Protests in Indian Kashmir: How Violent Will It Get?
From Flickr user ArtisteInconnu
Angry Youth
Kashmir is a long-contested region jointly controlled by India and Pakistan. Around 12 million people live in the predominantly Muslim region. There have been numerous wars and episodes of violence in this region, but between 2004 and 2008, peace talks between India and Pakistan helped to create a somewhat calmer state. 
That all changed in early June, when protests began again denouncing Indian rule and its military presence. A 17-year-old boy, Faizan Ahmad Buhroo, died after being hit by a tear gas shell fired by police during one independence demonstration. His death triggered new protests and strikes.
Bans on social media, police intimidation, demonstration, and curfews have become a normal way of life for Kashmiris speaking and acting out in protest of India’s hard-handed rule of the region. With more action by the Indian government to quash any efforts by Kashmiris to mobilize and organize, and increasing violence on the ground, how will they move forward?
Unarmed Kashmiris have reacted by taking to the streets and pelting stones at the Indian Army. The military, in return, has responded with tear gas and gunfire. Since the teenager’s death, 44 more Kashmiris have been killed, often by gunfire from Indian forces. Each death has renewed residents’ anger toward the Indian government. On August 1 alone, now dubbed “Bloody Sunday,” 10 more civilians were killed.
The Indian government blames the unrest on Pakistani insurgents, but local leaders pin it to the large youth population. "Linking the genuine anger and anguish among people with terrorism is nothing short of an assault on their self-respect and dignity," said former chief minister Mufti Sayeed of the pro-India People's Democratic Party. The government’s terrorism claim appears to be an easy answer to a much more challenging problem rooted in a younger generation that has grown up amidst turmoil and that, upon reaching adulthood, struggles to find a livelihood: there are an estimated 400,000 unemployed young people in Kashmir.
Quashing Protest
The government has attempted to suppress any organizing by the Kashmiris through a variety of measures. There have been citywide lockdowns in locations where protests have been held and curfews have been imposed in many towns in North Kashmir. The Indian police has also been arresting hundreds of participants under the Public Safety Act, a law that enables security forces to arrest Kashmiris and hold them for up to two years without trial. Another law, the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, gives security forces the right to shoot and search insurgents.
The purchase of prepaid cell phones was temporarily banned last fall; while the ban has since been lifted, users must go through verification procedures. A ban on SMS text messaging has been in place since June. Omar Abdullah, Kashmir’s chief minister, claims that blocking text messages is not a violation of free speech but a way to control protesters, saying, "Democracy has responsibilities. It gives you rights, but how you use it also has repercussions in Kashmir that can be deadly.” These moves severely limit the ability of Kashmiris to communicate with one another and organize.
Many youths have also taken to social networking sites like Facebook to share footage and images of the protests. Twenty-four-year-old Showket Ahmed said, "Facebook and YouTube have provided us a platform to convey our aspirations and frustrations to the world. Facebook groups like “Go India Go Back Leave our Kashmir” have cropped up over the past few months, and "I PROTEST," a page set up by an unknown user that encourages other Facebook users to set their status to "I protest" to express their outrage at the situation.
Another 27-year-old decided to share a video of teenagers bleeding to death after being shot by the police to give those outside the region an idea of what is going on. He stated, “Indian media never shows such pictures. There was no mischievous intent on my part. People here already know everything...I wanted the outside world to see.”
Yet more and more outlets for their voices are being shut down by the government, and new claims of police intimidation of youths using Facebook and YouTube has led many to stop using the platforms. Coalition of Civil Society, one of the largest rights groups in Kashmir, said that some Kashmiris are being asked to report to police stations. Khurram Parvez, one of the group’s coordinators, argued, "It is intimidation, nothing else. The protests by Kashmiri youth even on virtual spaces like Facebook are not being tolerated, not to speak of the fate meted out to the protesters on the streets of Kashmir. The democratic space for dissent in Kashmir is choked.” Another Kashmiri man told the AFP that he deactivated his Facebook account after speaking with the police. "They (police) told us we can't book you for using Facebook or YouTube but we can easily implicate you in other serious crimes if you don't mend your ways," he said.
In this report from NDTV, an Indian news channel, you can view scenes from the dire situation on the ground and learn more about "I PROTEST."
So How Can Kashmiri Youth Be Heard?
Farrukh Faheem, a Delhi University professor who comes from Kashmir, shared his thoughts on the growing frustration, saying. “They have turned Kashmir into a prison. You are not allowed to have a peaceful protest. You are not allowed to express your view on Facebook. What the state is trying to convey is that ‘No matter what you do, we are going to crush you.’”
On Tuesday, August 10, while thousands were marching in protest near the city of Srinagar, Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India, urged Kashmiris to end their violent protests. He also expressed regret about the lives lost and claimed that going forward, policies would focus on Kashmiri youth and strengthening democratic institutions. Members of separatist alliances dismissed Singh's statements as "meaningless" and without any substantive action on the ground to reach out and listen to the protesters on the ground, it seems unlikely that any progress will be made in the immediate future.
Youth on the ground appear to be growing angrier, defying curfews and attempting to light a police building on fire. As options for expressing dissent dwindle, will Kashmiri youth turn to violence? To the extent that Kashmiris have internet access, just how consistently censored is social media in the region? What role, if any, is SMS playing?
Learn More
We've put together a page dedicated to the events surrounding the protests in Kashmir where you can learn about different Facebook pages being created, videos being uploaded to YouTube, and bloggers and Twitter users to follow. Check it out here. Don't forget to add links, thoughts, and information in the comment section—we will update it continually.
