1. Art and Diseño

NOTES
Conflict of Kashmir and the
Problem of Disappearance
Paul D’Souza
The disappearance of young men
without any trace in Kashmir over
the last three decades of conflict
is a reason for anguish and
agitation in the region. For
families and close relatives of the
disappeared, the issue goes
beyond the politics of freedom. In
the context of the worldwide
phenomenon of “enforced
disappearances” this article looks
at the problem of disappearances
in a conflict region of India and
the challenges faced by the
families as well as those for a
democratic society.
Paul D’Souza ([email protected]) is with the
Indian Social Institute, New Delhi.
78
O
ver the past three decades or so
Kashmir has experienced political,
social, economic and cultural
turmoil and has suffered enormous hardship. Thousands of people, mostly young
men, have disappeared. Whatsoever the
reasons for their disappearances, the immediate victims of such disappearances are
the families and wives of the disappeared
persons. The wives they left behind are
known as “half-widows”.1 Jammu and
Kashmir saw yet another election, these
“waiting people of Kashmir” expect that
democracy will bring an end to their wait
by going beyond the politics of freedom.
Definition and Context
The International Convention for the
Protection of All Persons from Enforced
Disappearance (ICCPED 2006) defines
enforced disappearance as “the arrest,
detention, abduction or other form of
deprivation of liberty committed by agents
of the State or by persons or groups of
persons acting with the authorisation,
support or acquiescence of the State, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the
deprivation of liberty or by concealment
of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person, which place such a
person outside the protection of the law”
(Article 2). However, there is a significant
departure in the Rome Statute of the
International Criminal Court (1998)
which widens the definition, and includes
non-state actors – persons acting with the
“authorisation, support or acquiescence”
of non-state political organisations. There
are a variety of reasons why people
disappear or their whereabouts remain
unknown. They may be refugees, displaced persons forcibly detained or
recruited to fight and are without any
means of communication, or people who
have died and whose identities were not
recorded (ICRC 2006).
In prehistoric times people used to
settle scores with each other by capturing each other’s kin. But in modern
times it has attained alarming connotations as enforced disappearances take
place with the active connivance and
support of the establishment and power
groups (Zahir 2012). “Enforced disappearances were used by the Nazi regime
during second world war to deliberately
spread terror throughout the population
and to suppress dissent” (Anderson 2006).
Enforced disappearance became more
widely practised during the 1960s and
1970s by many Latin American military
regimes in Guatemala, El Salvador, Brazil
and Argentina. It was the military regimes in Latin America that popularised
the practice.
Today enforced disappearance is taking
new forms and has become a global
phenomenon. The instances of disappearances studied show that people are
made to disappear not only by statesponsored agencies but also by other
parties like militant organisations, militia,
terrorists, drug mafia, etc, for different
reasons and motives. Political neglect, war,
and poverty are said to push desperate
groups into such abductions and kidnappings as a means of livelihood, e g, pirates
from Somalia. Even without factors like
war or poverty, wherever law-enforcement
agencies abandon their duty of protecting citizens, unscrupulous elements take
to this as an easy way of making money.
At the political level, “disappearances”
are used by ruthless men in power for
silencing their opponents and critics by
creating fear. This has been resorted to by
several dictators in South America, Africa
and Asia. In recent times human rights
groups and activists have pointed to
several such disappearances of journalists
who were critical of the government in
Sri Lanka. “Enforced disappearances have
become ‘a truly universal phenomenon’,
believed to be occurring in approximately
90 countries, in all regions of the world
and affecting tens of thousands of people”
(Anderson 2006). As on 2012, the United
Nations Working Group on Enforced or
Involuntary Disappearances estimated
that at least 42,889 people worldwide
JANUARY 31, 2015
vol l no 5
EPW
Economic & Political Weekly
NOTES
have been victims of forcible disappearance with fates unknown (Amnesty International). In South Asia, Sri Lanka has
the highest number of recorded disappearances followed by Kashmir in India.
Addressing the Issue
The International Day of the Victims of
Enforced Disappearances is observed
annually on 30 August. The initiative came
in 1983 due to the alarming rise of disappearances by authoritarian regimes in
Latin America. The Latin American
Federation of Associations for Relatives
of the Detained-Disappeared (FEDEFAM),
an association of delegates from member states and regional groups working
against secret imprisonment and forced
disappearances, led the campaign. On
21 December 2010, the UN General
Assembly decided to declare the special
day to draw world attention to the fate
of individuals who have disappeared –
either imprisoned and held in poor conditions, or killed and never identified. So
their relatives and legal representatives
never come to know what happened.
On 21 December 2010, by its resolution 65/209, the UN General Assembly
welcomed the adoption of the “International Convention for the Protection of
All Persons from Enforced Disappearance”. Many countries have established
commissions to deal with the problem of
enforced disappearances. Their task is
to probe enforced disappearances and
identify the guilty and punish them. In
recent years, activists, non-governmental
organisations (NGOs), courts, and international organisations have increasingly
sought to highlight and prevent enforced
disappearances and obtain retroactive
justice for victims. The enforced disappearance, which was a barbaric global
phenomenon, has ceased now in many
parts of the world, particularly in Latin
American countries and south-east Asian
countries like Indonesia, Thailand and
the Philippines (Noorani 2003).
The Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP), a group of families
of victims of enforced or involuntary disappearances in Jammu and Kashmir, says
that 8,000 to 10,000 people have been
missing during different regimes since
1989 (APDP 2011). This article is based on
Economic & Political Weekly
EPW
JANUARY 31, 2015
intensive research carried Figure 1: Disappearances and Phases of Militancy
Distribution of those disappeared (%)
out over a year that in50.0
50.0
cludes interviews with 150
30.0
30.0
half-widows,2 geographically
spread across nearly 140
8.7
8.7
5.3
5.3
4.0
4.0
2.0
2.0
villages and towns in eight
Outbreak
Containment Turnaround Restoration of Restoration of
districts of the Kashmir Gathering
Storm
(1990-92)
(1993-94)
(1995-96)
Normalcy - I Normalcy - II
(1988-89)
(1997-2005)
(2006-13)
Valley and the Poonch disefforts
made
for
restoration
of
normalcy
trict of Jammu region. Similarly, extensive case studies, interviews and focus had their bearing on the course and
group discussions were conducted with intensity of militancy. The Lahore bus
half-widows, their family members and yatra and Kargil war 1999, the unilateral
stakeholders from different walks of life, ceasefire till May 2001, and the attack
i e, the human rights commission, advo- on the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative
cates, health personnel, academicians, Assembly in October 2001 are examples
government officials, civil society groups, of political initiatives and derailments
of processes.
journalists, and community members.
It is significant to relate the number of
When the Men Disappeared
cases of disappearances of the sample
Bloeria (2012), while providing an over- respondents to different phases of miliview of militancy in Jammu and Kashmir, tancy in Jammu and Kashmir and the
describes five distinct phases of militancy militarisation that followed. Militancy
since it began in September 1988. The in Kashmir was at its peak in the late
first phase is the “gathering storm” that 1990s, the outbreak phase. The Armed
spans the initial two years (1988-1989), Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) was
when militancy was firmly planted on introduced in the state in 1990 to fight
the soil of the state. The second phase, militancy. It saw an exodus of young
“the outbreak”, lasted for three years people across the Line of Control (LoC),
(1990-92) spreading its activities beyond resulting in brutal state action. This reSrinagar, where large-scale kidnapping flects in the data that 30% of disappearand killing took place as well as ethnic ances have taken place in the period
cleansing leading to large-scale migration 1990-92 (Figure 1). Post declaration of
of Kashmiri Pandits. The “containment ceasefire by the Jammu Kashmir Liberaphase”, which lasted for the next two tion Front (JKLF) in 1996, there was a dip
years (1993-1994), saw the establishing in militant action. However, in the latter
of Unified Headquarters (UHQ) to coor- part of 1997, Hizbul Mujahidin made a
dinate the control systems and the full-fledged attempt to revive militancy
launching of the All Parties Hurriyat with little success, which might help
Conference (APHC) of 23 separatist outfits. explain why the highest number of
The fourth phase in the militancy was disappearances (50%) happened in the
that of “turnaround” (1995-1996), when period 1997-2005. This is the first phase
the security forces gained the upper hand of re-establishment of the political process
over the militants and Village Defence and restoration of normalcy. Of the total
150 in the sample survey, 80% of the disCommittees (VDCs) were constituted.
However, during this period a large appearances took place during these
number of foreign terrorists were in- two phases of militancy in the state.
ducted, who in fact effectively took over
the control of the operation from local Who Disappeared?
cadres. The fifth and continuing phase of
militancy is “re-establishment of political
process and restoration of normalcy”.
The electoral process which began in
1996 was further consolidated with
subsequent elections in 1998, 1999,
2004, and local body election in 2005
after a gap of over 27 years. A number of
vol l no 5
The disappeared men are certainly ruralbased; more than 90% were spread across
nearly 140 villages of eight districts of the
Kashmir Valley and the Poonch district
of Jammu region. The concentration of
the disappearances is in the region
of Kashmir with a Muslim majority. The
identified sample shows Muslims (99%)
79
NOTES
Figure 2: Age and Education of the Disappeared (in %)
75
62.7
62
60
45
30
20.7
16
12.7
15
0
4.7
25
<< 25
41-50
>51
25-40
41-50
>51
Age at disappearance
Age at disappearance
and only one was Hindu (Kashmiri Pandit).
Among the Muslims 4% were Shia and
the rest Sunni.
Of the total sample surveyed, most
of the men who disappeared were not
well educated. Nearly 63% of them were
illiterate and 30% had just completed
primary or secondary school education.
Just around 7% were educated beyond
inter level (Figure 2). On the other hand,
the disappeared men were mostly young;
nearly 83% of them were between 25 and
50 years old. Nearly 13% of men were
below the age of 25 when they disappeared. This is why the issue of disappearance becomes more volatile and a reason
for anguish and agitation in the region.
The age, education and geographical
locations seem to be important parameters
when men are picked up either by militants or by state forces. If the conflict of
Kashmir is primarily related to the
struggle for freedom then the young and
illiterate men from rural Kashmir have
fallen prey to the stuggle for azadi and
its consequences. The “azadi” seems to
be of prime importance to the Muslims
and among Muslims, the Sunnis, the
majority in the region.
The disappearances are closely associated to one’s sociopolitical association.
The possible agencies or perpetrators responsible for men’s disappearances in
Jammu and Kashmir, according to the
family members, are either the militant
groups or the state forces; some are sure
and others are not. There are claims and
counterclaims on the same. One is aware
that naming the agency/group/forces
responsible for disappearance is not that
easy and the question of one’s affiliation to
either group would invite trouble. When
asked if her husband was affiliated to any
group, majority of the half widows (85%)
80
14.7
4.7
2
Illiterate
Primary
Intermediate
Graduation
Primary Level
(upSecondary
to 8thSecondary
class)
(9-10 class)
Intermediate Graduation
Level (up to (9-10 class)
Education level
8th class)
Education level
confirmed that their husbands were not
affiliated to any groups or they did not
know about it. However, 9% of women
confirmed that they were aware of their
husbands being affiliated to some militant
groups. Apart from army and militant
disappearances, there are also abductions
and disappearances instigated by the
ikhwanis or renegades. Also, all disappearances have not been caused due to
allegiance with the military or militants.
Many disappearances have been caused
in order to settle personal grudges or for
personal reasons like land disputes,
marital disputes, etc.
Challenges to Democratic Society
When people disappear, there are two
kinds of victims: the individuals who have
gone missing and their families, torn
between despair and hope, living with
uncertainty and pain, waiting for news,
sometimes for decades (ICRC 2014). In a
sense it is not merely the abducted person
who is held hostage. The family and relatives too are held hostage till they are able
to see the person back with them. The
family of the “missing person” faces socioeconomic hardships, physical suffering,
and psychological trauma. In that context
the phenomenon of enforced disappearance has become a severe scourge in
terms of the fear it generates, anxiety it
breeds, fatigue it inflicts, and the psychological strain it imposes on the relatives of
the disappeared (Zahir 2012). The available literature shows that due emphasis is
given to the problem of disappearances
but not sufficiently to the issues of halfwidows who are intimately related to the
problem of disappearances in the conflict
region of Jammu and Kashmir.
Women in this situation of conflict
and violence struggle silently and often
the magnitude of the damage suffered by
them goes unnoticed. This happens often
with the death, disappearance, or disability of the male member in the armed
conflict region (Qutab 2012). In Jammu
and Kashmir, women have not been the
direct targets of violence, yet their suffering is severe and long-drawn. By conservative estimates, there are 1,500 half
widows in Kashmir.3 The various kinds
of socio-economic hardship have effects
on half-widows which in turn deeply affect their children, family and society at
large. Thus, the plight of half widows of
Kashmir is not only a “women’s issue”
but something that affects families,
communities and society as a whole.
The challenges faced by the families
of these victims, their communities and
society are many on varied fronts.
(1) Among the many difficulties of dealing with the phenomenon of enforced
disappearance the first is the anonymity
of the group involved, mainly when
disappeared men are civilians and not
affiliated to any group. As the men were
picked up when they were out of the
house or at workplaces, etc, the family
members and relatives are not sure who
the perpetrators are. When the identity
of the kidnappers is not known, families
do not know what to do to get their
men released.
(2) The second important difficulty is
accessing information on disappeared
persons. The information on disappeared
persons is extremely difficult to come by.
Because of the way these groups operate it
is nearly impossible to obtain precise and
reliable information on the whereabouts
of disappeared persons and their fate.
When the location of the disappeared
person is not known, it is impossible to
initiate concrete searches or legal action.
In Kashmir their families and relatives
have gone from pillar to post, searching
for their missing men. They have gone to
police stations, jails, hospitals, army camps
and far-off villages. Getting reliable information about their whereabouts is an
uphill task for most. In the absence of any
information, families just wait and hope,
as effort after effort proves futile.
(3) Another frustrating difficulty families
face is the inability even to protest. Even
when they do know or have strong
JANUARY 31, 2015
vol l no 5
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Economic & Political Weekly
NOTES
suspicions about the perpetrators responsible for the disappearance, their
political or money power makes families
feel helpless. Any action to secure information or in some cases even to protest
against the crime becomes dangerous.
The family and relatives feel they are
caught between the devil and the deep
blue sea. This is what happened to
a Kashmiri woman, whose husband
suddenly disappeared. Her relatives and
villagers restrained her from lodging
even a first information report (FIR)
against the suspected perpetrator, fearing more disappearances if she did so. A
community leader said, “We are aware
that naming the group or organisation
responsible for disappearance will have
immense consequences.”
(4) Enforced disappearances are complex issues and complexities are multiplied when these happen in conflict
zones or when international terrorists or
militants are involved. Going beyond the
families and communities, in dealing
with enforced disappearances there are
many stakeholders including the state
and they all get involved in the process.
But this presents another difficulty: handling different opinions arising out of
differences between various stakeholders
in the perception of issues and possible
actions. A well-coordinated effort, with
clear, open communication channels
between all the stakeholders is what is
needed. But what often happens is
everyone has a different stand on the
causes and remedies. There have been
instances when politicisation of the issue
has been counterproductive and a hindrance to the process of delicate negotiations with the agencies involved.
(5) Another challenge that all those
interested in the welfare of the disappeared person have to face is the difficult nature of the process of negotiation,
if any, with the agency involved in
abduction or kidnapping. This is an extremely difficult and delicate challenge.
Since negotiation usually means “a give
and take”, there will be different opinions on what to “give”. Yielding to the
demands may mean a compromise on
principles and ethics.
While those who are at a distance may
take an ethical stand of not negotiating
Economic & Political Weekly
EPW
JANUARY 31, 2015
with groups that indulge in human
rights violations, those close to the disappeared person may insist on giving in
to the demands of the abductors in order
to secure the release of the person to
whom they are emotionally attached.
They may take the stand that since
human life is more precious than anything else; any price can be paid in order
to save it. There was vigorous debate in
the US media over the recent release of
the American soldier Bowe Bergdahl
after having been held by the Taliban in
Afghanistan for five years. The Taliban
agreed to free him in exchange for
five Taliban leaders jailed by the US. The
exchange raised many troubling questions and the American public opinion
remains divided. “Opponents fear that
the exchange will encourage hostage
takers worldwide, while supporters said
that no American should be left behind
no matter the cost” (Zlatica 2014).
The challenges posed by “disappearances” are indeed threats to any democratic society. The Kashmir dispute is a
complex, sensitive and polarising issue.
The enforced disappearances of large
numbers of persons in Kashmir have not
evoked much concern in the country as
it should have (Noorani 2003). As Gupta
(2014) says, no army likes to fight its
own people and that too for decades. In
a mature and confident democracy, it is
time that we are more willing to look
within and create space for reconciliation. While people of Kashmir expect an
urgent political solution to the existing
conflict, for family members, the disappearance of close relatives is an issue
that goes beyond the politics of freedom.
Thus, anguish and agitation of those
“waiting in hope for the disappeared”
should evoke national concern and
urgent attention.
Notes
1
The term “half widows” refers to women who
do not know whether their husbands are alive
or dead. Urvashi Butalia mentions that “in
Kashmir there are large numbers of women
who are identified as ‘half widows’ – women
whose husbands are assumed dead but there is
no proof to show they actually are” (2002: xii).
Ritu Dewan used the term to refer to the
women whose husbands were “missing” and
the legal position of their status was yet to be
clarified both by the clergy and the law
(2002: 151). There are references that “halfwidow” is a term coined by the Kashmiri press
vol l no 5
2
3
to describe women whose husbands are missing (Rashid 2011).
The selected samples for the study were only of
the “half widows”, hence the cases of disappearances of men who were not married are
not included in this study. The informal discussions revealed that higher number of disappearances were of young unmarried men. The
analysis is not a reflection of the actual number
of disappearances in Jammu and Kashmir.
The estimate is born by extrapolation from
a three-year door to door survey in district
Baramulla (APDP 2011). The other independent commentators estimate the number of
widows and half widows in Kashmir to be
between 15,000 and 20,000 (Kazi 2009: 148).
There has been no survey providing the exact
number of widows and half widows in the
region. The figures provided by the government and the civil society organisations vary
widely (Qutab 2012).
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