‘New Civil Disobedience in Kashmir’: Ground Report by 4 Citizens

A group of 4 activists travelled to J&K to research about the impact of Article 370’s revocation.

Anirudh Kala, Brinelle D’Souza, Revati Laul and Shabnam Hashmi.

(Photo Courtesy: A Citizens’ Report/Altered by The Quint)

“Kashmir is on edge – humiliated, angry, disturbed and disrobed,” a journalist told a group of four writers and activists that recently traveled to Kashmir as a part of their fact-finding mission on the impact of the revocation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

Anirudh Kala, a psychiatrist and writer based in Ludhiana, Revati Laul, a Delhi-based journalist and writer, Brinelle D’Souza, an academic, activist and public health professional from Mumbai, and Shabnam Hashmi, a social activist, came out with #KashmirCivilDisobdeience — A Citizens’ Report on Saturday, 12 October.

The 76-page report, which includes personal accounts of the locals, claims to have dug deeper into the effects of the security clampdown and communication blockade than any other written reports have done so far.

The report states, “The Indian government has spun the story that their clampdown on civil liberties in Kashmir with an increased military presence, summary arrests of all mainstream and separatist leaders and the communication blockade has made the unfolding of this new reality peaceful.”

The group travelled to Kashmir between 23-30 September and to Jammu between 6-7 October.

‘No Violence Because of People's Resiliance’

The group said that it has been an active and collective choice of the people to observe civil disobedience every day. The fact that there is no violence has to be attributed to their resilience, the report said.

“Most people we met told us they were keeping their shops and offices closed not under any call by militants or separatists or political leaders, but as an act of resistance against the Indian state,” reads the report.

The report adds that the collective shock that people in Kashmir have faced is part of the reason why they are “no longer interested in talks with the Indian government”.

‘Every Interaction an Emotional Outburst’

The group claims to have spoken to a wide range of people, right from politicians, bureaucrats to homemakers, traders, students, poets and others.

“From Srinagar to Baramulla to Anantnag to Badgam and Jammu, all had one thing in common — every single interaction was an emotional outpouring. So we decided to write about what has gone amiss in the day to day lives of people and to present that as an emotional landscape,” the report stated.

The group is also said to have come across many anecdotes about how the armed forces and para-military together “forced people to keep their shops open.”

The report said that it is at their behest that Kashmiris can be arrested and, hence, they are scared of.

The four citizens stated that their research has shown a different picture of Jammu, in regards to how the media has reported about it.

Even though there is no such civil disobedience and communication is more or less relaxed in Jammu, businesses have suffered drastically.

“Kashmir has had one eye taken out, Jammu has had both eyes removed,” said one of the transporters the group met, as the 35,000 crore businesses in the city is witnessing one trip in four days, in comparison to 500 trucks taking a trip a day.

The group, however, claimed that the worst stories of trauma belong to students of various minorities studying at Jammu University, who said that they consider themselves to be ‘second class citizens.’

What Recommendations Do They Have for the Govt?

Immediate restoration of Articles 370 and 35A and statehood, release of all political leaders, social activists, children and restoration of mobile and internet services are some of the demands that the group has penned down for the government.

While it contains a long list, here are some other demands:

• Withdraw army and paramilitary forces
• Immediate steps to restore people's faith in democracy
• Restore tourism and all other livelihood activities
• Digitise records — land records, hospital records, jail records
• Provide mental health services in every district with immediate effect as mandated under the Mental Health Care Act, 2017

Apart from the government, the group has also laid down urgent demands for the judiciary, the civil society, media and national and international human rights organisations to build more engagement and solidarity at all levels.

The group, which has broken down the report into chapters like, 'The Big Picture or Why We Wrote It,' 'Who We Are,' 'Civil Disobedience,' 'Trauma,' 'Love and Resilience', etc, urges people to translate it into various languages and spread it across India.