Month: January 2020

A retired academic and social activist Muslim Jan was detained on Oct. 15 for protesting against the continued detention of political leaders in Indian-administered Kashmir.

After scrapping Article 370 on 5 August last year, the Central government launched a massive crackdown in the region detaining people including mainstream and separatist leaders — many of whom continue to be incarcerated in different jails far from their homes.

Srinagar: On August 26, a young patient running a high fever was rushed to the out-patient department of S.M.H.S. Hospital in Srinagar. The junior doctor on duty was caught in a predicament when he found the patient’s symptoms didn’t fit any particular diagnosis.

The Jammu and Kashmir administration has slapped 662 individuals with the Public Safety Act (PSA) this year, out of which 412 were booked under the stringent law after 5 August when the Narendra Modi government revoked Article 370.

“Internet hai toh job hai [If there is internet, there is a job],” said 32-year-old Shahid Wani, who lives in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district.

The last time he was able to access the internet was on August 4. Wani worked with Cenedex India Limited, a private software company with a branch in Srinagar.

The Modi government’s brutal policies towards Kashmir and Kashmiris have driven the region to look for newer ways of resistance.

It’s been five months since India put the entire region of Jammu and Kashmir under a military siege. After abrogating Article 370 of the Indian constitution in August, the Indian government stripped Kashmir of its special status.