Humanitarian Implications of Withholding Burial Rights in Indian Occupied Kashmir
Humanitarian Implications of Withholding Burial Rights in Indian Occupied Kashmir
Abstract:
The disputed region of Jammu & Kashmir has been a place where people are concerned about humanitarian problems, because in the past there have been very serious violations of people's basic rights. It is alarming when the Indian Armed Forces do not allow victims to be buried. This practice comes from branding certain individuals as rebels and people who are not part of a recognized government, which effectively denies them the right to live and be buried with dignity.
The activities of the Indian forces are going against the rules of International Humanitarian Law (IHL), which raises concerns about abiding by IHL, the existence of mass graves, and causing psychological trauma to families affected by their actions. This article looks at the historical context, provisions of International Humanitarian Law, psychological effects, and the presence of mass and unmarked graves. This article brings attention to a problem that has been ignored and stresses the importance of giving people a respectful funeral as a basic part of their existence and humanity. Refusing to grant this right showcases authoritarianism, which not only hurts the victims but also worsens the humanitarian crisis in the area.
Introduction:
The UN-recognized disputed region of Jammu & Kashmir has been a site of various humanitarian concerns for a long time. The grave human rights violations being committed in Indian-Occupied Kashmir range from extra-judicial killings to mass rapes. One such phenomenon is the denial of burial rights to the Kashmiri people who are killed by the Indian Armed Forces and then not buried with honor and respect. One of the major reasons why such brutal acts are committed is that the targeted individuals are branded as insurgents and non-state actors. They are seen as subjects who are working to create a rift in society. Thus, they are labeled as separatists and anti-national subjects. They are then deprived of their right to life, killed, and denied a proper burial.
This practice by the Indian forces is the least talked about and rarely discussed in the media. Much remains to be said and reported about the denial of burial rights and its implications. Such human rights violations raise disturbing and deep-rooted questions about compliance of Indian Forces with International Humanitarian Law (IHL), existence of mass graves, and the psychological impact this harsh treatment has on the powerless families of the human rights defenders. This article explores these themes and attempts to bring to the light an issue to which the world has turned a blind eye.
Historical Context of the Issue
Soon after the partition in 1947, mass-scale bloodshed was initiated from both sides and genocide occurred in which millions were butchered mercilessly during the migration period. Communal violence was common and families were being displaced. The region of Jammu & Kashmir saw inter-communal tensions. During that period, burial rights were denied to the people who were slaughtered. This initiated a pattern which has continued till the present time.
Between the time period of partition and the contemporary era, periods of armed conflicts and violence have been observed in Kashmir. During these periods, militarization was increased and human rights abuses from the Indian Armed Forces were increasing rapidly. Denial of burial rights was also a part of the strategies to showcase power and authoritarian rule from the Indian side. Additionally, during the curfews imposed by Indian forces, similar violations took place, which showcased insensitivity to the sacred religious traditions.
Furthermore, major notable developments took place in April 2020, when the pandemic occurred due to the widespread coronavirus (COVID-19). The Indian authorities buried the people they killed during the occupation in unmarked graves in the Indian Occupied Kashmir. The bodies are not returned to the respective families and proper burial is not carried out in light of the deceased’s religious traditions. The official stance by the Indian government on the matter remains that the bodies were not handed over to the families with the intention of halting the spread of COVID-19 (Ayesha, 2021).
However, historical context shows that such practices have been common during times of strife and communal violence in the region. Thus, there remains no doubt that the RSS-backed Indian government carried out such atrocities being politically and socially motivated. Whilst they covered the act under the shade of COVID-19 on the official state front.
The Legal Aspect: An IHL Viewpoint
The International Humanitarian Law (IHL) regulates and governs the conduct of armed hostilities and conflicts. IHL has various obligations regarding the provision of proper burial rights to the deceased, providing death certificates to the party to which they belong or to their next of kin, and describing the circumstances of their death. These rules have been established in IHL to provide some closure to the families. After April 2020, Indian armed forces have violated these provisions of IHL through their authoritarian and fascist policies.
Indian armed forces have been in direct violation of Article 15 of the first Geneva Convention. It provides that the High Contracting Parties to the conflict, by all means, should search for the dead and prevent them from being disposed of. Indian authorities, in 2020, started killing Kashmiris who they identified as being militants and separatists. They also buried them in undisclosed locations and denied the families the right to identify them and give them a proper burial. It is against Article 15 of the first Geneva Convention because the bodies were not prevented from being disposed of. They were probably interred in mass graves.
Moreover, Article 17 of first Geneva Convention obligates the both parties to effectively carry out medical examination of the corpses to identify them. It also compels the parties to bury the corpse in accordance with relevant religious customs. Five Kashmiris were killed on 6th April, 2020. Indian authorities claim that they take a DNA test of the deceased, allow the family or next of kin to come and verify the corpse, and then bury it in light of their own religious traditions. However, three families of the 5 Kashmiris killed on 6th April, 2020, claim that they were not updated about the whereabouts of the graves of their relatives and no DNA samples were taken. Surprisingly, the families demanding burial rights were also charged under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (1967).
Lastly, Customary International Law’s Rule 114 compels that both parties to the conflict should return the remains of the deceased upon the demand of the party to which they belong or their next of kin. Another such incident took place on December 29th, 2020, in which three Kashmiris were killed and weapons were placed beside them to make it seem like they were militants and terrorists. Families of three demanded that the dead bodies should be returned to them but unfortunately, bodies were not returned. One son’s father dug the grave to express his opposition and grief against the hellish policies of Indian armed forces. He was charged under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (1967). It includes seven year jail-term and fine.
Psychological Implications for the Families
Denial of burial rights has profound and long-lasting implications for the families who have to experience such a harsh reality. From a psychological standpoint, it has a direct effect on multiple internal realities of human beings. The act of burying someone is not just putting their body in the ground. It is also a way for people to connect with their loved ones who have passed away. This connection can be felt both emotionally and spiritually, and it can last for many generations. By following traditional burial customs, people show their connection to their cultural background and acknowledge their role in their community's past. These rituals create a real connection between the past, present, and future, promoting a strong feeling of connection and togetherness among people in the community. When an authoritarian government’s armed forces brutally kill people and bury them in mass graves, then the psychological consequences for the families left behind are dire and dreadful. The effects of denying access to corpses and burial rights on families is discussed below:
1.Grief Disruption:
When faced with such harsh consequences, grief is the natural response of a human being. It generally has four stages; being in a state of shock, being sad, then being angry, and finally being able to accept the consequences and move on. This is a proper four stage process that humans go through to deal with tragedies. However, in the case of denial to access to corpses and burial rights, the families are left hanging in the third stage. They are not offered a closure. It becomes a permanent trauma for the family. The case of Syed Ali Shah Geelani is a prime example of grief disruption. He was under house arrest and when he passed away, Indian armed forces invaded his house, and forcibly took away his body. His family was not allowed to bury him according to their religious traditions and that grief disruption exists till this day
2.Inability to Detach:
Detachment from the deceased is an essential part of the psychological process of healing and moving on. When the families do not know where the bodies of their loved ones are resting, then they are unable to detach from this fact. It haunts them psychologically. Thus, the inability to detach from this harsh fact hinders their ability to cope up with this loss. This also stops them from carrying on with their lives positively, they will always have to carry this burden with them. For instance, Mushtaq Ahmad, who is the father of a 16-year-old dead son, was struck by a harsh reality on 3rd November, 2020.
On a chilly winter day, he was tirelessly digging up a grave of his own killed son. People around started watching him. He dug the grave knee-deep, turned around, and said, “I want my son’s body back. I want India to return it”. To his surprise, the grave had no body at all. The psychological trauma that he, as a father, had to go through is immense. No father deserves to be kept in a state in which he does not know where his son is buried. The brutal authoritarianism by the Indian forces has changed the Kashmir dispute into a humanitarian crisis. His is unable to detach from the death incident of his son.
3.Identity Crisis
The way we bury people and the customs we follow are important for our identity and feeling like we belong in our community. These deep rituals help people understand important things about life, like why it's meaningful, why death will happen, and where they fit in the world. When things happen that stop one from being buried in the way their culture or religion says, it can make one’s family feel very confused and lost. This situation can make the family feel like they don't belong to their culture or have the same spiritual beliefs anymore. Not having a proper burial of their loved one can make them feel like no one cares about them and like they do not belong to the community.
When they go through a lot of emotional struggles, it can make them start to question who they are, what they believe in, and why they exist. Thus, an identity crisis strikes them out of nowhere. They begin to question their own religion and God because of the inhumane treatment their daughters and sons had to go through. For instance, in 2010, three employment seeking Kashmiris (Shahzad Ahmad Khan, Riyaz Ahmad Lone, and Mohammad Shafi Lone) were lured towards the LOC (a heavily militarized zone) and killed in a fake encounter. They were innocent of any charge. This lead to a serious disturbance in the respective families of the three. Such cases strike an identity crisis into the whole family and they are left miserable. It is totally unexpected and unfortunate for them.
Existence of Mass Graves
Mark Skinner defines mass graves as graves having at least half a dozen corpses in it. According to United Nation Commission of Experts, a place which is designated for the long-term and permanent internment of the corpses in which they are prevented from being displaced from their initial location, and which consists of more than two bodies, is termed as mass grave. Furthermore, mass graves originate from crimes committed during war times, genocides, or crimes against humanity.
It is important to notice that these graves are kept under secrecy, much is not discussed about them, and people who generally know about their existence tend to keep their mouths closed about it. Locals do know about their existence but due to the fear of being jailed and tortured for disclosing such information, they do not spread the word about it. Even if they are unable to point and locate the grave, they know about the existence of unmarked graves in certain areas.
The existence of mass graves dates back to 1990s, when the authoritarian and coercive power was exhibited by Indian Armed Forces. In 1990, a war of forceful suppression was unleashed from the Indian front that has resulted in the massacre of nearly 70,000 Kashmiris. Whereas, since 1989, 8 to 10 thousand have been reported to be a victim of Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance (EID), when resistance was initiated by the Kashmiris against the Indian authoritarian rule in Kashmir. One might raise the question that where did the bodies of these Kashmiris go? The answer is, in mass graves.
In 2005, Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) found out about the existence of mass graves in tehsil Uri, district Baramulla. These graves were not marked properly and were unnamed. Furthermore, when the documented case of Abdul Rehman Padroo came to the surface, the dots began to connect. It allowed the analysts and researchers to see that how non-combatant Kashmiris are taken into custody, murdered, branded as foreign militants, and then their bodies are interred into unmarked graves.
After the case came into light, masses started to come to streets, including the families of disappeared persons, to protest against EID. These events authenticate that the thousands of missing persons are buried in mass graves, in open violations of IHL provisions. The authoritarian practices of Indian Armed Forces have continued ever since. The official position of the Indian state remains that the missing persons have entered Pakistan to seek military training. However, the families of the lost Kashmiris and APDP also do not agree with the claim. The rationale behind disagreeing is that Indian authoritarian forces detained these Kashmiris during local crackdowns, which were the search operations. Thus, the possibility that they have entered Pakistan is very low and probability that they have been killed and buried in unmarked graves, very high.
Research shows that approximately 940 to 1000 slain Kashmiris are buried in mass graves in three Tehsils of district Baramulla. These are, Tehsil Uri, Baramulla, and Boniyar. The Jammu and Kashmir police claims that the corpses inside the graves are of unknown foreign militants. However, the locals assert that the buried are local Kashmiris, who have been branded as foreign militants.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it must be noted that the right to possession of a dead human body for the purpose of decent and honourable burial is the fundamental right that is recognised under international law. Therefore, proper burial with honor and in accordance with the religious traditions is due for all who leave the world. Even the right to burial or crimination is a fundamental right guaranteed under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. But Indian authoritarian government does not show sensitivity to this issue and openly violates provisions of its own constitution and IHL. It psychologically traumatized the families of the killed and effects their identity as well. It is an act of calculated infliction of violence and terror onto the innocent Kashmiris. Kashmiri families deserve to have the right to properly bury their loved one, detach themselves from the event, and have a proper closure.
References
Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons. 2017. Review of Facts Underground. WordPress. 2017.
https://jkccs.files.wordpress.com/2017/05/facts-under-ground-first-report-on-mass-graves-in-kashmir.pdf.
Davies. 2008. Review of A Brief History of Death. Edited by Douglas. 2008.
https://books.google.com.pk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=ccYqB4jBZCMC&oi=fnd&pg=PR5&dq=a+brief+history+of+death&ots=fhv9ESL7eS&sig=LbPPhNKvMCx5_b3Hj36LmuACjOw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=a%20brief%20history%20of%20death&f=false.
Malik, Ayesha. 2021. Review of Burial Rites and International Humanitarian Law in Indian Illegally
Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK. Rsilpak.org. Ayesha Malik. 2021. https://rsilpak.org/2021/burial-rites-and-ihl-in-indian-illegally-occupied-jammu-kashmir/.
Written By: Farhan Ahmed
Related Research Papers
