The New Nation - Internet Edition

Dr.Abdul Ruff

Every nation, including the most oppressive one, has instituted a Human Rights Commission with its own agents as its members and chief because UN and other world bodies insist that such forums are mandatory for every sovereign nation. But all the Human Rights commissions operate within the parameter set for them by the ruling dispensation and the Commissions subscribe to the dictates of the government chiefly because it appoints the members-cum-chief and every body in it seek special favors , privileges and depend too much on the government for the future appointment and upward movement in career. Moreover these "specialists" on Human rights are grateful to the government for choosing them precisely when there are better known "specialists' more suited for the job. This in fact makes a mockery of Human rights watchdogs charged with protecting the lives and dignity of every single human being in the country and report dutifully to the concerned authority for suitable punitive masseurs to curb Human rights evasions.

In the absence of any proper code of conduct with heavy human responsibilities by the HR watchdogs, the human rights record is weak everywhere, to state the least. The worst of Human Rights violations take place in jails where the detainees are tortured more cruelly. They inmates" of the jails have no outlets to pronounce their problems and the criminality and brutality they are subjected to in jails even of the so-called "largest democracy" of the world, India. The loyal media, as usual, shut their eyes conveniently.

Tihar jail in Delhi is notorious for its treatment of "inmates" of jail undergoing harshest possible punishment either convicted by a court or even without any trail. Though the jail is in the capital and in the mainland of the city territory. Many political prisoners spent their parts f life in Tihar, including former premier Indira Gandhi for excesses during the infamous Emergency. The treatment meted out to general category of prisoners varies from case to case and from religion to religion. Currently a great sum of prisons undergoing nasty punishment is the so-called "Muslim terrorists". One can very well imagine the plight in jails of this category of " bad guys' as certified by the governments and media in secular India.

India annexed Kashmir valley in 1947 very tactfully immediately after it got independence form Great Britiain and through a systematic process of militarisation of the valley India has made Kashmir a dangerous place and kill the freedom fighting Kashmirs in large numbers. Kashmiris, who are now branded as "terrorists" by New Delhi, are being tracked every where both in Kashmir and India, by the state-sponsored terrorist gangs with Indian license. After nabbing and torturing Kashmiri patriots, the police or military authorities just say that they have dutifully caught some "Kashmiri terrorists" who want to destroy non-terrorist India.

The basically anti-Islamic media in India also dutifully flash out the "news" that are clearly concocted to suit the government's anti-Muslim policy supported by some nasty photographs taken from ankles that give the person arrested look like a film villain, or computerised Osama Laden. Many media "patriots" live just on this job of falsifying the facts and projecting Muslims as "terrorists". When Muslim employees or party workers in various parties don't openly support the anti-Islamic propaganda mechanisms, they are coerced to quit the job or post in parties. And when this is the case in the democratic forums, one can imagine the kind of "democracy' prevailing in closed jails where Muslims are locked up only to appease the Hindu fundamentalists.

Kashmiris are ill-treated much worse in Tihar and other jails. Protest demonstrations by students were conducted in Srinagar, in the face of shocking revelations made by a few from militarised Kashmir incarcerated in Delhi's Tihar jail since the last over two and a half years. Mohammad Rafiq Shah, who was arrested in Srinagar in October 2005 in connection with the Delhi serial blasts case more than two years ago was a student of the Kashmir University's Islamic Studies Department, has written a letter from Tihar Jail, alleging that he was physically and sexually abused inside prison and was being subjected to worst kind of torture. The detailed account of his alleged harrowing experience in Tihar reveals how perverts in authority inside jails can make prison experience for some inmates miserable.

World knows that this indeed is not an isolated example. Already, there are widespread allegations of how Kashmiris are ill-treated in various jails both in and outside the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Acquitted from "Tihar punishment" in the parliament blast case, Prof SAR Geelani, had also pointed out after his release how Kashmiris are singled out in the Tihar jail and subjected to worse kinds of torture, revealing that all was not well within this highly fortified prison, despite the tall claims of several prison reforms having been undertaken here. Obviously, the plight of the other jails is much worse. This only adds to the gravity of the situation that in most of the cases the Kashmiri youth picked up and put behind bars for uncertain number of years, with or without trial, are claimed to be innocent. Even in Shah's case, his family members have been pleading since his arrest that he was not connected with the bomb blasts in any way.

Recently a Kashmiri Altaf was arrested in Kerala on fictitious changes and jailed for over a month before he was released officially (Has he come back to Kashmir?)There is countless number of other arrests that take place, in or outside the state, without the slightest of pretext. It has become the wont of the official investigating agencies to create an accused when they are unable to find the real culprits, thanks to the political pressures, necessitated by misplaced vote bank politics. It is not out of context to say that even the government of Jammu and Kashmir has taken up the issue of harassment of Kashmiri youth with the Centre and several other states in the country.

This rare official admission itself is an indication of the magnitude of the problem. There are both subtle forms of humiliation and harassment and adverse forms like arrests and torture. Noted human rights activists, in her capacity as UN rapporteur on freedom of religion and belief, while concluding her visit to India, has noted that there is a confirmed bias amongst security forces against Kashmiris, acknowledging discrimination against them outside Jammu and Kashmir. She has also pointed out that a number of them have been arrested on the ill-founded suspicions of terrorism.

It is high time that the government arrests this trend of handpicking on Kashmiris on the slightest of suspicion or often no suspicion at all. Equally significant is the need to start a probe into all allegations of arrests of innocents and the torture they are subjected to within prison. If Kashmiris indeed are facing the brunt of xenophobia, in and outside the prisons, it should be a matter of grave concern for the country's leaders and all those who love to talk about the glorious ideals of this democratic country's secularism. Such nefarious activities amount to destroying the foundations of the constitution which protects the human beings and their dignity.

Just claiming itself to be the largest democracy is not enough for India which also should try to quell the inhuman trends in the country harming the genuine interests of Muslims in India and Kashmir. New Delhi should decide, hereafter, not to arrest Muslims on false charges and not jail them for torture course just for fun without proper trial.

UN must be serious in enforcing the stipulated laws and rules related to human rights evasions world wide and consider punitive measures leading to suspension of membership to UN and other world bodies of the defaulting demon countries. India has taken its terrorist actions under the cover of democracy for granted. Its anti-Muslim tactics need to be disarmed.

UN must ask India to vacate Kashmir unilaterally! Where are the Human Rights activists and HR Commissions in India? What are doing in their official bungalows and vehicles, apart from drinking alcohol got by using their official vehicles and enjoy life in official lodgings? Shameless criminal guys!