Washington, November 16, 2019 (PPI-OT): The US lawmaker, John Sifton, expressing serious concern over the prevailing grim situation in occupied Kashmir has said that human rights are under threat in Kashmir and in India.
John Sifton said this in a written submission to the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, which conducted a hearing on human rights in Kashmir on Thursday. He said that the focus of his testimony was how the US government could most effectively voice its concerns about these issues to the government of India.
John Sifton stated that since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won national elections in May, this year, and returned Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a second term, government authorities have continued harassing, and sometimes prosecuting, outspoken rights groups, human rights defenders and journalists for criticizing the government, while failing to credibly investigate increasing numbers of mob attacks, often led by BJP supporters, against religious minorities and other vulnerable communities.
John Sifton said that the 14 February Pulwama incident, in which over 40 troops were killed, led to a military escalation between India and Pakistan. He said, following the incident, Kashmiri students and businessmen in various parts of India were harassed or beaten up, even forcibly evicted from rental housing and dorms.
John Sifton in his testimony maintained that on August 5, the Indian government revoked the special status of Kashmir. “Thousands were detained without charge, including former chief ministers, political leaders, opposition activists, lawyers, and journalists, and the internet and phones were shut down. There were severe restrictions on movement and public gatherings were forbidden. The government said these measures were necessary to prevent loss of life during violent protests, but there were still credible, serious allegations of beatings and torture by security forces.” He said while a number of restrictions have since been lifted, hundreds remain in detention and mobile phone services and internet access are still limited. Many parents are still too scared for the safety of their children to send them to schools or colleges, he added.
The US Congressman said India has advanced a narrative that its main purpose in revoking Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, a longtime goal of the BJP, was economic development. “So far, however, we have only seen an intensification of the repression of Kashmir’s population,” he pointed out.
He said there has been a spike in protests in occupied Kashmir in recent years. He said, Indian forces have often used excessive force to respond to protests, including using pellet-firing shotguns as a crowd-control weapon, which have caused several deaths and many serious injuries. “Indian troops have seldom been held accountable for human rights violations that have occurred during counter-insurgency operations. The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) continues to provide Indian soldiers effective immunity from prosecution for serious human rights abuses. Since the law came into force in Kashmir in 1990, the Indian government has not granted permission in any case to prosecute forces’ personnel in civilian courts,” he deplored.
John Sifton said, the Indian government has also repeatedly imposed internet shutdowns in Kashmir, restricting mobile and broadband internet services. He said, there have already been 55 instances of shutdowns in the territory in 2019.
“This is the legacy of abuses that the people of Jammu and Kashmir have suffered. Successive Indian governments have not been willing to confront these problems. And here we come to the crux of the issue: until the Indian government acknowledges and addresses how their own abuses impact the situation, problems in Kashmir are likely to endure,” he remarked.
The US lawmaker said this is where Congress can act. He said members of Congress should communicate to Indian government officials that their actions in Kashmir are adding to the human rights problems. “Members of Congress should challenge Indian officials to reexamine their rights-abusing practices in Kashmir. US officials should insist that political leaders and others arbitrarily detained are released, that restrictions on communications are lifted, and that independent observers, including diplomats, foreign journalists, and rights activists, are able to travel freely in Kashmir,” he maintained.
On human rights violations in India, John Sifton said, since the BJP first came to power in 2015, Indian authorities have been increasingly using sedition and criminal defamation laws to stifle dissent in India. Journalists have been harassed, and at times detained, for their reporting or critical comments on social media, and faced increasing pressure to self-censor – including on matters connected to Jammu and Kashmir, he said.
“At the same time, the authorities have failed to properly prosecute or end political patronage to pro-BJP interest groups that have engaged in threats and violent attacks to shut down speech that “offends” them. Mob violence against minorities, especially Muslims, by extremist Hindu groups affiliated with the BJP have continued amid rumors that they traded or killed cows for beef. Since May 2015, 50 people have been killed and over 250 injured in such attacks. Muslims were also beaten and forced to chant Hindu slogans. Police have largely failed to properly investigate the crimes, stalled investigations, ignored procedures, and filed criminal cases against witnesses to harass and intimidate them,” he said.
“India has continued to lead the world with the largest number of internet shutdowns as state governments resorted to blanket shutdowns, either to prevent violence and social unrest or to respond to ongoing law and order problems. As of November, authorities in India had ordered 85 shutdowns,” the Congressman added.
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