The revelation by the all-woman five member team of eminent activists, journalists and civil society members from India, based on its five day on-the-spot visits in five districts of the valley that over 13000 boys disappeared came handy to the Pak Premier who mentioned this rhetorically. . Such a huge number of disappearance, mostly adolescent, in less than 50 days is arguably an act of unprecedented human violation in at least the last 60 years. Annie Raja, Kawaljit Kaur, Pankhuri Zaheer from National Federation Indian Women, Poonam Kaushik from Pragatisheel Mahila Sangathan and Syeda Hameed from Muslim Women’s Forum comprised the team.

Apart from Srinagar, the women visited several villages in Shipian, Pulwama and Bandipora to sense the degree of traumatisation in the hitherto tourists’ heaven. The team brought out a harrowing tale , prepared out of scores of chashmdeed gawahi (eye witness account). “We went to hospitals, schools, homes, market places, spoke to people in the rural as well as urban areas, to men, women, youth and children. This Report is our of ordinary people who have lived for 43 days under an iron siege.One estimate given to us was 13000 boys lifted during this lockdown. They don’t even spare our rations”, the report, released by the team states.

So the firecrackers set off and slogans in Srinagar immediately after the 50-minute maiden impassioned and conscience-rattling speech by ‘King Khan’ as an expected response to the fellow-traveller role of Pakistan against the 50-plus day lockdown, ‘communication blackout, clamped by the Modi 2.0 regime and ‘unspeakable excesses against the local population by the military’

The Pak PM observed. “When a nuclear-armed country fights to the end, it will have consequences far beyond the borders. It will have consequences for the world,” Mr. Khan said, adding: “That’s not a threat … It’s a fair worry. Where are we headed? I’ve come here because this is a test for the United Nations. You guaranteed the right to determination of the people of Kashmir. You have a responsibility.” It is illogical to discover bellicosity in these words but such an impression was woven in the apparently impressive speech by Bidisha Moitra who used verbiages like ‘terroristan’ (to characterise Pakistan) – her maiden one too . But all this cut no ice, the hype in the Indian media notwithstanding, Diplomacy is a different ball game where bypassing of facts often ends in a damp squib.

On the contrary, Modi’s speech that skipped the Kashmir-under siege and abrogation of Article 370A of the Constitution to scuttle the autonomy of Kashmiris’ in the state of Jammu and Kashmir ( India-administered Kashmir in the UN rule book) and leaving the task of rebuttal of Islamabad’s charge sheet against the Modi government to career diplomats wasn’t diplomatically judicious. Rather Khan’s words “what will happen when 8 million Kashmiris come out of a lockdown and face 900,000 troops? I fear there will be a bloodbath” generated sympathies for thousands of ‘women, old people and children have been locked in as animals’ created ripples..

Indian representatives at the 74th UNGA - including Modi – failed to convince the assemblage with sound rebuttal. Contrarily, the cricketer-turned premier successfully tarnished the image of India as never before characterizing the National Democratic Alliance government as fascist – a view shared by the Opposition in India. There is a perception among the civil rights functionaries that ever since Modi became PM the killing spree in ‘India-administered Kashmir’ assumed diabolical dimensions. Since July 2016, 1031 people have been killed, more than 27000 subjected to torture, 11858 have been arrested, 10298 injured with pellet guns, 3306 homes have been demolished and 933 women have been gang-raped, according to civil rights bodies, operating in the Indian subcontinent.

‘Arrogance makes people do cruel and stupid things’, Khan quipped, perhaps keeping India’s home minister Amit Shah in mind. The curfew will have to be lifted. What will happen in the valley thereafter? It’s a question that haunts the minds of many Kashmir observers. (IPA Service)