Locking up peaceful protesters is State Terrorism: Lalit k kaul

 

Locking up peaceful protesters is State Terrorism                                                                                   Lalit K Kaul

From the tweets of journalists and those who frequent TV channels for participating in debates, the information obtained is that peacefully protesting Kashmiri Pandits have been locked up inside their residences. If factual, then this act of the State machinery is totally in violation of the Constitution of India as it impinges on their human rights.

Terrorism Categorization:

Terrorism is of two kinds; Gross and Subtle.

Gross terrorism: It was experienced in Punjab and it continues to hold sway in J&K, since 1986. The object is to eliminate those who don’t fall in line with the political ideology of the gun wielding self proclaimed revolutionaries; in Punjab it was about establishing “Khalistan” and in J&K it was about Azadi from Indian Union to establish an independent sovereign Nation State; concomitant with it was the movement for merger of J&K with Pakistan; though absurdly contradicting ones yet they combined to wield power of the gun to inflict barbarism on Kashmiris and the people in Jammu region.

This kind of terrorism was dutifully taken head on by the Indian State as it’s duty bound to protect its geo political boundaries. The process is still ON in J&K.

Subtle Terrorism:

Locking up of peaceful protesters preceded by excesses done by the Police is Subtle one because the State inflicts it on citizens to administer things in its way while being insensitive to the sensibilities of ordinary citizens. In the present case the Kashmiri Pandits are in focus, but high handedness of State machinery has been demonstrated many a times in independent India.

It’s terrorism by State because it impinges on Human Rights of citizens and that’s violative of the Constitution of India.

Article 2 of the Constitution:

It states,”  Everyone’s right to life shall be protected by law. No one shall be deprived of his life intentionally save in the execution of a sentence of a court following his conviction of a crime for which the penalty is provided by law”

Article 21 of the Constitution:

“Protection of life and personal liberty: No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established in law”

This fundamental right is available to every person, citizens and foreigners alike.

SC Interpretation of Right to Life:

It has interpreted right to life as Right to Dignified Life.

Importance of Right to Life:

This is most important right in one sense, because without this right to life, all other fundamental rights would be meaningless. It’s this right that differentiates between a Police State and Constitutional State.

LG has failed to uphold Rights guaranteed by the Constitution:

The LG’s governance has failed to uphold Art 2 & 21 of the Constitution; in regard to Kashmiris and non Kashmiris living in Valley to earn their livelihoods. The Kashmiri Pandits have been protesting against ever impending threat to their right to live with dignity and the government’s response has been like that of a despot.

LG is not authorized to deprive anyone of his life or personal liberty; yet he has like a despot deprived the Kashmiri Pandits of their personal liberty by locking them up in their premises. This is qualitatively no different from the CCP’s alleged behavior towards Uyghur Muslims in China. The LG by locking up the Pandit families has sort of created concentration camp for them with no supervision available to an outsider.

Threat to Life is not Guaranteed in Constitution, Mr. LG:

The Constitution of India doesn’t provide for facilitating execution of threat to life of a citizen; therefore, your government, Mr. LG, having failed to protect lives of Kashmiris and outsiders within the UT doesn’t qualify you to hold them hostage to achieve certain political goals.

Mr. LG, success of a miserably failing plot cannot be pronounced on corpses of ordinary citizens. Politics based on falsehoods is bound to create more problems than solve any. The never ending process of gunning down citizens in J&K is the result of such degenerate politics. While those instigating such killings are allowed to roam free in the Valley and other parts of India your despotism motivates you to lock up people who are protesting to ensure their Right to Dignified Life!

Where is HM, Mr. LG?

In a UT maintaining civil order and providing protection to life and property of its citizens is the responsibility of the Union Government. Under which Art of the Constitution of India did the HM decree that Kashmiri Pandits be locked up in their respective residences? Those who swear by democracy and democratic principles have proved to be no less autocratic than their predecessors whom they never failed to criticize for their unconstitutional acts.

The ever-Instigating Politicians:

The erstwhile J&K State and now the UT have been victims of opportunistic politicians within and without the region. Instead of locking up ordinary citizens   the HM should have the political conviction and courage to put behind the bars the politicians like Abdullahs Muftis Asaddudin Owaisi Akbaruddin Owaisi Kejriwal Mamta et al who keep instigating the gullible to achieve objects inimical to the interests and integrity of Indian Nation; the ones who went to the extent of questioning Surgical strikes and CAA; those politicians who during W Bengal elections pronounced their political aim to create more number of Pakistan  if voted to power and the list is very long of such anti national elements who are roaming free with full security provided. Those politicians who sought help from Pakistan to dethrone democratically elected NDA government are roaming free. Why, Mr. HM?

Every Citizen has an undeniable choice of place and profession:

And they cannot be deprived of that choice. The Kashmiri Pandits seeing threat to their lives want to resign enmasse from their jobs and move to safer places; they can’t be barricaded for it. No law-abiding citizen can be made into a sacrificial goat just to achieve certain political ends.

The claim of normalcy in J&K can’t be sustained by blocking free choice for the Pandits or, for that matter, of any citizen living by law of the land.

If normalcy is to be restored in J&K then the politics that dehumanized Kashmiri society beginning 1986 has to change; its content has to migrate from being dishonest to being honest. Politics may be ‘Art of The Possible”, yet it can’t be completely devoid of values.

If you Mr. LG have any respect for the Constitution of India then you must allow the Pandits and everyone else to exercise their right to choose to live and work in a place that ensures safety of their life, dignity and property.