The amnesty International has taken serious notice of the Indian Army’s recent decision to award Major Leetul Gogoi, who used a Kashmiri youth, Farooq Ahmed Dar as a human shield in occupied Kashmir last month. The International watchdog that has time and again voiced its concern over the deteriorating human rights situation in the restive region while reacting to this astounding development said, Tying a man to a jeep in Kashmir purportedly as a shield against stone pelters, shows disdain for human rights. The AI executive director for India, Aakar Patel, in a statement said, Rewarding an officer who was facing a probe for human rights violation suggests that the army was willing to “valorize an act of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment amounting to torture.” “This decision sends the disturbing message to security force personnel and people in Jammu and Kashmir that the human rights of Kashmiris can be casually ignored without fear of punishment. The disregard for the rights of Farooq Dar flies in the face of the commitments made by India recently at the UN Human Rights Council,” Patel said in a statement.It may be recalled here that the Indian army officer Leetul Gogoi who is seen as monster and a symbol of terror in Indian held Kashmir was recently given a commendation card by Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat. The Indian armys decision of awarding the erring officer for forcibly trying a Kashmiri civilian to his jeep has raised genuine questions whether it was an act of commending bravery or valorizing cruelty to suppress people in Kashmir.The resistance leadership in IoK expressed serious resentment saying that the shameful act was tantamount to justifying all the human rights violations. Renowned resistance leader and chairman of Hurriyat Conference Syed Ali Geelani said that the International Court of Justice should take a suo-moto action against Major Leetul Gogoi who had tied a man to a jeep in Kashmir as a human shield in Budgam district on the polling day. Honouring such an officer he said vindicates resistance leaderships claim that this is a state-sponsored policy and if not stopped, it will prove detrimental for human lives. APHC Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said, The decision to commend and honor the army officer for forcibly tying a Kashmir civilian to his jeep, to use him as a human shield and parading him through villages for hours, with no regard for him as a human being, shows that Indian Government as well as its institutions that operate here, have internalized the occupational mindset toward the people of Kashmir, who they see and treat as their serfs and hence have no compunctions in endorsing rather commending and justifying such abhor-able inhuman behavior. Terming the commendation of army officer as act of naked fascism, chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, Muhammad Yasin Malik said that no one should feel surprised over such impunity as fascists and fascism only act this way. Malik said, Honoring an officer who committed a crime that is considered as most disgraceful and cognizable in civilized world has once again proved the fact that Jammu Kashmir is a police state that is run according to whims and wishes of army, police and forces.
On April 9, 2017, the Indian Army jeep had driven through several villages in central Kashmirs Budgam with shawl worker Farooq Dar strapped to it. Pinned to his chest was a note warning that this would be the fate of stone pelters. A video of the incident went viral on social media and invited widespread condemnation. The shocking incident of using an ordinary man as a human shield was also criticized by saner elements within the Indian civilly society, even former Indian army general voiced his concern but the fact remains that fascist mindset is increasingly on display in India. Not to talk about Kashmiris, minorities settled in other states of India continue to suffer due to this growing intolerance and surging of so-called nationalism. In this kind of murky situation the jingoistic Indian media has been playing dangerous rather a treacherous role notwithstanding the ethics and spirit of fair and impartial journalism.
It is needless to mention here that Indian forces are involved in serious war crimes in Kashmir, on one hand killings of innocent civilians, molestation of women, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings continue unabated while on the ther international communitys indifference and pathetic attitude towards the sufferings of Kashmiri people is equally shocking.
It is time that international community should redouble its efforts to seek a peaceful and early settlement of Kashmir dispute to put an immediate end to the unending sufferings of Kashmiris. Matron Luther King has rightly said that tragedy is not the oppression and suppression by the bad people but silence over that by the good people.
