Jammu and Kashmir, India
Borders, Bullets and Books
A Visual Narrative
The picturesque Kashmir valley in the western Himalayas, claimed by both India and Pakistan, has witnessed decades of conflict. The conflict has led to a lot of displacement, disappearances and deaths. Disrupting daily lives of Kashmiri people with generations that have grown up surrounded by violence in a heavily militarised area. This visual narrative presents the situation of education and daily lives in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and how decades of conflict is impacting it.
by Purvika Sharma
16 June, 2022
Jammu & Kashmir
Situated in the western Himalayas, J&K is the northernmost Union Territory of India. It is known for its cashmere wool, saffron, handicrafts, and a landscape of snow-capped mountains, wide valleys with fruit orchards and meandering glacier-fed rivers. The complex contemporary history of J&K can be traced since 1947, India and Pakistan’s independence from the British.
Militancy and Militarisation
This violence erupts due to both rise of militancy and militarisation in the Kashmir valley.
"The presence of Indian armed forces in civilian spaces compromises not only the security of the civilian population but impedes and restricts the safe and free access to education for children"
Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act(AFSPA), is an Indian act that gives special powers to the Indian Armed Forces to maintain public order in “disturbed areas”. The militarisation in the region has created insecurity and fear amongst the population.
“Schools and other educational institutions have been used as military bases, interrogation centres, and military posts”. The continued military use of schools in J&K not only violates children’s right to education but also forces them to be in risk of sexual violence, surveillance,and harassment at the hands of armed forces.
"As far as Kashmir is concerned, Pakistan's modus operandi continues to remain the same over the years - infiltrate Pakistani terrorists into the valley in numbers, sizable enough to create and operate cellular groups of 3-4 terrorists, comprising at least one local boy"
Senior security official to The Economic Times (Jan, 2022).
There are several terrorist group responsible for committing attacks against civilians and Indian security forces which have the backing of senior officers from the Pakistani Army or Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) (Schwartz, 2006).
State actions such as arrests, crackdowns, use of violence and laws like AFSPA, has resulted in anti-India sentiment amongst the kashmiris, which has further led to what the analysts call “new militancy”. The militant movement is dominated by the locals and social media facilitates mass radicalisation and the spread of anti-India propaganda (Shivamurthy, 2021).
Most children join protests because of their own bitter experiences.
"They are children of conflict. These children on many occasions have witnessed brutalities"
Sheikh Mushtaq, a Srinagar-based journalist (Saha, 2018).
The timeline below shows important years in the recent past in J&K that saw violence and unrest. Each year had some violence and attacks but the years highlighted are the ones that had a large number of killings, protests, riots, violence and unrest and consequently affecting education.
2000-2010
Years of Insurgency
The issue of insurgency in J&K started in early 80’s and continues till date. In the early 2000’s, the number of terrorist related incidents were really high. The 4 years (2000-2003) following the Kargil war witnessed over 2000 terrorist incidents each year.
The Kashmir conflict is multi-faceted. It has affected the people living in the region, especially children. There are children who’ve spent their entire childhood living in a conflict which has affected them mentally, physically and emotionally. A present day 20-year old Kashmiri has grown up in a militarised region. Children in J&K are the lesser known victims of the violence. Since the start of insurgency against India, children in J&K have suffered and became targets as being part of the population.
Source: South Asian Terrorism Portal
No data available for 2000
Source: Observer Research Foundation
The number of working days affected due to strikes, protest and curfews in 2001 and 2010 were high. There were phases when the situation improved or deteriorated. These strikes, protests and curfews disrupts normal life. If the schools are open, it affects transport which leads to difficulties reaching schools for both teachers and students. Furthermore, parents are in constant fear in such conditions and don’t want to send kids to schools.
Number of WOrking days affected due
to strikes, protests and curfews
No data available for 2004
Source: Sabrangindia.in
With constant curfews, strikes, protests and government orders, the number of working days are reduced. Schools are shut for a long time and when they open, teachers try to finish a big part ofthe syllabus in whatever time is left.
Kashmiris protesting
a land transfer to a Hindu shrine ran for cover on Friday as paramiitary soldiers fired tear gas.
Source: PTI Photo by S Irfan
Unrest in Kashmir, the worst since the 1990s, began in May, 2008 when the government handed over 100 acres of land for pilgrims to Amarnath, a Hindu shrine in the Himalayas.
DROP-OUT RATE FOR SCHOOLS (in percentage)
Data not available for 2000 and 2007 primary schools
Source: Digest of Statistics 2018-2019 (Directorate of Economics & Statistics Finance Department Government of Jammu & Kashmir)
The dropout rates among students were relatively high during this period with an average dropout rate of 35% across all age groups.
Pass percentage of students
Data not available for 2000, 2009 (12th standard) and 2010
Source: Source: Digest of Statistics 2018-2019 (Directorate of Economics & Statistics Finance Department Government of Jammu & Kashmir)
The pass percentage for students for 10th and 12th examinations, it stood at an average of 33%. The number of students appearing for exams for 12th standard was relatively lesser than 10th standard.
2011-2015
Years of relative calmness
The years from 2011 to 2015 witnessed a stable and low number of terrorist incidents. These were the years that were relatively peaceful. 2012 to 2015 saw 300 incidents each year. With decreased terrorist incidents the number of work days affected were also the lowest during this period.
Terrorist incidents
Number of INDIVIDUALS RECRUITED AS TERRORIST
Source: Observer Research Foundation
Number of WOrking days affected
due to strikes, protests and curfews
Education indicators showed improvement during this period. The dropout rates witnessed a sharp decline across primary, middle and senior secondary school.
Drop-out rate in schools
The average pass percentage among students appearing for 10th and 12th class examinations was 62% and 52% respectively. However, the number of students appearing for these examinations was less compared with the previous period.
Pass percentage of students
Source: Source: Digest of Statistics 2018-2019
(Directorate of Economics & Statistics Finance Department Government of Jammu & Kashmir)
Protest against
hanging
of Afzal Guru
Source: Reuters
This period (2011-2015), saw comparatively calmer years with relatively less number of events leading to protests and unrest
2016-2019
Years of unrest
2016 became a turning point for J&K as it saw a change in militancy patterns. It became more local and homegrown. From 2016 onwards, Kashmir saw a lot of unrest, protests, violence and deaths of civilians and children. Militancy in J&K has decreased over the years, however, the youth is actively getting influenced into becoming militants. Mudassir Ahmad Parray aged 14 was the youngest militant killed by the IndianArmed Forces (Mir, 2019).
Terrorist incidents
In 2016, it started with the killing of Burhan Wani a 22 year old boy who came from an educated family, joined a militant group at the age of 15 to fight for freedom. It is believed that he was driven to militancy at the age of 15, after he was beaten by the police (BBC,2016). With his social media presence, he became an inspirational figure for the Kashmiri youth. His death in 2016 by the Indian Armed forces, not only sparked mass protests and violence but there has also been an increase in the number of youths joining militancy since then.
Source: Observer Research Foundation
Image Top; Thousands gather for Burhan Wani funeral
Image bottom; Stone pelters
Source: Top; The Washington Post, 2016
Bottom; PTI Photo by S Irfan
Source: Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED)
State actions such as arrests, crackdowns, use of violence and laws like AFSPA, has resulted in anti-India sentiment amongst the kashmiris, which has further led to what the analysts call “new militancy”. The militant movement is dominated by the locals and social media facilitates mass radicalisation and the spread of anti-India propaganda (Shivamurthy, 2021). According to an article published by the Deccan Herrald, the kashmir police chief said “youth whose one family member had been killedas a militant are becoming new recruits for terror outfits. Furthermore, those with a background of stone-pelting, and who come under the influence of online propaganda pick up arms'' (Majid, 2022).
Source: Hassan, 2016
Most children join protests because of their own bitter experiences. “They are children of conflict. These children on many occasions have witnessed brutalities”.
Sheikh Mushtaq, a Srinagar-based journalist (Saha, 2018)
The year 2019 saw two big events, one in February, the Pulwama attack when a convoy of Indian armed forces was blown up by a vehicle with explosives.
A vehicle packed with explosives and blew up a convoy of India Paramilitary Police in Pulwama, Kashmir. This was one of the worst attacks on the Indian forces in years. Adil (who drove the vehicle), dropped out of school in 2017 was a resident of the same village.
In 2018, he went missing with two of hisf riends but was later found on social media in a photo posing with his AK-47 (Economics times, 2019).
Source: Left; Indian Express
Right; The Economics Times
The second one, when the government revoked J&K’s special status. It was the first time in Indian history that a state was made into a Union Territory.
The dropout rate for 2016 saw a considerable increase in all categories compared to 2015. The government officials blamed the unrest for the increase in the dropout rate. The killing of Burhan Wani had led to five months of unrest, bringing education to a halt (Mohidin, 2018).
In 2019, when the world shifted to an online mode of education, Kashmiri students were struggling with slow 2G internet connectivity. Since many students came from a poor financial background, they couldn't afford smartphones or laptops. Video streaming apps often don't work with 2G connectivity, teachers complain about not being able to upload pre recorded lectures as it can take upto 5 days to do so (Khandelwal, 2021).
Source: Source: Digest of Statistics 2018-2019
(Directorate of Economics & Statistics Finance Department Government of Jammu & Kashmir)
Source: Source: Digest of Statistics 2018-2019
(Directorate of Economics & Statistics Finance Department Government of Jammu & Kashmir)
Source: Internetshutdowns.in
The first internet shutdown was observed on 26th January 2012 as a preventive action to avoid conflict escalation or the spread of disinformation. Since then J&K has had the record of having the largest number of Internet shutdowns in India. In 2019, to manage the expected unrest in J&K, the government blocked the internet and the phone lines apart from putting several people under preventive detention. Education came to a standstill as schools were closed after the announcement and later due to COVID-19 for a total of 32 months (Lone, 2022).
A report by Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society details the impact of violence on the children of J&K (Mehraj et. al. 2018). In the last three decades, children have also been victims of enforced disappearances and targeted mass violence by the armed forces. Mass violence was frequent in the1990’s, mostly to punish or create terror amongst the population. “The pattern of killings of children in the fifteen-year period between 2003-2017 suggests that children were direct targets of state violence, as part of its stated offensive to curb uprising and militancy”. The state'sresponse to mass protests has been militaristic and draconian. Between 2008-2016, the use of pellet guns and tear gas killed at least 16 children (Mehraj et. al. 2018).
Sources:
ACLEAD, Aljazeera, BBC, Census 2011 India, Digest of Statistics 2019-2020 Government of Jammu and Kashmir, Economics Times, Hindustan Times, Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (Impact of Violence on Children of JK), Observer Research Foundation (Building Indian Narratives and Battling New Militancy in Kashmir), Reuters, Sabrang India, Software Freedom Law Center India, South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), The Guardian, The New York Post
