KASHMIR LEADER DESK
Srinagar: 80-year-old widow, Taja Begum stumbles barefoot across heaps of scattered rubble and detritus of her two story house, highlighting the plight of hundreds of people in Kashmir whose houses are being dam- aged during the encounters between the militants and government forces since the onset of militancy. A two decade old armed rebellion which engulfed this northern Indian state in 1990 witnessed destruction of the public property at large scale be- sides the killings and bloodshed. There are hundreds of residential houses razed to ground during the fierce gun battles, which takes place between the army and the militants. For 80 year old Taja Begum, living in North Kashmir’s Rajwar area of Handwara town, December 2, 2013 was the most dreadful day of her life. That day three militants barged in her house. As army got the tip-off about the presence of militants, a fierce gun battle began between them. As all the three militants were killed during the encounter, Taja Begum says she lost everything on that day. September2015 2015 Kashmir Leader December Taking long breathes as she narrates the incident, Taja, who used to live with her two sons in her two story mud house, says army asked them to vacate the dwelling. Police records reveals that more than 15 thousand rounds of bullets were fired and 750 grenades were hurled to gun down the militants. “I spent my life, collecting the house holds; my husband, who died three years earlier, worked from dawn to dusk to build a house for us. Every- thing got destroyed.
There is nothing left except the debris indicating that once a house of someone used to be here,” Taja said. During the anti-militancy operations, it has become a routine that whenever there is an encounter be- tween the militants and the army more than one house are razed to the ground to ensure militants are dead. The victims whose houses are being damaged see no government aid coming for their assistance. They are left to fend for themselves. The compensation given by the government, according to victims is too meagre that it could not even bear the costs of a plinth of the house. Victims say the process of getting the relief amounts sanctioned is hectic and officials adopt delay tactics is get- ting the cases approved. Imtiyaz Ahmad, a north Kashmir resident in the winter of 2010 saw his home being razed to ground during the 70 hour long encounter between militants and army. While recalling the fateful day, Imitiyaz said that the mili- tants were hiding in one of the houses of his neighbourhood when the army got information about their presence. “The mortar shells which were fired to kill militants, destroyed everything. Even when five years have passed, there are only bricks and stones left as the horrible relics of that day,” says Imtiyaz. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the Government of In- dia has sanctioned a scheme in the year 2010 for assistance towards damaged immovable/movable property during action by army in Jammu & Kashmir.
As per the scheme, the amount of relief will be to the extent of the total loss/ damage assessed by the District Level Committee and subject to an upper ceiling of Rs. 10 lakhs. But the victims contradict the gov- ernment claims, saying they get mea- gre amounts as compensation that too after much time consuming official procedure.
There are hundreds of residential houses razed to ground during the fierce gun battles, which takes place between the army and the militants.
Muzaffar Ahmad, who lost his two story house in July this year, says there was no one from the government coming for help. “There were few locals in my area who donated money and I constructed a teen shed at the place where my house once stood. After the encounter, an official from the district admin- istration came for the inspection and recorded my statement. But I haven’t received any compensation till date,” Muzzafar said. Recalling the dreadful day when his house got devastated, a ma- son by profession, Muzzaffar says he heard few gun shots outside his house and ran with his children in his lap. “We all got terrified as the encounter between the militants and forces took place just outside my house. The army thought the militants have taken shelter in my house and they brought it down with explosives,” he added. A top government official off the record said that the process for ap- proving the compensation amount takes time because of the lengthy procedure in vogue. He says the government could not pay any com- pensation to those who
During the anti-militancy operations, it has become a routine that whenever there is an encounter between the militants and the army more than one house are razed to the ground to ensure militants are dead. The victims whose houses are being damaged see no government aid coming for their assistance. They are left to fend for themselves.
deliberately give shelter to victims in their houses. “To ascertain whether the victim is a militant sympathiser or not, takes time. In cases where we find no fault of the owner of the house, compensation is given after completion of all formalities,” says the official while pleading anonymity because he is not authorised to speak over the issue. The locals also accuse the government of not sanitising the en- counters sites and hence exposing them to the worst dangers. For example, an 11-year-old boy, Junaid Ahmad Dar, died when a live shell exploded in his home in Ladoora village of Rafiabad on September 6, this year. According to his family, Junaid found the shell in the debris of houses which were demolished by government forces during the encounter in which a lo- cal militant and an army trooper were killed. Family says the mi- nor took the shell to his home, where it exploded, injuring him and partially damaging the up- per story of the house.
To ascertain whether the victim is a militant sympathiser or not, takes time. In cases where we find no fault of the owner of the house, compensation is given after completion of all formalities,” says the official while pleading anonymity.
In the year 2011, 19-year-old Adil Yusuf and 9-year-old Obaid Yusuf died when a grenade exploded near the encounter site in Rathsuna village of South Kash- mir. According to the locals of the area, the duo had picked up “a round shaped object” and started fiddling with it. It exploded, killing both the boys on spot. State police chief K Rajendra Kumar said that effective strategy needs to be adopted in anti- militancy operations to avoid col- lateral damage. “Anti-militancy operations need to be conducted, adopting an effective strategy to avoid collateral damages and un- necessary inconvenience to law abiding people,” he said. According to a defence spokes- person, there were at least 29 militants killed in various encounters killed in Kashmir in 2015.
Many of these militants were killed during different gunfights in south Kashmir areas particularly in the forests of Shopian, Tral and Kulgam. “ Kashmir’s renowned author, M Ashraf who has written extensively on Kashmir conflict says the forces seem to be taking Kashmir as enemy territory and are making an attempt to frighten the civilian population into sub- mission so that the militants do not get any shelter or food. “On one hand some top officers are following policy of befriending civilian population through various programes while on the other hand some others are alienating the population more and more. he said. However, says Ashraf, these acts have been going on now for couple of decades and the number of youth already killed exceeds over a hundred thousand. Ac- cording to him, India is a signatory to Geneva Convention and is bound by its rules concerning all types of armed conflict. “In spite of this they have given only limited access to ICRC. They can visit and try to improve the conditions of detenues only.”
