Indian rights groups can help seek end to the current impasse in Valley
Civil society intervention is imperative to hold governments responsible for the human rights violations in any part of the world. Indian civil society is known for espousing issues ranging from domestic and civil rights to environmental and industrial hazards. They have also been actively campaigning against the human rights violations particularly in the North East and Kashmir.
Various civil society groups have been visiting the valley since 1990s, taking stock of the ground situation, compiling reports and urging New Delhi to address the genuine grievances of Kashmiris. They have also been highlighting the excesses committed by army and paramilitary forces as well as the militants. In the current scenario when Kashmir is witnessing unabated civilian killings, the role of rights groups, particularly the Indian groups, assumes important role. With no breakthrough presently in sight, they can help in seeking one. They can convey the real situation in the valley to Indian people who are largely fed on media reports and often lack proper perspective. The Indian mainstream media, with some exceptions, is known to toe the line of government as far as Kashmir situation is concerned. This gives the audiences and readers only one side of the picture. Here the civil society can serve as an objective alterative medium of information, uncovering the inconsistencies in the news coverage and revealing the truth. By making people outside Kashmir aware of the situation in the valley, these pressure groups can help mobilize public opinion to question government’s policy even seeking redress to the concerned issues. More the rights groups involved, more would be the impact. An Indian civil society team is currently in the valley to assess the situation arising of the civilian killings. The team led by noted social activist Swami Agnivesh visited SK Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) Monday to enquire about the health of those injured in police and CRPF action over the last three months. They also staged a sit-in in solidarity with the victims on Tuesday criticizing the conduct of paramilitary CRPF and police and seeking an immediate end to the civilian killings. The team’s visit augurs well as far as the need for civil society initiative in the current crisis is concerned more so as the local rights groups usually go unheard at New Delhi. The visit by Agnivesh and others should pave way for other such groups to come down to Srinagar so as to acquaint themselves of the ground reality. Once they are convinced about the real issues in the valley, they can convey the same back to people of India and build pressure on New Delhi to take concrete measures to restore peace in the valley.
