I was sitting with some of my friends the other day and we were discussing the unabated killing of youth, when one of them received a call that yet another boy has been shot dead while protesting the death of his cousin, Muhammad Rafiq Bangroo, who was seriously injured in the brutal beating by the CRPF men, this was while the city was protesting the killing of Tufail , another young teenager who was hit by a tear gas shell fired by police. Bangroo succumbed to his injuries in the hospital after battling for life for eight days. Painfully he is the seventh from the Bangroo’s to die a tragic death. I felt sorry for his family and the trauma they all must be going through is quite understandable. I was saddened to hear this and so were my other friends. We started to debate about the frequent clashes between the teenagers and the paramilitary forces. I was stunned to find that one of them had a very different viewpoint about the killings and crisis.  He said “These boys dare the paramilitary and try to indulge into violent protest and in retaliation the forces open fire and unfortunately people get killed”, he goes on saying “You don’t expect Indian forces to remain silent when you try to set ablaze their vehicle”. While we were debating I could see my other friends getting agitated, and it didn’t take a second for them to retaliate. While they put across some genuine points I could find their eyes full of tears and rightly so. Any killing, whatsoever should be condemned. I was moved with such an emotion. Although I tried to be a moderator but something inside was hurting me.
While things unfolded, we came to know what the real story was. It was tragic to know that the kid was killed by a bullet. I was shocked; you cannot fire upon people who are already mourning the death of their family member. It was expected that the youth would be charged up and might retaliate; the police had good 12 hours to take control of the situation and try to avoid any untoward incident to happen. Instead of taking control the paramilitary forces started firing indiscriminately killing yet another young man Javaid Malla who had gathered to perform the last rites of Bangroo. The killings of three young men by the security forces in the past ten days has flared up tension and sent hundreds of demonstrators into the streets.  My heart goes out to the families and friends of these youngsters. You just cannot justify it. These routine killings make our youth angry and I am afraid their anger might convert into insurgency.
I am told that Bangroo was laid to rest at his ancestral graveyard at Noorbagh, while Malla’s body was buried at Martyrs’ graveyard at Iddgah, where hundreds of people have been buried since the inception of the militancy. The idea of Martyr's graveyard was conceived by the locals of Idgah area in 1990 to pay tributes to those who would fight for the resolution of the Kashmir issue. Living up to this spirit, it is mentioned on the signboard of the graveyard: "Lest you forget, we have given our today for tomorrow of yours. Unfortunately we are filling it with innocent teenagers who are the future of this state. 
It’s pathetic that both electronic and print media of India takes a myopic view of happenings here and does not report events objectively or report them as they would normally report minor incidents in the rest of the country . It's almost impossible to learn enough about any such incidents to offer a thoroughly informed opinion on what the real position is. What emerges from the inquiry that the Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Naseema Lankar has been asked to enquire into remains to be seen. 
As millions of people would, I also do not agree that you could use bullets against stones. No it’s unacceptable in any civilized society. There are many other ways to try and quell the protests. Killing should never be an option. While Srinagar was burning the SSP Srinagar, added a comic touch by appearing on the television and sermonizing the youth for listening to their parents, not to pelt stones and think about their future, good he was removed immediately, perhaps some of our police officers are totally ignorant of human psychology and above all Kashmirs sensitivities. The police who were known for its resistance, self control and discipline, are the most hated people and are now more known for killings and torture. The security forces are armed with privilege under the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act, and their acts are beyond the ambit of the judiciary. This anti-Human Rights piece of legislation has prevented any kind of legal action against the personnel and to my information none of them has been prosecuted or brought to justice. This makes total mockery of the entire justice system of India. The Human Rights Commission or any organization cannot file a case against any such incidents of human rights abuses. Such human rights abuses have become too frequent with the presence of a very large number of armed forces in Kashmir who enjoy the liberty to open fire anytime at anyone. 
At a time of crisis the political parties should not find faults in each other, but to see that such incidents do not happen again. Its time to unite and tell New Delhi that AFSPA should be revoked. It’s high time to win hearts of kashmiri’s.  Such killings of innocent persons only alienate the people and creates more hatred against India, it also reflects adversely on the intentions of New Delhi that it’s sincere in resolving the vexed issue.

(Tanvir Sadiq can be found at www.kashmirleader.blogspot.com or mailed at tanvirm123@yahoo.com. )

Lastupdate on : Tue, 22 Jun 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 22 Jun 2010 18:30:00 GMT
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