Human-shield video angers Kashmiris
CHILL-BRASS, Kashmir — As Indian forces have tried to quell a Pakistan-supported insurgency in the Kashmir region, stories have circulated for decades about Indian officers’ rough treatment of young men accused of supporting the militants.
A video clip that started spreading on social media Thursday is an example of such treatment. It shows a young man tied to the front bumper of a military jeep as it patrolled villages, apparently serving as a human shield against stone-throwing crowds.
In the video, the man’s knees are splayed and his pants legs pulled up as a soldier announces over a loudspeaker, “Look at the fate of the stone-pelter.”
The bound man, Farooq Ahmad Dar, spoke to Indian reporters Friday. He said in an interview that he was detained by an army unit on April 9, on his way to a relative’s funeral, and then beaten with sticks and guns.
He said he was then tied to the jeep’s bumper and driven around at least nine villages, where local people were astonished at the sight of him.
“When they saw me, they were afraid and angry,” he said. “I saw people breaking into tears on seeing my state.”
Dar said he had never supported the separatists, and had steadfastly voted in elections even when separatists called for a boycott. He said the experience left him traumatized.
Dar, who comes from an area of Kashmir that historically has not been supportive of the militancy, said he would no longer express his support for India’s government by participating in elections.
“I voted, and this is what I got in return,” he said. “Do you think it will help India in Kashmir? No. It will give Kashmiris another reason to hate India.”
The chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Mehbooba Mufti, met with Gen. Bipin Rawat, the head of the Indian army, on Saturday, warning that the video would deepen hostility toward Indian forces among Kashmiris. Rawat assured Mufti that military officials would take action against those who tied Dar to the jeep, according to the news agency Press Trust of India.