Memorandum from Students and Scholars

University Of Kashmir

A besieged land, a land of mourning, a land of wailing mothers, a

land of disappeared persons, a land of widows, a land of torture, a
land of injustices, a land of spilling blood, a land of no human
rights, a land of fake encounters and The land of ghosts. This is
Kashmir 24×7.

We the students may not fulfill the requirements of the definition

of human rights defenders. But when it comes to right to form
association, which has been denied to us for obvious reasons, we
believe we have a right to audience with you.

What do students form associations for? Everywhere in the world,

the students form unions or associations to enforce their rights
collectively. But Kashmir happens to be the only place on earth
where the students have been denied this precious right. The
denial of this precious right has led to total anarchy in the
campus. The question of enforcing rights of the students
collectively therefore does not arise. And when some of them do
it at individually, they are persecuted, detained under preventive
detention laws.

Students cannot be insensitive to a situation where killings, fake

encounters, enforced disappearances, rapes and molestation and
torture are rampant. And those who work on human rights are
eliminated in fake encounters and subjected to various forms of
intimidation. They are denied passports, their phones, bank
accounts and activities are monitored.
The insensitivity of the campus towards human rights can be
gauged from the fact that a diploma course in human rights
started a few years ago by the faculty of laws was abandoned last
year without assigning any reason.

University of Kashmir being the highest place of learning and an

autonomous body uses state’s intelligence apparatus to harass
and suppress the students who dare to stand for their rights.
Policing university has become a routine now. Students are
looked with suspicion and men deployed everywhere to watch
and monitor, as if a sleeper cell is being operated or a sinister plot
is being made by the students. Not only in the university but the
families of students are harassed and threatened. Hostels in the
university are raided by the police. Phone tapping has now
become a norm here.

Rafiq Ahmad Shah a student of Islamic Studies was arrested in

2005 and implicated in a false case for Delhi blasts. The student
was very much present in his class. He continues to languish in
Tihar Jail at Delhi.

A student activist, Farooq Ahmad of department of chemistry

(2009 was harassed by various intelligences agencies and
proctorial staff of the university for protesting Shopian twin rape
case.

In 2010 student activists, Umer Gul a pharma student, Omar Bhat,

Shahid dar and Abdul Basit of Law faculty were harassed for
reviving Kashmir University Students Union. Their families were
also harassed. They were also threatened of dire consequences if
they did not stop raising their voice even on issues of fee hike and
other basic facilities that are easily available to students
elsewhere.

Abdul Aala Fazili, a pharma student of 2005-2010 was illegally

detained four times by police and intelligence sleuths for being
part of the KUSU and talking to national and international
delegations. He was also interrogated for seven days in police
station Kothibagh and told to stop his activism. The agencies also
tried to bribe him for stopping his activities.

Nimer Qayum 2006, a management student was repeatedly

harassed by the security agencies for his activism. Despite being
a topper, he was failed in his examinations. The intelligence
sleuths also harassed his family. He and his family also received
threatening phone calls.

Tahir, a Mass Com student, 2010, was harassed for carrying news
reports that the authorities believed were anti-state.

Baber Jan Qadri, a law student, 2005, was harassed and thrashed
repeatedly when he sought enforcement of the rights of students.
He was also suspended by his faculty for objecting felling of
Chinar trees. His family was raided twice and the inmates
harassed.

The hostel was raided by eleven times by the police and the
university staff from January 2010 to May 2010 on suspicion of
hosting the militants.

The authorities also demolished the office of KUSU.

The authorities ensure that the genuine student activist do not

meet visiting delegations. Most of the times, the stooges are sent
to mislead the delegations.

Appeal:

We request to impress upon the authorities impress upon the

authorities to give the students of Kashmir the right to form
associations.
We also seek your intervention to secure the future of those
students who have been arrested, tortured, harassed by the
authorities for raising their voice against injustice.

Students and Scholars of University

of Kashmir