Indian
Elections in Jammu & Kashmir
Report
2
The Indian Express (Delhi) 6, September 1999
Army jawans drag Kashmiris to booths
Vikram Jit Singh & Nazir Masoodi
KRUHAMA (KASHMIR), SEPT 5: Concerted efforts by personnel of the BSF,
CRPF, Rashtriya Rifles and the Special Operations Group to `enforce'
a
good voter turnout across the Kangan-Ganderbal-Downtown Srinagar belt
paid only marginal returns. At the end of the day, the turnout was
below
25 per cent.
Even this is suspect since The Indian Express was witness to numerous
instances of Kashmiri voters prodded to the ballot box by AK rifle-wielding
jawans. In the evening, these `voters' would be made to show their fingers
to the
security forces as testimony of having renewed their membership of
democracy. They call it the `nail parade.'
A burly counter-insurgent working with the armed forces burst into 55-year-old
Zoona's hovel in Kruhama spilling the milk she had put on boil. She was
dragged out for the date with democracy. The illiterate woman cast her
vote for the `albane' (National Conference's plough) and ensured she had
her finger inked.
Her neighbour, Sara, 40, bore the brunt of rifle butts when sherefused
to leave the bakery shop. A student of Class VII, 12-year-old Tariq Ahmad
cast his `vote' at Kruhama polling station. Hustled to the polling station,
Manzoor Ahmad, 17,
didn't figure in the voters' list. But sympathetic polling staff inked
his finger in front of these correspondents to save his skin in the evening
`nail parade' before the security forces.
If the SOG/CRPF team led by Inspector Jeevan Sharma utilised the services of a counter-insurgent, Mustafa, in Kruhama and Barsoo, it was the Rashtriya Rifles resorting to an innovative tactic in nearby Yar Muqam, Manigam.
`Yesterday, the RR took away our ID cards. We were told that when we
show the ink on our fingers today evening, only then will the ID cards
be returned to us,' said the aged Yar Mohammad, a Gujjar. Around him were
his fellow `voters'
in a frenzy locating their names on the voters' list.
In the idyllic surroundings of the trout-breeding centre at Margund, Kangan, polling agents of a leading party elucidated on the credentialsof patriotism demanded of them.
`Even us polling agents have come here to show our patriotism as the
Ikhwanis (counter-insurgents) are even demanding weapons from dead persons.
That is to say that all of us are under suspicion and constantly harassed
by Ikhwanis. Today evening we must show the ink marks on our fingers to
the Ikhwanis,' said a polling agent preferring
anonymity.
Driving through the deserted streets of downtown Srinagar, one sees people being herded out like cattle from the narrow lanes by the 97 BSF. People protested before the BSF officers and jawans in Zadibal, Nowshera. Some got abuses in return. `We have no choice but to cast our votes. These candidates standing for election will not be our real representatives,' said Ghulam Hassan, as he turned around to the BSF personnel and asked him: `If you were in my place and had no choice, would you vote or not? It is my right to cast a vote or boycott.'
Right through Zadibal and Cowdara, the BSF was seen herding out people.
When asked toexplain, BSF personnel had their versions. One said that they
were merely helping voters find the right booths. A BSF officer said that
the voters needed an alibi of being forced out by the security forces to
escape the wrath of the militants enforcing the poll boycott.
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Isn't
this all wrong ?
Is
this democracy ?
GFORCE PAKISTAN will keep on bringing
indian goverment's ugly faces to the world
UN work on the issue damnit!@% US try to interene in the stuggle and don't close your eyes on what's going on.
I think we have given a lot of info, but many people wanted us to post up links so that people could know more about the struggle, here are the links wahere you can gain the utmost infomation about the struggle!
The reader is the best judge.
Learn More about Kashmir by viewing the Pakistan's Government Website click here
Want to know the details on rape, torture, massacres, killings? Click here
Indian's dirty hand on the plane hijacking, read here
To view a detailed account of raped women and pictures, click here
To view a detailed account of the killings in kashmir by Indians click here
Toture? Want details? Click here
Want to read articles text, pictures and more info on Kashmir? Click here
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