In Kashmir, conflict isn’t just a word. It is the state in which the current populace of the valley is living in. Conflict, in real sense, means a combat where the oppressor is equipped with lethal weapons and lawless laws and can inflict countless miseries on the oppressed. In our valley too, the oppressor is capable of killing, maiming, injuring and blinding us without any fear of being held accountable for the same thanks to the lawless laws that provide them with impunity.
Every day, our newspapers carry headlines such as – " Overall situation under control, 57 arrested: Police”. Amid the current unrest, local youth have been the constant target of the administration and the security forces. According to reports, at least 5-7 people are being taken into detention under the Public Safety Act (PSA) every day. What is horrifying is that these detainees also include quite a handful of underage kids, kids who aren’t even 18 yet. As per an Amnesty International report (A Lawless Law), the estimates number of people detained under PSA in Kashmir over the past two decades ranges from 8000-20000.
Most people who aren’t well versed with the Kashmir conflict fail to understand what PSA is and why do we call it such an unjust and a barbaric law. PSA or J&K Public Safety Act- 1978, is a kind of an administrative detention law which permits the police forces to detain any person without any charge or trial for up to 6 months or even 2 years in some cases. The act finds its origin in the Defence of India Act (DIA)-1915, which was also referred to as the Defence of India Regulation Act during the British Regime. This act was an Emergency Criminal Law which was enacted by the Governor General of British India with the intention to thwart the nationalist and revolutionary activities during and in the aftermath of World War I. This act granted the executive wide powers of preventive detention, interment without trial, restriction of writing, speech and of movement. This law was used to an overwhelming extent against the Indians during the colonial rule and it still continues to be used, mostly in J&K, though under a different name. This draconian law is now referred to as the Public Safety Act after the DIA changed its name in 1967. It is sometimes also referred to as the J&K PSA, since after certain amendments in 1978, it is being used to unleash the same reign of terror and misery in J&K as it was used to by the British in India.
Most people who aren’t well versed with the Kashmir conflict fail to understand what PSA is and why do we call it such an unjust and a barbaric law. PSA or J&K Public Safety Act- 1978, is a kind of an administrative detention law which permits the police forces to detain any person without any charge or trial for up to 6 months or even 2 years in some cases.
Although following an Amendment in April 2012, the PSA expressly prohibits anyone under 18 years of age to be arrested under this law, this rule is widely flaunted in Kashmir. In Kashmir children as young as those studying in 6th standard are booked under PSA. Impunity and detention of people, particularly children, isn’t only a grave trampling of human rights but also allows oppressive elements to brutally crush any form of dissent. Our valley is a painful reminder of how such draconian laws are used to victimise innocent youth.
Our resistance may fail many times but our aspirations to attain justice and freedom will never cease. Voices will be raised again, people will rise again to fight the tyrant and to take back what is rightfully theirs. Every Kashmiri whom you wound, blind, torture and kill, becomes a flame of hope and resistance for hundred others because as they say, “In the end, justice always prevails.”
Follow this link to join our WhatsApp group: Join Now
Be Part of Quality Journalism |
Quality journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce and despite all the hardships we still do it. Our reporters and editors are working overtime in Kashmir and beyond to cover what you care about, break big stories, and expose injustices that can change lives. Today more people are reading Kashmir Observer than ever, but only a handful are paying while advertising revenues are falling fast. |
ACT NOW |
MONTHLY | Rs 100 | |
YEARLY | Rs 1000 | |
LIFETIME | Rs 10000 | |