 per cent on a weekly basis. Out of the 360 children surveyed, only
26 per cent were immunized. 72
According to teachers, unemployment was a problem faced by many students. Since
development has come to a standstill in Kashmir, employment opportunities for young
people have ceased to exist, leaving the youth with no option than to join the forces or the
militants. Their resentment towards the forces, and their own frustration regarding their
own future has driven them to sympathize with the militants, thereby continuing the
destructive cycle of violence. 73
During Husains visit to two government hospitals for psychiatric diseases in Srinagar,
she learnt that in the past twenty-five years, while the number of psychiatrists remained
stagnant at five, the number of patients had increased dramatically. From 1,700 patients
in 1971, to 32,000 in 1999. According to a doctor at least eighty to a hundred patients
visited the Outdoor Patients Department daily compared to ten to fifteen of them in
1993. Medication is not the only solution as most of them are highly traumatized and
require sustained counselling, said a doctor. The few doctors on duty are unable to
provide such counselling due to paucity of time, space and the fact that state health
authorities do not consider this to be an essential service despite the fact that more than
two-thirds of the population today suffers from chronic psychological disorders.
According to them, what people are coping with is not ordinary stress but catastrophic
stress, something that happens when people are witness to sudden killings, disappearance
and torture of their close relatives and loved ones.
74
Since the government has not
provided facilities to this state, it is difficult for the population to deal with their
psychological problems that need professional intervention.
72
Alvi, Nazifa (2002) Child development and mother-care services for under-privileged groups in
Kashmir An evaluative study. An unpublished abstract of her dissertation. Centre for Adult Continuing
and Extension Education, Srinagar.
73
cit. Pg 246
74
Ibid.
35
Reactions to stress from violence

Wessells (1996) said that contemporary armed conflicts create emotional and social
wounds psychological wounds which stimulate additional fighting and the
continuation of cycles of violence. He argues that affected children may exhibit both
acute and chronic reactions, both of which are normal responses to highly stressful
events. Prominent among the acute psychological disturbances is trauma, which is
typically associated with problems of flashbacks, nightmares and sleep disturbances,
concentration problems, heightened alertness or hyper vigilance, and avoidance of people
and situations that evoke memories of the traumatic events. The chronic stresses
associated with armed conflict may lead to problems of aggression, depression, truncated
moral development, changed attitudes and beliefs, personality changes, and diminished
hope for the future. Further, children react strongly to the cues provided by their
caregivers, typically their mothers who themselves suffer the effects of the conflict and
who might not be in a position to provide the needed quality of the quantity of emotional
support to their children. 75
A study from Palestine, a conflict affected zone indicates that children suffer from
trauma, which is a direct result of their violent environment. Trauma and stress-related
troubles have risen among Palestinian children since the beginning of the intifada,
psychologists working in this UN-run refugee camp near Ramallah said. Palestinian
children have lost all sense of normalcy. They dont know whether theyll be able to go
to school, whether theyll come home safely because of curfews and (Israeli) army
incursions, Yoad Ghanadreh stated from Qalandiyas community center managed by the
UN agency for refugees (UNRWA). They often suffer from psychosomatic troubles,
depression and low concentration that are related to their fear of the present and the
future, she said. Ghanadreh, who oversees all of UNRWA psychological support
programs in ninety-five schools, thirty clinics and 105 community centers on the West
Bank, said the agency had to step up counselling as a result of the Palestinian intifada, or
uprising, which began in September 2000. Violence outside has become a reference. Its
part of our lives and reproduced by children at school and at home, she said, as she
75
Wessells, M (1996) op. cit.
36
stressed the number of stone-throwing children had gone down with the militarisation of
the intifada. 76
It has been discovered that young, impressionable children can be turned into the fiercest
fighters through brutalization, exposure to and involvement in violence. Interviews and
anecdotal evidence confirm that many young people voluntarily join armed groups
because of what has happened to them personally. 77
Effects on students and education
A group of post-graduate students at Kashmir University told members from a factfinding mission that in the last few years the number of male students had decreased, and
at present, women students comprise over 50 per cent of the student population. They
believed that male students are the most vulnerable segment of society, which is
constantly harassed by the forces. Most of them have left the state. According to the
students, many among the custodial arrests have been young men with MA and Ph.D.
degrees, who have been detained in jail for two to three years under completely arbitrary
laws. In a recent crackdown by the Border Security Force (BSF) at a hostel in the
University, some students were locked out of their hostel rooms for over three days. 78
In addition, during the turmoil, the quality of education decreased significantly. The four
main reasons directly related to the conflict support this statement. Firstly, there have
been decreasing workdays marked by indefinite strikes and intermittent closures, fear of
bomb blasts, cross firing, crackdown operations and arrests. Secondly, by 1995, a total
number of 550 educational facilities of the 5,379 facilities, which existed prior to the
conflict, have been burned down in militant related incidents. Thirdly, the Indian security
forces have occupied at least 36 facilities. Finally, security forces have built bunkers in
and around schools. 79 This makes the area unsafe for students as they can be easy targets
for the militants or can even get caught in crossfire.
76
Claudet, S (2004) Trauma soaring among Palestinian Kids , AFP. Written on 2nd June. Accessed on 6th
June 2004 from
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4&section=0&article=46096&d=2&m=6&y=2004&pix=world.jpg&cate
gory=World
77
Cohn, I and Goodwin-Gill, G. (1994) Child Soldiers The Role of Children in Armed Conflict. A
Study for Henry Dunant Institute, Geneva. Clarendon Press, Oxford.
78
Grim realities of life, death and survival in Jammu & Kashmir (2001) op. cit. Pg 40.
79
cit.
37
The exodus of Hindu Pandits, which started in 1990, saw over 30,000 schoolteachers
leaving the valley. Overnight, I lost fifty of my best, recalled Dr Parwez Samuel Kaul,
principal of the 120-year-old Tyndale Biscoe Memorial School in Srinagar. The Pandits
were traditionally teachers, the best we had. When they migrated, they left a huge
vacuum that took years to fill. 80
Children disabled because of the violence
Neither the state's social welfare department nor the Council for Rehabilitation of
Widows, Orphans, Handicapped and Old Persons (victims of militancy), which the
central and state governments created in 1996 can tell you the number of children the
conflict has crippled. The Council commissioned a fully-fledged survey of militancy
victims only in November 2001. Executive Director Dr G M Untoo, in charge of that
exercise involving schoolteachers and volunteers, said he hoped to conclude it by April
2002. But, it has not been concluded. Divisional Commissioner Khurshid Ganai,
administrator of the Kashmir province places the number of children disabled in the
Kashmir conflict at between 5,000 and 6,000. I expect about 60 per cent of the total
maimed to be still under eighteen, he said. That means, every district in the valley
would have 1,000 or so maimed children. A few thousands, Dr Untoo said, not
more. The good news is that, even by Khurshid's higher estimate, the disabled children
in Kashmir form only a tiny fraction of the world's total, which, according to a UNICEF
report was between four and five million in 1995. Ganai, addressing the growing
problem of orphans urged, The government would need around Rs 360 million per
month to provide adequate financial relief at least Rs 1,500 per family to the orphans,
which it does not have. 81
Rise of suicide in children and young adults
In 2000, Dr. Bashir Ahmed Dabla, Chair, Sociology Department, Kashmir University
conducted a study of suicides reported in the local press in Kashmir. According to Dabla,
about 2,000 persons committed or attempted suicides in Kashmir during the last decade
starting from 1990. Of the total cases of suicide reported in the local press, 77.41 per cent
80
Accessed on 5th January 2004, from http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/apr/12child.htm
38
comprised females and 22.58 per cent were males. This also revealed that about 70 per
cent females in these suicide cases were housewives; while about 30 per cent females
were working women. The study showed that an overwhelming majority (95.23 per cent
of the total) of those who committed suicide in Kashmir were local Muslims belonging to
major sects, Sunnis and Shias. The most active age group in committing suicide belongs
to 16-25 years. This group of youngsters belongs to all demographic, economic,
educational, marital, socio-cultural, occupational and other groups. They also have
affiliation with all communities and castes. The second active age group in committing
suicides belongs to 26-40 years. The members of this group are generally mature. This
group has more independence than the former group. The third group, which has minor
participation in suicides, belongs to teenagers. They are very young and mostly students
in colleges. Some of them became members of suicide-squads who stormed security
camps across the valley. Suicide bombers are local youths, belonging to the teenage
group, who kill themselves by striking the Indian security installations, camps and other
related places. 82
Violence has driven the youth to a stage where they feel pessimistic about life. Because
of lack of professional intervention, due to the poor infrastructure, psychological
intervention is not available, and the youth take matters in their own hands and attempt
suicide. They either turn the violence on themselves, or join suicide bomb squads to
avenge the deaths of their loved ones by targeting the Indian army.
Loss of parents
Children, who constitute 38 per cent of the population, have been the hardest hit.
Unofficial figures estimate the number of orphans as a result of the conflict is 40,000. So
far there are only three government orphanages which house fifty-eight boys in one and
twenty-five girls in another. The third one has one hundred girls and is only meant for
those from the Gujjar Bakerwal community. NGOs are unable to accommodate some as
they have very limited capacity. Hence most children turn to child labour to stay alive. 83
81
Accessed on 10th November 2003 from http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/28child.htm and from a

report on Kashmir by Chindu Shreedharan, National Foundation for India Fellow, February to September
2002.
82
Dabla, B. (2000) The why and how of Suicides in the Valley. Sociology Department, Kashmir
University.
83
Ibid. Pg 249.
39
About 30,000 NGOs work all over India, but not one has come forward with a special
program for the increased number of orphans in Kashmir, said A R Hanjoora from
Yatheem Trust, an orphanage. Ashiq Kashmiri, chairman and general secretary of
Muslim Welfare Society, concurred, Thats because the world still does not know what
our children are undergoing. 84
Most local NGOs, because of the nature of security situation in Kashmir, do not dare to
venture there. In addition, they are denied access to areas by the security forces because
of the conflict. Sometimes, NGOs that are vociferous about the human rights violations
by the Indian army get threatened. Because there are no mechanisms by which the guilty
can be brought to book, the impunity granted to the forces and those associated with
them, has proved to be a setback for NGO intervention.
In a study titled, Impact of conflict situation on women and children in Kashmir,
conducted in 1999, Dr Dabla elaborated on the nature of problems faced by orphans in
Kashmir:
The most crucial problems the children faced after the death of their
father included economic hardships (48.33 per cent), psychological
setback (22 per cent), denial of love and affection (13.66 per cent) and
apathy by relatives and friends (8.66 per cent). 85
The half-widows and compensation problems
The half-widows of Kashmir is another group that suffers. Their husbands are missing;
security forces have allegedly picked them up, militants or Renegades pick others up.
And because they arent widows, they cant even claim the meager compensation given
by the state government. Neither do they know how long they will have to wait before
they get the religious sanction to marry. The state has no program for them. In fact, for all
practical purposes, they dont even exist in the governments scheme of things.
86
This
inadvertently impacts the future of their children. Financially, this serves as a setback for
the fatherless families, and the childrens education is compromised.
84
Husain, S. (2002), op. cit.

Dabla, B. (1999) op. cit.0
86
Article titled, Husbands missing, they have nowhere to go by Muzamil Jaleel, Indian Express, 31st
March 1999.
85
40
Examples of children living under stress

Sorrow makes us all children again destroys all differences of intellect
the wisest know nothing.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Childrens reaction to stress varies according to personal factors such as age, gender, the
level of development and temperament. Stress, however, is personally and socially
constructed, and childrens reaction to stressors depends on the meanings they attribute to
them. Strong ideological commitment, as evidenced in war glorification and defiant
attitudes towards a feared or hated enemy, enables youth to find meaning in political
violence and is associated with reduced problems in anxiety and depression. 87
Individual responses vary not only according to personality characteristics but also
according to the multiplicity and chronicity of stressors, the nature of ones war
experiences, the meanings assigned to experiences, the coping strategies used and the
availability of emotional support given by adult caregivers. 88
Parents, families, peer groups, schools, religious communities and other communitybased institutions, exert pressures or send messages that lead children to participate in
hostilities. They leave an impact on also how a youth values the very choice to
participate. If violence is prevalent at any level of society, it may override rational
decision making progress or non-violent options for conflict resolution impossible. 89
Naseema (name changed) lives with a disorder, which manifests itself as distractibility,
aggression, fear and depression. She is listless, cannot bear loud noises or the sight of
armed men without her heat beating as if it would break, and has nightmares. 90
Violence, death and injury have replaced hide and seek with a more aggressive game of
ambush which re-enacts the frequent encounters between militants and the security
87
Punamaki, R. (1996) Can ideological commitment protect childrens psychosocial well-being in

situations of political violence? Child Development, 67, 55-69.
88
89
90
Accessed on 5th January 2004, from http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/dec/13child.htm. The article is a
part of a study of the impact of militancy on the Kashmiri children conducted by Chindu Shreedharan for
the National Foundation for India for 2000-2001.
41
forces. The children are familiar with Kalashnikovs, SLRs, carbines etc, and can
distinguish between different types of gunfire, stated a worried father from Sopore,
whose ten-year-old son demands a rocket-launcher. Sopore has been a stronghold of the
militants who use sophisticated arsenal. 91
Nasreena, a drawing teacher in a public school in Srinagar, describes the psychological
change she has observed among the childrens drawings in the last five years, The lush
green valley has been replaced by blood. Dead bodies rather than birds dominate their
creative attempts. In addition, aggression and violence has crept into interpersonal
relationships. A fight between school friends invariably lends with a threat of liquidation.
I will shoot you, is at the tip of Haroons tongue, said a harried father. 92
In a massive campaign contest conducted by Parle-G titled Make my dream come true,
10-year-old Rashid Ahmad from Srinagar, made a huge collage of spelling out a single
word Peace. This, he added, is the dream of every war affected child from Kashmir
to Kosovo; from Afghanistan to Algeria; from Palestine to Philippines; from Chechnya to
Sri Lanka. 93
According to Osofsky, Regression is a typical response among young children affected
by war; toileting and speech problems are common, along with disrupted sleeping
pattern, flashback of violent behaviour and deregulation of startle reflex.
94
Similarly,
Dyson maintains that war and communal violence disrupt schooling and ordinary
vocational development for children. He added that these children often have difficulty
concentrating in school and they evidence learning and behavioural problems in the
classroom. 95
Affected children also indulge in Terminal Thinking which results when the probability
of death takes place of an expectation of life. Also, there is an overuse of defence
mechanisms to deal with problems. A study conducted by Davidson showed that children
exposed to trauma before age ten were three times more likely to exhibit PTSD than
91
Accessed on 5th January 2004 from The Times of India, from an article titled, A for army, B for bomb, C
for curfew. Muzamil Jaleel, 18th April, 1996.
92
Ibid
93
Accessed on 18th January 2004 from The Times of India, from an article titled, Kids dreams stay firmly
earthbound by Shabnam Minwalla, 23rd June, 2002.
94
Osofsky, J. (1995) The Effects of Violent Exposure on Young Children. American Psychologist 50 Pg
782 - 788
95
Dyson, J. (1989) Family violence and its effects in childrens academi1c underachievement and
behavioural problems in school, Journal of National Medical Association 82. Pg. 17-22.
42
those exposed after age 12. 96 Wessells (1996) believes that hopelessness and war stresses
exist in a reciprocal relationship. 97
Dianne Mckissock explained, The bereaved child may feel traumatized, especially if
they witnessed the murder or found the body of the person who died, or by media reports
or images The child may feel a social stigma because the death was violent or unusual.
Human beings of all ages seem to have a need to believe that life is ordered, safe and
predictable. For this reason, we convince ourselves that bad things happen only to those
who deserve them. 98
Meanwhile, a report by Minority Rights Group summed up the state of affairs:
Around the world, the number of children who survive, yet are adversely
affected by all the other consequences of war rape, torture, physical
injury, witnessing of atrocities, psychosocial and emotional trauma,
dislocation of families and whole communities and disruption of essential
services is unaccounted for. According to international humanitarian
law, only combatants are legitimate targets. In some internal conflicts,
children maybe viewed as the future enemy and are recruited specifically
with the purpose of destroying the enemys chance of surviving into the
future. Boys are forcefully recruited as soldiers and turned against their
own community. Girls are raped as a means of terrorization. Here, power
exists at gunpoint. Children who have witnessed rape and murder have
been traumatized for life. 99
Morris Frazer reiterated, There is a certain universality about a childs response to
disaster. The varying realities of the event may well add details to nightmare and fantasy,
but the childs fear is always, in essence, that of loss of the factors that make for physical
and emotional security. He dreads the prospect of separation from his parents as much, if
not more, than bodily harm to himself. 100
If adults find it hard to overcome the psychological effects of violence, then children are
bound to feel the pressure even more, considering their underdeveloped coping skills
96
Davidson, J. and Smith, R. (1990) Traumatic experiences in psychotic outpatients. Journal of

Traumatic Stress Studies 3. July. Pg. 459-475.
97
98
Mckissock, D. (1998) The Grief of our Children. ABC Books, Sydney.
99
100
Frazer, M. (1973) Children in Conflict, Secker and Warbug, London, Pg 73.
43
because of their tender age. In a book on Australian combat cameraman David Brill,
author John Little stated the following, explaining how hard it was for adults to deal with
war:
The mind of a child absorbs stress and the mechanism for dealing with
various emotional situations thereafter is affected. As adults, when we see
deeply disturbing events such as war and famine, we also have trouble
coping with the legacy of this pain. Some are forever consumed by the
sense of inequity, injustice and suffering in a world of wild The price
they [war journalists] pay for opening our eyes is that sometimes it is hard
to close their own. 101
Studies conducted on Rwandan children suggest that they have suffered inordinate and
in some cases, irreparable physical and psychological damage. If the children cannot
each reconcile with the violence they have experienced, many may turn to maladaptive
and violent behavior. 102
Dr Kusum Gopal, researcher from the Gender Institute of the London School of
Economics, explained, If men are affected by conflict, then women are affected even
more so. If the men in the family are killed, then women become easy prey. The situation
in Kashmir has deteriorated since the late eighties. It is difficult for people to move on
unless they feel secure. If this is the impact violence has on adults, you can only imagine
what the children must go through. 103
Yasin Malik, Chief, JKLF: Learning the hard way
The world only goes forward because of those who oppose it.
Goethe
To explain the impact of violence has on ones childhood, and connecting this impact
with cycles of violence in Kashmir, the example of Yasin Malik, the chief of the JKLF, is
used. On the authors visit to Kashmir, Malik, in an interview stated how his early
101
Little, J. (2003) The man who saw too much. Hodder Headline Australia Pty Ltd, Sydney. Preface.
Smith, D. (1998) The psychocultural roots of genocide: Legitimacy and crisis in Rwanda. American
Psychologist.
103
In an interview with Dr Kusum Gopal from the London School of Economics Gender Institute, who can
be contacted on k.gopal@lse.ac.uk
102
44
exposure to violence by the security forces ignited him on a violent path of the struggle
for freedom for Kashmir. After a lifetime of violence and suffering, he realized that nonviolence would be his only way to achieving freedom.
The separatist leader started his youth by initiating a non-violent struggle against the
Indian government to free Kashmir, but ended up as the most wanted man in the country.
After realizing the futility of violence and losing his comrades, he has come full circle by
deciding to organize non-violent protests and rallies against the government.
Explaining the cycle of violence in his life, which started in his teens, he said:
My motivation for freedom was born out of events. I was 14 years old, and it
was a day like any other. Army vehicles were plying back and forth in the
crowded market area of Srinagars Lal Chowk. One of the army vehicles
knocked over one of the locals and the pedestrian was injured. People found
the driver drunk, and the injured party roughed him up. That very evening,
six army vehicles full of soldiers carrying hockey sticks and knives gathered
in the marketplace and started burning shops in an attempt to intimidate the
crowd. They set started a riot, killing anyone that got in their way. This went
on from 8.30 pm and to 11 pm. I was petrified.
That night, a curfew was declared, but Malik could not sleep as he couldnt get the
sounds of the chickens that were burnt live in the poultry, close to where he was hiding
during the riot. He added, To this day I can remember the nightmares I had associated
with the incident because of the violence witnessed. Flashbacks and nightmares are
manifestations of PTSD, as cited earlier by several theorists in this chapter.
I was angry that they treated us in this manner. That was the first time I was motivated
to fight back as I was convinced that we were slaves. By 1983, I was actively
participating in non-violent activities, he confessed.
Malik spent his pocket money on printing stickers promoting a free Kashmir and
distributing independent Kashmir maps at the university. In 1985, he was arrested and
spent three months in prison for printing stickers. By 1986, a full-fledged, powerful mass
of students league was formed and 1986 formerly launched the non-violent struggle. By
the end of that year, they were joined by over 30 other organizations that shared similar
views. The assembly elections in March 1987 changed things drastically.
45
Malik described, Winners were declared losers and vice versa. The same day the results
were declared there was a crackdown on our organization and hundreds were arrested. I
was sent to Red 16, an interrogation centre. There, food poisoning lead to a blood
infection and lost a heart valve due to lack of treatment. He was released a year later.
Then it dawned on me that there was no scope for a Gandhian non-violent movement in
Kashmir. It had worked before because of the liberal attitude of the British government.
In 1988, the JKLF was formally born to attract an international and an Indian conscience.
By April 1990, Malik was one of the most wanted men on the list of the Indian
government. Malik jumped from the fifth floor of a building to escape from the BSF
during a raid. After the BSF took me to the hospital, they [doctors] were sure I would
not survive. The BSF even declared me dead! The next morning I regained consciousness
and was bedridden for four months. To this day, Malik suffers from facial paralysis as a
result of that episode.
In August 1990, Malik was arrested and spent half a year in the death cell in Tihar jail.
That was not the end. I was shifted to Agra jail where I spent a year with people who
had lost their minds. I weighed 46 kgs then.
In 1992, Malik had a heart valve replacement and was placed in solitary confinement for
a year. I was beaten badly and was released after four years. By 1994, JKLF had lost
600 members to the Indian security forces. I had to give non-violence one more chance,
I had lost too many friends. So I declared a unilateral cease-fire. Malik was arrested
every month, and six attempts were made on his life. Malik opined, Indian intellectuals
are governed by blind nationalism. The media is biased. I have buried dear friend and
children. The violence must stop at all costs. In life, you get wiser with experiences and
mistakes. We made mistakes and we paid a high price. But now, we must do all we can to
bring peace to the region. He ended, I wish for freedom and peace.
Many from his generation echo Maliks story onwards. He is a living example of how
exposure to violence in early childhood shapes the mind of the victims, leading them to
more violence and carnage. Malik is lucky enough to conscientiously step out of this
vicious cycle that has consumed so many lives in Kashmir. Unfortunately, others have
not been so lucky.
46
Analysis
Taking into account the severity of violence in Kashmir from practicing doctors and
psychiatrists, one can judge the extent of damage done to the mental health of the society
as a whole.
The conflict has brought about emotional, physical and psychological trauma in children
of all ages. The escalation of the conflict in the last several years has resulted in high
number of patients suffering from psychological disorders. There have been serious
repercussions, where children have been admitted for anything from the treatment of
broken bones to psychological disorders and suicide attempts.
Due to the military presence, schools have been evacuated and students education has
had to suffer. Children who have lost a parent in the conflict have to resort to child labour
in order to feed themselves.
To aggravate this hopeless situation, there is a serious dearth of governmental mental
heath facilities that could help the population cope with psychological and emotional
problems. Currently, psychiatrists and counsellors present are unable to handle the
increasingly large numbers of people that visit them everyday. As the psychological
problems of the children remain unsolved, a whole generation of maladjusted children is
steadily growing in Kashmir. Being exposed to violence at a tender age, the children are
bound to choose a life that leads to death and destruction.
Studies on children living in conflict zones by local and international researchers cited in
this chapter reveal that the emotional, social and psychological wounds created by
conflict cannot be dissolved without psychological intervention. Regression is the most
common defence mechanism used among children hailing from the most disturbed parts
of the world. This also stands true for the children in Kashmir. A study also revealed that
the younger the child was when exposure to trauma, he/she was thrice as likely to exhibit
PTSD. Another study stated that children exposed to death indulge in Terminal Thinking,
where the probability of death replaces the expectation of life. This explains the high
suicide rate among the age of from 16 to 25 in Kashmiris, and the increase in the number
of youth who become suicide bombers.
Due to the examples cited in this chapter, including that of Maliks, it becomes evident
that the children in Kashmir suffer from several problems because of the direct exposure
to violence. The chapter connects the impact of violence to the mental makeup of the
children, who in turn, will perpetuate more violence, thereby continuing the cycles of
47
violence. Therefore, the next chapter deals with analyzing the problem and making
recommendations to alleviate the situation and break the cycles of violence.
48
Chapter IV
________________________________________________________________________
Kashmir: Present imperfect, future tense
Mankind owes to the child the best it has to give
United Nations
Chapter Four describes the impact of trauma faced by children in Kashmir. The depth of
the problem is analyzed and recommendations are made to enable the children overcome
the psychological effects of trauma. In addition, problems involving a militarized society
are dealt with. Finally, the author attempts to create a new identity by replacing the
culture of violence with a culture of peace.
Analyzing the impact of trauma: Probing the heart of fear
Treat the world well. It was not given to you by your parents. It was willed
to you by your children.
Kenyan Proverb
Research on children in situations of political violence has had to steer between simplistic
images that portray children as badly damaged or as highly resilient. 104
For example, Mohammad Irfan, a child, captures the heart of the problem by saying,
Ever since we have been on our feet, we have only heard of guns and militants in the
Valley. Major General Avtar Singh, GOC, Panther Division of the Indian Army
explains, The ongoing strife in the Valley has played havoc on the impressionable minds
of young children. They are under a veritable trauma because of the disturbed conditions.
We need to insulate them from the world of violence and instead expose them to a world
of growth and prosperity where they could find a different meaning for themselves. 105
During conflicts, the attack on homes and communities disrupts daily routines and
ruptures peoples sense of normalcy and continuity. Nearly 40 per cent of contemporary
104
Cairns, E., Dawes, A. (1996) Children: ethnic and political violence a commentary, Child
Development, Pg 67, 129 139. Cambridge: Blackwell.
105
From the article titled Its guns to roses for J & K students by Ajay Bharadwaj, Times of India, 8th
December 1998.
49
conflicts have lasted ten or more years, and these protracted conflicts devastate
infrastructure, amplify already severe poverty and social injustice and create
hopelessness.
106
In many areas, victimization is so pervasive and communalised that it
becomes woven into the fabric of social identity. The collective trauma is heroized, takes
on mythic proportions, and gets passed on from one generation to the next, continuing
selective war memories that plant seeds of future conflict.
Cycles of violence: The driving force of revenge and suicide
When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent
human misery than avenge it?
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anthropologist Cynthia Mahmod writes about how a rape by Hindu security forces in
Kashmir was experienced as irreversible family humiliation by a Muslim Kashmiri
father. The father felt compelled to kill his own daughter and then to avenge her
dishonour and death by destroying his home and attempting to join the separatist
guerrillas. Kashmiri rebels fighting for autonomy from India are pictured as learning the
meaning of their struggle through these riveting yet excruciating narratives of outrage,
which, moreover, depict the spontaneous transfer of radicalised moral duties across
generations and families to younger male combatants. 107
Dealing with emotional wounds: Standing up against the call of hate

According to a retired fighter pilot from Kashmir stated, the only way to end this cycle
of violence is to evoke a feeling of sympathy and support for the children in the national
conscience. This can make a major difference, with help from all political parties
including the Central government. 108
For in-depth healing to occur on all levels, actions must be judged by their universal
quality of being humane or not, rather than by the identity of who does them. Inhumane
actions against members of a society further validate the societys demonised view of the
perpetrators. The cycle of violence contributes to the cycle of trauma.
109
An overall
106
Smith, D. (1997) The state of war and Peace Atlas. Penguin, London.
Mahmoud, Cynthia Keppley (2000) Trials by Fire: Dynamics of terror in Punjab and Kashmir, in
Death Squad. The Anthropology of State Terror (Ed) Jefferey Sluka.. University of Pennsylvania Press,
Philadelphia.
107
50
strengthening of the psychological state of the society will contribute immensely in

helping children cope with PTSD.
The Catastrophic Trauma Recovery (CTR) Integrated Model could be a practical solution
that would help alleviate the trauma that affects the most vulnerable population in
Kashmir. There are eleven major components of the CTR integrated model as outlined by
Steve Olweean in his essay When society is the victim: Catastrophic Trauma Recovery.
This model offers one example of an integrated approach to promote the psychological
healing of a society. The challenge of practicing this model on a large population would
prove beneficial if we were to assist immediate suffering and prevent future generations
from inheriting trauma and the archetypal role of victim as part of their ethos. The CTR
models core concept in treating trauma at the societal level is the transfer of skills to
both indigenous service providers and the general population as a means of giving the
society the means to heal itself.
It encompasses various methods of psychological healing like Brief therapeutic
intervention process, Survivor support groups, Crisis phone lines and drop-in centers,
Stress management training for workers, Triage and Assessment, Community support,
advocacy, and intervention for victims, Mediation and Dispute Resolution and Ongoing
consultation and team support, to name a few. These programs are carried out to assist
the improvement of the mental health of the traumatized population, including children.
(Refer to Appendix II). 110
Storytelling
The plight of war affected children, in particular child orphans, sexually exploited
children, and children in trauma because of armed conflict, is one of the most disturbing
human security issues facing the world. There is a broad consensus regarding post-war
programs and priorities required to attend to the needs of these children (e.g.
psychosocial reintegration and healing, educational, vocational and employment
108
This is an ex-fighter pilot of the Indian Airforce from Kashmir who wishes to remain anonymous. This
quote was taken in an interview with the author.
109
Olweean, S (2003). When society is the victim: Catastrophic Trauma Recovery, in The Psychological
Impact of War Trauma on Civilian: An International Perspective, (Eds) Stanley Krippner and Teresa
McIntyre, Westport, Connecticut.
110
Olweean, S (2003) op. cit., Pg 273-275.
51
opportunities). A comprehensive approach needs to be applied to the orphans who need

to be integrated in society. 111
At present there are a number of orphanages in Jammu and Kashmir, but there are no
concerted efforts for providing vocational training and other such facilities that will
empower the children and ensure a stable future.
112
From the perspective of
psychologically sensitive conflict resolution interventions, the challenge in dealing with

victimhood psychology is that of retrieving the mourning process, which has been
suspended as a result of the traumatic experience, and helping to move it toward
completion. Storytelling is a central part of the process, not only for the victim telling the
story but also for the persons representing the aggressor group. 113
In a group context, song, dance and storytelling can be utilized to enable emotional
expression, social support and cooperative behaviour. In Angola, with regard to project
effects, children demonstrated reduced nightmares, bedwetting and concentration
problems and exhibited improved social relations with adults and other children. 114
Andalus Syndrome suggests that the victims group cant stop mourning. Karkar
explained, One of the components of fundamentalism is the phenomenon of the
inability to mourn, an emotional state where the natural process of grieving is blocked
by undue anger.
115
Just telling what happened as it happened, as a witness to a
historical/truth commission is already reliving, revealing and relieving. To have the other
party do the same adds to it. To tell the stories together, in the same room, adds a
dimension of dialogue, easily very emotional and might lead to tension release. An
alternative approach is, of course, for a professional to write the narrative histories and
present it on national television for common consumption.
116
The author, to break the
cycles of violence and to help the people of Kashmir, recommends this technique to heal
their wounds.
111
Reshaping the agenda in Kashmir. International Centre for Peace Initiatives, Mumbai 2002. Pg. 31.
Reshaping the agenda in Kashmir. International Centre for Peace Initiatives, Mumbai, 2002.
113
Montville, J (2001). Justice and the burdens of history in (ed) Mohammed Abu-Nimer, op. cit.
114
115
Karkar, S (1996) The Colours of Violence: Cultural Identities, Religion and Conflict, The University of
Chicago Press, London and Chicago.
116
Galtung, J (2001). After Violence, Reconstruction, Reconciliation and Resolution. Coping with visible
and invisible effects of war and violence in (ed) Mohammed Abu-Nimer, Reconciliation, Justice and
Coexistenc:. Theory and Practice, Lexington Books, USA.
112
52
Creation of a new identity: Replacing a culture of violence with a culture of peace

Post war reconstruction, which should be started in Kashmir immediately after the
cessation of violence, entails interrelated tasks of economic, political and social
reconstruction tasks. Social reconstruction tasks include rebuilding civil society,
resettlement of displaced peoples, community revitalization, establishing awareness of
and support for basic human rights and creating social trust across the lines of conflict. In
all of these tasks, a high priority is the establishment of social justice, transforming
patterns of exclusion, inequity and oppression that fuel tensions and fighting. 117
Coming to terms with the pain of the past is an essential first step toward a positive
future. Much distress stems not only from spiritual discord but also from uprooting,
community destruction and the disruption of traditions and patterns of daily living. In
addition problems of hopelessness and futurelessness are communally constructed and
shared phenomenon. To promote healing and hope, it is essential to revitalize
communities, to strengthen traditions that provide a sense of continuity and support and
to build processes of dialogue and participation that strengthen civil society. 118
Following traumatic experiences, people see the world as a more dangerous place and
often regard violence as a necessary instrument for protecting security.
119
Trauma care
sessions need to be built around questions such as What do children need to develop in a
healthy manner? To foster emotional expression in children, free drawing methodology
can be used in a secure, supportive setting.
Psychosocial intervention is a small but essential part of post conflict reconstruction.
Armed conflict creates widespread trauma and war stress, which may be enshrined,
assigned mythic proportions and woven into the fabric of communal memory and
identity. The wronged victims identity thwarts peace, invites revenge and provides
convenient rationalization for acts of violence and oppression that might typically be
regarded as immoral. War also creates powerful fears and exaggerated enemy images of
the diabolical Other, all of which heighten the risk of ongoing cycles of violence and
present powerful obstacles to national reconciliation and the construction of a civil
society. 120
117

119
Staub, E (1996), The cultural-societal roots of violence: The example of genocidal violence and of
contemporary youth violence in the United States, American Psychologist, 51, Pg 117-132
120
Ibid
118
53
Need to deal with a militarized society

The reduction in the number of people engaged in conflict and the re-integration of exmilitants into civilian life is closely related to reconstruction. Many young people have
joined the ranks of militants because of lack of opportunity to for leading a constructive
life. Teenagers, who fail to secure employment, are constantly faced with a lack of
opportunities. Demobilization entails a lot more than just people shifting from military to
civilian employment. The ex-militants need counselling and economic support as they
have lost undergone personal adjustments, of often losing a clear and unpredictable
environment. Transparency and precision with regards to arms collection, their safe
storage or on the spot destruction proves to be crucial. The risk exists that arms
disappear and are transferred into areas of conflict.
121
This can also serve to dissuade
the youth from joining militant groups.

Saa (2002), an International Fellow at Responding to Conflict, reflects on his experience
of a Trauma Healing and Reconciliation Project following the Civil War in Liberia,
'There are not many warning signals, the pressure building up from the bottom is not
visible. It just hits. The ground shakes and splits. The noise of crumbling emotions is
great. And then, a deep silence settles over the destruction. Now nobody can trust the
ground, and the clean-up appears impossible. This is how a woman at a seminar used the
metaphor of an earthquake in a vivid description of her family conflicts. The metaphor
applies just as well to the experience of the civil war in Liberia and the challenges it
poses for dealing with the past. 122
Psychologists conducting humanitarian work need to strike a balance between
recognizing that they have much to contribute in enabling transformation for social
change and thinking about the limits of their approach. Constant dangers exist that the
international community will play God in rebuilding a society, impose outsider ideas and
approaches that do not fit the local situation and culture, or make matters worse despite
their good intentions.
123
Hence, the presence of international NGOs is not viewed
favorably by the Indian government. In addition, the strict government control over
outside elements entering Kashmir is to be taken under consideration. Therefore, it is
essential to involve local organizations that have easy access and find it easy to come up
121
Ibid, Pg 37.
Accessed on 3rd June 2004 from http://www.c-r.org/ccts/ccts18/trauma.htm
123
Ibid
105
54
with indigenous solutions. Local NGOs can be empowered through international bodies
who work with traumatized children.
One of the problems in Jammu and Kashmir is that while the political leadership has
failed to harness the energy of the people in a constructive direction, there are no civil
society institutions to fulfil this task through an alternative path. Also, there is a
conspicuous absence of a peace movement. Some NGOs are active in rehabilitation
efforts, but none are able to implement large-scale development work. The building of
civil society would need public leadership through training, exposure and encouragement
by NGOs from all over India.
124
A strong network of NGOs would aid in assessing the
mental health of the population of children, helping them cope, and consequently
stopping the cycles of violence.
Role of education
Education opens positive life pathways that enable young people to meet their basic
needs non-violently, builds hope for the future and develops the cognitive and
behavioural competencies required to develop a meaningful, functional life in ones
society. 125
In spite of having a well-knit network of public and private schools, the school system in
Jammu and Kashmir continues to be in disarray. There have been no serious attempts at
the political level to bring about a qualitative change in this sphere. The dropout rate
remains quite high. with no worthwhile avenues available outside that already saturated
government sectors, most of the bright students end up looking for opportunities outside
the state. Technical and medical education fields need to be synchronised with the
contemporary realities of these streams. 126
Analysis
I conclude this chapter by linking the violence in the Valley to the psychologically
maladjusted children with a pessimistic outlook on life. I have quoted several theorists
124
Reshaping the agenda in Kashmir (2002) op. cit.

Sinclair, M (2000). Education in Emergencies: Fourth Pillar of Humanitarian Assistance, a Human
Right and Corner stone of Peace-building, Geneva: UNHCR.
126
Reshaping the agenda in Kashmir (2002) op. cit., Pg 44.
125
55
who concurred with the view that exposure to violence results in trauma in children,
which in turn perpetuates violence.
In addition, I have also pointed out that lack of opportunities in Kashmir and the
oppression by the security forces, the militants and the Renegades. This pressure has
pushed the children to a future of violence, where children either join the army or the
militants. The children feel hopeless in conflict situations. When this hopelessness turns
to rage, there is no future. If the child is witness to the abuse or death of his/her family or
even arrest or torture, they begin to feel like their support is gone. Then the guilt that they
experience combines with a desire for revenge, which walks hand-in-hand with need and
vulnerability. For the children, weapons of war seem to offer an answer, or at least a
better alternative. 127
The first step in helping the children break out of the cycles of violence is to stop the
violence carried out by the State or the Central agencies in Kashmir. The importance of
government participation needs to be highlighted in alleviating the plight the children in
Kashmir. The government needs to intervene by providing mental health facilities to heal
the childrens families cope with the violent past and ensuring that the violence in the
Valley is strictly controlled. Once the violence stops in the Valley, the children can be
exposed to a peaceful way of life, thereby enabling them to have a more optimistic view
of life.
The emotional trauma they have undergone can be dealt with the help of free psychiatric
care provided by the government, in conjunction with NGOs from all over the world.
Psychiatric facilities in government hospitals need to be updated and doctors from all
over India should be encouraged to practice in the state. The primary school system also
needs to be strengthened. Counsellors in school can also play a pivotal role in assisting
the children cope with their emotional and psychological problems.
Massive funds need to be diverted from the defence budget to other sectors like
education, employment and small-scale industries to increase the choices for the
Kashmiris.
128
This will deter the children from turning to a life of violence, as they will
be able to envision a productive and a safe future for themselves and their loved ones.
127
128
Defence expenditure for 1988-89 was approximately Rs. 14 million, approximately Rs. 24 million in
1994-95, approximately Rs. 45 million in 2000, according to The Kargil Review Committee Report (1999).
Pg 206.
56
The Indian government, in order to protect its citizens, needs to rethink its strategy in
attempting to solve the Kashmir dispute by holding talks with all the parties involved,
including Pakistan. The government should also be open to the idea of abiding by the UN
Resolution and holding a plebiscite in Kashmir after 56 years.
57
Chapter V
________________________________________________________________________
Conclusion
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________________________________________________________________________
58
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64
Appendix
________________________________________________________________________
I Map of Kashmir, PoK (Pakistan Occupied Kashmir or Azad Kashmir), India and
Pakistan.
II CTR integrated model as outlined by Steve Olweean in his essay When society is the
victim: Catastrophic Trauma Recovery stated the following.
1. Brief Therapeutic Intervention Process: For immediate symptom relief, a number of
highly effective, new, brief therapies are useful in alleviating psychological trauma
symptoms. This provides quick results and can be learnt in a relatively short time by
both professionals and para-professionals.
It is also felt to be easily adapted
culturally.
2. Survivor support groups: Ongoing, program groups can be designed to be self-run
and offer support, safety, and acceptance to victims, as well as to augment direct
therapeutic services. The role of survivor support in providing contact for as many
65
people as possible cannot be emphasized enough due to the shear size of the victim
pool, the limited capability of mental health services in the region, and the
demonstrated benefits of this type of assistance in a variety of applications and
settings.
3. Crisis phone lines and drop-in centers: The development of existing crisis phone
lines and drop-in center services, or the establishment of new ones where they are
absent, is necessary for providing immediate crisis intervention and support, as is
referral to available area services for ongoing treatment.
4. Triage and Assessment: For both immediate and long-term treatment, it is necessary
to prioritize the severity of need and appropriate available treatment resources. It is
also necessary to identify those who need extensive follow up services in the future.
During this time, an assessment is made of currently available mental health services
in the area, with suggestions for developing essential components and networking
with outside organizations and resources to support this development.
5. Stress management training for workers: Self-help skills are needed to help workers
manage the anticipated stress of this work and reduce burnout potential. Direct
contact with relief workers cooperating on the project confirms that burnout is not
only a high possibility; it is, unfortunately, an inevitable occupational hazard for
many who continue to do this relief work. There is obvious need for effective
mechanisms to assist with burnout recovery as well as prevention.
6. Counselor/Trainer support groups: Counselor/trainer support groups are needed for
ongoing support in managing stress, peer consultation, and to help develop a cohesive
pool of mentors in the region. Laying the groundwork for local professionals to
eventually take on primary responsibility for providing these services, training, and
supervision of others is emphasized.
7. Community support, advocacy, and intervention for victims: The community needs to
be mobilized to assist with nurturing community acceptance and support for victims,
and to avoid retraumatizing experiences.
As orientation to the culture and
predominant religions of the region is provided to protect trainers to ensure sensitivity

in applying training within this context. Teams work with community ans spiritual
leaders to encourage and aid them in taking an active role in developing community
support for victims, particularly of rape and sexual abuse-some who may have given
birth as a result to reduce the social isolation and shunning that often occurs.
66
Representatives of like cultural and religious traditions from other regions are enlisted
to cooperate in meeting with local counterparts and offer assistance in sensitizing the
general population to the need for acceptance, support, and the reassurance of
victims. In general, it is essential that the indigenous cultural ad religious institutions
that hold the society together are enlisted whenever possible to ensure long-term
success in healing trauma. One of the most under-reported and lamentable dynamics
of trauma where rape, sexual abuse, and torture occur is the revictimization of
individuals who are rejected, accused, and alienated by their family members and/or
community. Shame and fear of such unfair oppression by those already victimized
causes many to deny their trauma and refuse treatment. The added presence of
children born from rape who are themselves rejected, oppressed, or even punished by
their society only further carries and imbeds victimization into the next generation.
8. Public education: There are many benefits to providing general education to the
public about psychological health, common symptoms of trauma, and available
services. Local resources, such as media outlets, educational institutions, hospitals,
and religious organizations are utilized to disseminate this information.
9. Mediation and Dispute Resolution: As there is often some degree of increased
domestic and community conflict in regions victimized, invariably workers may
encounter such situations in their work.
The mediation and dispute resolution
component provides basic skills and helpful guidelines for coping and assisting with
conflicts arising within the community being served.
10. Training resource library: It is essential to establish and maintain a growing on-site
and Internet-based archive of video and audio programs, taped training sessions, and
written manuals and program materials, for the purposes of continuing education,
review, and utilization by local trainers conducting future sessions.
11. Ongoing consultation and team support: Ongoing consultation and team support can
be provided by training-team members and by establishing an international network
of cooperating organizations. These organizations can help local workers and trainers
in the region via email, other Internet-based communications, fax, and telephone. All
trainers agree to be available for ongoing consultation between and after training
sessions.
Following initial training visits, brief refresher courses are built into
subsequent sessions to help maintain and advance the skills of previous trainees. An
added benefit of such a regional mentor pool is to build regular contact and encourage
67
cooperation and mutual support among professionals and relief organizations across
borders in healing their respective societies. A core concept in treating trauma at the
societal level is the transfer of skills to both indigenous service providers and the
general population as a means of giving the society the means to heal itself.
68

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Cycles of Violence: The Impact of Human Rights

Violations on Children in Kashmir

MA Thesis for the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies

Chapter I Historic roots of the conflict

Chapter II The Valley of blood

Chapter III In search of a lost childhood

Chapter IV Kashmir: Present imperfect, future tense

indigenous population to self-determination, thereby constituting in effect an illegal

This excessive use of force by the security forces has pushed

According to the former ruling party, Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP),

ideologically-oriented Pakistan-backed cross-border terrorism, which is characterized

Here, once again, a dialogue was not sustained and a

This time peace seems as close as it never was

This is a typical case of human rights violations by the security forces. In

This case, like many others reported by local and international

This proves that civilians are the hardest hit by

Indian soldiers and officials.

the high number of civilian casualties indicate the level of destruction

endured by the Kashmiris.

This is clearly a human rights

According to a news article, at least

This shows the lack of infrastructure provided by the

Here, the difference between the

Psychiatrists like Dr Wahid Khan say the sheer strain of survival

amidst bloodshed in Kashmir lowers a childs threshold to mental ailments. 65

Wessells, M. (1996) Psychosocial Intervention and Post-war Reconstruction in Angola: Interweaving

Since the government has not

Reactions to stress from violence

Wessells, M (1996) op. cit.

Accessed on 5th January 2004, from http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/apr/12child.htm

Accessed on 10th November 2003 from http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/28child.htm and from a

Husain, S. (2002), op. cit.

Examples of children living under stress

Punamaki, R. (1996) Can ideological commitment protect childrens psychosocial well-being in

Davidson, J. and Smith, R. (1990) Traumatic experiences in psychotic outpatients. Journal of

In many areas, victimization is so pervasive and communalised that it

Dealing with emotional wounds: Standing up against the call of hate

strengthening of the psychological state of the society will contribute immensely in

opportunities). A comprehensive approach needs to be applied to the orphans who need

From the perspective of

psychologically sensitive conflict resolution interventions, the challenge in dealing with

Just telling what happened as it happened, as a witness to a

The author, to break the

Creation of a new identity: Replacing a culture of violence with a culture of peace

Wessells, M (1996) op. cit.

Need to deal with a militarized society

This can also serve to dissuade

the youth from joining militant groups.

Hence, the presence of international NGOs is not viewed

A strong network of NGOs would aid in assessing the

Reshaping the agenda in Kashmir (2002) op. cit.

Adams, D. and Deveau, E. (1995) Beyond the Innocence of Childhood, Helping

It is also felt to be easily adapted

As orientation to the culture and

predominant religions of the region is provided to protect trainers to ensure sensitivity

The mediation and dispute resolution

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