NEW DELHI: The Forum for Human Rights in Jammu and Kashmir has urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to hold free and fair elections to the Legislative Assembly within the Supreme Court’s deadline of September 30, 2024, and restore the political right to representation of people of J&K.
The Forum comprises an informal group of concerned citizens who believe that, in the prevailing situation in the former state, an independent initiative is required so that continuing human rights violations do not go unnoticed. The Forum is co-chaired by Gopal Pillai, former Home Secretary, Government of India, and Radha Kumar, former member, of the Group of Interlocutors for Jammu and Kashmir besides members of the civil society and peace activists.
This is the fifth annual report of the forum that has compiled details of the prevailing situation and lays out a human rights agenda for the newly elected administration and legislators. The hope is that the issue will attract priority attention in Jammu and Kashmir, the report mentions.
The report of the Forum urges all those involved to prioritize human rights and democratic principles in J&K. Restoring political processes and civil liberties is crucial for the region’s stability and development.
Election Concerns
The report notes, “Delay in the announcement of election dates has given rise to speculation that the legislative assembly might be postponed beyond the Supreme Court’s deadline of September 30, 2024, possibly on grounds of rising militant attacks.” It says, “Analysts point out that delay would be counterproductive. It will increase alienation and might play into the hands of spoilers.”
It expresses its “dismay over the pre-election grant of overweening powers to the Lieutenant-Governor. There are worrying indications of pre-emptive actions to limit an elected administration’s capacity to govern even before legislative assembly elections are held. The new administrative rules issued on July 12, 2024, allocate key powers over the police, bureaucracy, attorney-general and prosecutorial services to the L-G, setting up a potential standoff between the elected administration on one side, and a nominated authority, civil and police services on the other, as happened in Delhi.”
Demand for restoration of statehood
The Forum opines, “The new rules also cast doubt on whether statehood will be restored, when and in which form. Will they apply only as long as Jammu and Kashmir is a Union Territory or will they apply also when statehood is restored as promised? Up until now, it was assumed that restoration of statehood meant restoration of full statehood. The new rules suggest the Union administration is contemplating a Delhi-type hybrid instead.”
Insecurity persists
On the security front, the report says, “Targeted attacks on Pandits and migrant workers – both Hindu and Muslim – continue. The number of civilian lives lost due to armed attacks and counter-insurgency operations is much the same as in the previous year (20 between August 1, 2023 – July 20, 2024). The number of security forces casualties, including police and Central Reserve Police Forces (CRPF), continue to be unacceptably high (33 between August 1, 2023-July 20, 2024). As a result of growing militancy in Jammu, village defence guards (VDCs) have also been targeted.”
Spread of militancy in Jammu and south Kashmir
It notes with concern, “After decades of peace, the bordering areas of Poonch and Rajouri districts in Jammu division re-emerged as a locus for militancy with cross- border infiltration from Pakistani-held territories of the former state in 2022-2023. Armed attacks on civilians and security forces have now spread through Poonch-Rajouri to Doda and Kathua and further, to bordering districts of south Kashmir such as Pulwama. The forest belts connecting these districts have been traditional routes of infiltration since the 1948 invasion by Pakistani tribals supported by the Pakistan army.”
Continuing civil rights abuses
The Forum alleges, “There has been little improvement in gross violations of the freedom of expression and movement, especially the rights of the media to a safe working environment. Arrests of students, journalists, lawyers and even a businessman under draconian legislation such as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Public Safety Act (PSA) continue, despite judicial attempts to limit their application.
Citing news reports from official sources, the Forum report says, “Over 2,700 people were booked under the UAPA and PSA between 2020 and December 2023, 1,100 of them as ‘overground workers’ or facilitators of armed insurgents. One ray of hope is rising trend of judges quashing arrests and/or granting bail in 2023-2024, a far higher number than in the previous four years.”
Custodial deaths and torture
It notes, “Perhaps the most grievous incident of torture and custodial deaths by troops since the decline of insurgency in the early 2000s occurred in December 2023.
After four Indian soldiers were killed and three others wounded in a terror attack, soldiers of the 48 Rashtriya Rifles took 25 men into custody for questioning from five villages in Rajouri and Poonch. The men were allegedly tortured at three different army bases: Mastandra army post, Dera Ki Gali and Bafliaz. The army’s enquiry accepts that there was torture and three men died in custody.”
Crimes against Scheduled Castes and Tribes
The Forum report observes, “Incidents of crimes against Scheduled Castes have increased from 0.20 (per 100,000) in 2020-2021 to 1.20 in 2023-2024; in the same period, crimes against Scheduled Tribes have gone from 0 per 100,000 to 0.10.
Crimes against women and children
Quoting figures available from police records, the Forum has pointed out that “crimes against women and children is only available up to 2022. It shows that the former have decreased slightly from 3,937 in 2021 to 3,716 in 2022, while the latter have increased sharply, from 470 in 2019 to 920 in 2022.”
Economy of Jammu & Kashmir
The report referring to Economic Survey 2023-2024 says, “Jammu and Kashmir’s economy has not recovered to its state pre-2019. Between April 2015-March 2019, the state’s net domestic product (NSDP) grew at an average of 13.28 percent (including Ladakh); after it became a Union Territory (excluding Ladakh), the NSDP growth rate averaged to 8.73 percent.
Similarly, the per capita NSDP growth rate was 12.31 percent between April 2015-March 2019; it was 8.41 percent between April 2019-March 2024. Even discounting the loss years of 2016-2017 (intense stone-pelting agitations), 2019-2020 (lockdown to prevent protest against the removal of special status and the Reorganization Act), and 2020-2021 (Covid-19 lockdowns), the pre-2019 NSDP and per capita NSDP growth rates were better than post-2019, the former at 15.61 per cent against 13.79 percent, and the latter at 14.63 percent against 12.97 percent.”
Unemployment and drug abuse
“At 10.7 percent for April 2023-March 2024,” the Forum report points out, “unemployment for all ages is 4 percentage points higher than the all-India average of 6.6 percent; youth unemployment is as high as 18.3 percent. The Forum’s 2023 report had pointed out that unemployment and drug abuse were closely related in Jammu and Kashmir, as they are in Punjab. According to the Union Ministry of Health, Jammu and Kashmir is among the top two states and union territories for drug abuse, with an estimated 900,000 habitual drug users, roughly 1 in 130.”
Impact of duty cuts on local industry
The report says, “Union Finance Ministry’s 20 percent cut in import duties on walnuts and apples has led to lower-priced walnuts being imported from China, Turkey and the United States (U.S.), further impacting Kashmiri walnut farmers, whose prices are higher due to the cost of labour and lack of irrigation facilities. Similarly, the ministry’s slashing of the import duty on Washington apples from 70 to 50 per cent has constituted a further setback for apple growers. Kashmiri saffron has also suffered due to the tax-free import of Iranian saffron, leading to a large reduction in Kashmiri saffron production.”
Land acquisition
Land acquisition policies continue to be implemented high-handedly; this time the issue is of acquisition for an all-weather railway line to Pahalgam for the Amarnath pilgrimage.
Human development deficits
Quoting the UNDP-NITI Aayog’s 2023-2024 report on India’s performance on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), The Forum says, “Jammu and Kashmir now scores at 74, slightly above the all-India score of 71. However, the report has been widely criticised for its methodology and data sources. For example, it gives Jammu and Kashmir 81 on SDG-16 – peace, justice and strong institutions – for 2023-2024, up from 69 in the base year 2018. But it has chosen only the first of four indicators listed to measure progress – murders per 100,000 of the population – while omitting data on the number of conflict-related deaths or the proportion of people who feel safe walking around.”
It points out, “The data used has also changed from report to report. On sex ratios the data source used in 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 was the Ministry of Home Affairs’ (Office of the Registrar General of India) Sample Registration System, but in 2023-2024 it was the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s National Family Health Survey. The result is that the reports suggest an increase in the sex ratio from 917 in 2019-2020 to 976 in 2023-2024, which appears to be statistically impossible without a large influx of women immigrants.”
“Leaving criticism aside,” The Forum says, “the index shows little improvement on key goals such as SDG-1 (no poverty), which was awarded 61 on 100 in 2018, fell to 58 in 2019-2020 and rose to 64 in 2023-2024. Gender equality (SDG-5) surprisingly jumped from 33 in 2018 to 53 in 2019-2020 – was there more equality under the lockdown? – and remained at that relatively low level in 2023-2024. Environmental protections, including forest cover, fell from 74 in 2018 to 61 in 2023-2024. Quality education, which was a low 51 in 2018, was a low 55 in 2023-2024.”
It says, “Similarly, while child mortality rates (under five, per 1000 live births) dropped from 38 to 17 between 2019-2024, the proportion of pregnant women who are anaemic rose from 38.1 percent to 44.1 percent. The literacy rate (>15 years) fell from 76.4 percent in 2020 to 74.4 percent in 2023-24. On the plus side, the average annual dropout rate at the secondary level (Class IX and X) has also declined from 17.81 per cent to 6 per cent over the same period.”
Suicide and depression
The report of the Forum says, “It is estimated that 55.72 percent of the Jammu and Kashmir population suffer from depression, with the highest numbers being young people between the ages of 15-35. In rural areas, female depression rates were estimated to be around 93.10 percent as compared to males at 6.8 percent. Suicide rates have gone up from 2.10 per 100,000 in 2020 to 2.40 in 2023-2024.”
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