1991 Kunan Poshpora incident

Last updated

The Kunan Poshspora incident was a mass rape that occurred on 23 February 1991 when a unit of the Indian security forces, after being fired upon by militants, launched a search operation in the twin villages of Kunan and Poshpora, located in Kashmir's remote Kupwara District. [1] [2] While the first information report filed in the local police station after a visit by the local magistrate reported the number of women who reported rape as 23, the Human Rights Watch assessed the number of survivors to be up to 100. [3] [4]

Contents

The accusations were denied by the Indian army as the government "determined that the evidence was not sufficient" and issued a statement condemning the accusations as "terrorist propaganda". [5]

The government's investigations into the incident rejected the reports as "baseless". [5] However, international human rights organizations have expressed serious doubts about the integrity of these investigations and the manner in which they were conducted. Human Rights Watch stated that the government had launched a "campaign to acquit the army of charges of human rights violations and discredit those who brought the charges." [6] [7]

Incident

The New York Times had quoted the residents of the Kunan Poshpora neighbourhood stating that militants had fired on security forces nearby, which prompted the search operation by the forces. [2] On 23 February 1991 the paramilitary troops of the Central Reserve Police Force and the Border Security Force cordoned off the twin villages of Kunan and Poshpora to conduct a search operation for the militants. The men in the village were assembled outside and interrogated about the militant activity while the village was searched. After the search operation was over, villagers complained that many women were raped by soldiers that night. [2]

Later on the local leader of the Hizb-e-Islami militant group gave an interview to the New York Times in which he denied the claim that the group had shot first, but added that his commandos were armed to fight the forces off. [2]

Investigations

The Press Council of India investigated the case in summer 1991 and concluded that the rape reports could not be proven. Following that, the government declared the case as "unfit for launching criminal prosecution" in September 1991 and closed it a month later.

The Press Council's conclusions were criticised by the Human Rights Watch which stated that the results of the examinations still raised questions about the activity of the Indian army in Kunan Poshpora. According to HRW, the Press Council's investigative committee had dismissed any evidence that may contradict the government version of events. The HRW report accused the committee of being focused on shielding the Indian government from criticism rather than uncovering truth. [3]

The United States Department of State, in its 1992 report on international human rights, stated that there was "credible evidence" that supports the mass rape charges against the army unit at Kunan Poshpora. [8]

Litigation

In 2004, one of the alleged victims approached the J&K State Human Rights Commission seeking a reinvestigation of the case. In 2007, more women asked the SHRC to reopen of the case. The villagers from the two villages formed Kunan-Poshpora Coordination Committee (KCC) headed by 70-year-old man Ghulam Ahmad Dar to seek justice for the victims. [9]

In October 2011, the Jammu & Kashmir Human Rights Commission asked the J&K government to reinvestigate the reported mass rape case and compensate the victims. [10]

A writ petition filed in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court in 2013 alleged that more than 30 women had been raped. The charges had not been proved and there had been no progress in trial. The High Court observed that it hoped the committee appointed by the J&K government would examine and quickly implement the recommendations of the SHRC. [11]

In December 2017, the J&K government approached the Supreme Court of India against orders of the High Court. The top court directed that the appeals should be heard expeditiously. [11]

Social impact

The Indian Express reported on 21 July 2013 that the victims and their families were being socially ostracised by other villagers in the locality. [9] The only government school in the two affected villages teaches up to standard eight. The students going for higher education in the nearby Trehgam and Kupwara were taunted due to the incident and most of them choose to drop out after class eight. [9] Families not involved in the incident at the same villages have disassociated socially with the victims' families. Villagers claimed that it was difficult to find grooms for their children. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir</span> Ongoing separatist militancy in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir

The insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir, also known as the Kashmir insurgency, is an ongoing separatist militant insurgency against the Indian administration in Jammu and Kashmir, a territory constituting the southwestern portion of the larger geographical region of Kashmir, which has been the subject of a territorial dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kashmir conflict</span> Territorial conflict in South Asia

The Kashmir conflict is a territorial conflict over the Kashmir region, primarily between India and Pakistan, and also between China and India in the northeastern portion of the region. The conflict started after the partition of India in 1947 as both India and Pakistan claimed the entirety of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is a dispute over the region that escalated into three wars between India and Pakistan and several other armed skirmishes. India controls approximately 55% of the land area of the region that includes Jammu, the Kashmir Valley, most of Ladakh, the Siachen Glacier, and 70% of its population; Pakistan controls approximately 30% of the land area that includes Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan; and China controls the remaining 15% of the land area that includes the Aksai Chin region, the mostly uninhabited Trans-Karakoram Tract, and part of the Demchok sector.

Human rights in India is an issue complicated by the country's large size and population as well as its diverse culture, despite its status as the world's largest sovereign, secular, socialist democratic republic. The Constitution of India provides for fundamental rights, which include freedom of religion. Clauses also provide for freedom of speech, as well as separation of executive and judiciary and freedom of movement within the country and abroad. The country also has an independent judiciary as well as bodies to look into issues of human rights.

Kupwara is a city, District headquarter and a municipal council in Kupwara district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keran, Jammu and Kashmir</span> Village in Jammu and Kashmir, India

Keran is a tehsil in Kupwara district, Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is on the bank of the Kishanganga River. The village lies on the Line of Control. The Keran block includes four panchayats: Keran, Mandian, Mandian-A and Kundian Pathroo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1993 Bijbehara massacre</span>

The Bijbehara Massacre took place when 74th Battalion Border Security Force (BSF) fired upon protesters in the Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir, India on 22 October 1993, killing 51 civilians. In the official version of events, BSF had only acted in self-defense when fired upon by militants; however, this narrative was rejected by Human Rights Watch citing the 1993 U.S. Department of State country report on human rights in India which said, "Despite government claims that the security forces were ambushed by militants, only one BSF sub inspector was injured."

Human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir range from mass killings, enforced disappearances, torture, rape and sexual abuse to political repression and suppression of freedom of speech. The Indian Army, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and Border Security Personnel (BSF) have been accused of committing severe human rights abuses against Kashmiri civilians. According to Seema Kazi, militant groups have also been held responsible for similar crimes, but the vast majority of abuses have been perpetrated by the armed forces of the Indian government.

Human rights abuses in Kashmir have been perpetrated by various belligerents in the territories controlled by both India and Pakistan since the two countries' conflict over the region began with their first war in 1947–1948, shortly after the partition of British India. The organized breaches of fundamental human rights in Kashmir are tied to the contested territorial status of the region, over which India and Pakistan have fought multiple wars. More specifically, the issue pertains to abuses committed in Indian-administered Kashmir and in Pakistani-administered Kashmir.

Rape is the fourth most common crime against women in India. According to the 2021 annual report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 31,677 rape cases were registered across the country, or an average of 86 cases daily, a rise from 2020 with 28,046 cases, while in 2019, 32,033 cases were registered. Of the total 31,677 rape cases, 28,147(nearly 89%) of the rapes were committed by persons known to the victim. The share of victims who were minors or below 18 – the legal age of consent – stood at 10%.

Ocean of Tears is a 2012 short documentary film directed by Billal A Jan in Kashmiri produced by Rajiv Mehrota under the banner of Public Service Broadcasting Trust of India (PBST). The film is a documentary of the crimes and human rights violations imposed on the people of Kashmir, especially on women. The film covers the mass rape incident of Kunan Poshpora.

International People's Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice in Kashmir (IPTK) is a People's Tribunal formed by Indian human rights activists for the purpose of probing human right violations in the Indian-administered territory of Jammu and Kashmir, and bridging the gap between people living in Kashmir and rest of India. It was first convened in 2008 by Parvez Imroz, Angana P. Chatterji, Gautam Navlakha and Zaheer-Ud-Din. Chatterji served as convener until December 2012.

Qasim Faktoo is a Kashmiri separatist and militant, serving life imprisonment for the murder of Hriday Nath Wanchoo. He had been among the earliest cadres of Hizbul Mujahideen.

The Kashmir conflict has been beset by large scale usage of sexual violence by multiple belligerents since its inception.

Women's rights in Jammu and Kashmir is a major issue. Belonging to a patriarchal society, they have had to fight inequality and routine discrimination. Since the onset of insurgency in 1988, rape has been leveraged as a popular 'weapon of war' by Indian security forces. Separatist militants have also committed rapes, which remain under-researched but are not comparable in scale to that of the Indian state forces. Women's rights in Kashmir Valley has major issues as there is harassment of young muslim women participating in sports activities, demands of dowry after marriage, domestic violence incidents, acid attacks on women, and men being generally taken in a higher regard than women. Many small organisations have been formed to struggle for women's rights in Jammu and Kashmir.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathua rape case</span> 2018 crime in Jammu and Kashmir, India

The Kathua rape case involved the abduction, gang rape, and murder of an 8-year-old girl, Asifa Bano, by six men and a juvenile, in January 2018 in the Rasana village near Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir, India. A chargesheet for the case was filed, the accused were arrested and the trial began in Kathua on 16 April 2018. The victim belonged to the nomadic Bakarwal community. She disappeared for a week before her body was discovered by the villagers a kilometer away from the village. The incident made national news when charges were filed against eight men in April 2018. The arrests of the accused led to protests by the Panthers Party and other local groups, who sought justice for the victim. A protest in support of the accused men was attended by two ministers from the Bharatiya Janata Party, both of whom later resigned. The gang rape and murder, as well as the support the accused received, sparked widespread outrage in India and world-wide.

<i>Do You Remember Kunan Poshpora?</i> 2016 book

Do You Remember Kunan Poshpora? is a 2016 non-fiction book authored by five Kashmiri women: Essar Batool, Ifrah Butt, Munaza Rashid, Natasha Rather and Samreena Mushtaq. The book concerns the alleged 1991 mass rape by Indian security forces and is part of a series on "Sexual Violence and Impunity in South Asia" published by Zubaan Books and supported by the International Development Research Centre. The book was officially released at the Jaipur Literature Festival.

The 2020 Amshipora murders, or the Amshipora fake encounter, or the Shopian fake encounter, refers to the killing of three Kashmiri laborers, one of whom was a minor, by Indian military personnel of the Rashtriya Rifles in the village of Amshipora, in the district of Shopian, in Jammu and Kashmir, on 18 July 2020. The Indian Army initially claimed that the three victims were foreign terrorists who had been killed in an encounter with security forces after they opened fire on a security team. Preliminary investigations by the Indian Army in a Court of Inquiry, as well as by the Jammu and Kashmir Police, alleged that Army personnel, aided by civilian informants, had staged the encounter and killed three labourers who were working for daily wages in local orchards, allegedly to claim a cash bounty of ₹20 lakh, which is granted by the Indian Army as a reward for killing militants. The Indian Army is currently conducting a court-martial proceeding against Army Captain Bhoopendra Singh of the Rashtriya Rifles, as well as an unnamed non-commissioned officer, while proceedings are ongoing against two civilian informants in local courts in Kashmir.

Machil fake encounter, also known as Machil encounter case, refers to a extrajudicial killing which was carried out by the Indian Army on 29 April 2010 by killing the three Kashmiri civilians Shazad Ahmad Khan (27), Shafi Ahmad Lone (19) and Riyaz Ahmad Lone (20) and labelled them as Pakistani militants. Considered as one of the biggest human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir since insurgency began in 1947 between India, Pakistan and China, the trio were killed in Machil area of Kupwara district, Jammu and Kashmir at the Line of Control (LoC).

Hriday Nath Wanchoo was a Kashmiri communist trade-unionist, who is remembered for ensuring the socioeconomic upliftment of sanitation workers and documenting abuse of human rights by the state. He was one of the two Hindu ministers in the "government in-absentia" run by Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front, in early 1990s.

Mass graves in Jammu and Kashmir were created as a result of extra-judicial killings during the Insurgency in Kashmir.

References

  1. ↑ Jha, Prashant. "Unravelling a 'mass rape'". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 27 February 2017. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Crossette, Barbara (7 April 1991). "India Moves Against Kashmir Rebels". The New York Times. p. 3. Archived from the original on 2 October 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  3. 1 2 Abdication of Responsibility: The Commonwealth and Human Rights. Human Rights Watch. 1991. pp. 13–20. ISBN   978-1-56432-047-6.
  4. ↑ International Human Rights Organisation (1992). Indo-US shadow over Punjab. International Human Rights Organisation."...reports that Indian armymen belonging to the 4th Rajputana Rifles of the 68 Mountain Division entered a settlement at Kunan Poshpora in Kupwara district on the night of February 23–24, 1991 and gangraped a minimum of 23 and a maximum of 100 women of all ages and in all conditions."
  5. 1 2 "Mass Rape Survivors Still Wait for Justice in Kashmir". Thomson Reuters Foundation. Global Press Institute. 7 March 2021. Archived from the original on 7 February 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  6. ↑ "Human Rights Watch World Report 1992". World Report 1992. Human Rights Watch. 1 January 1992. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012.
  7. ↑ "Human Rights Watch World Report 1992 - India". UNHCR Refworld. 1 January 1992. Archived from the original on 21 May 2011. Retrieved 18 December 2008.
  8. ↑ Crossette, Barbara (1 February 1992). "State Department Cites China and Other Nations for Human-Rights Abuses". The New York Times. p. 6. Archived from the original on 2 October 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Bashaarat Masood; Rifat Mohidin (21 July 2013). "The Silence of a Night". The Indian Express. pp. 10, 11. Archived from the original on 27 July 2013.
  10. ↑ Ganai, Naseer (21 October 2011). "Human rights panel asks Jammu and Kashmir govt to reopen army mass rape case". India Today.
  11. 1 2 "1991 Kunan Poshpora mass rape incident: Supreme Court admits Jammu and Kashmir's plea". newindianexpress.com. 4 December 2017. Archived from the original on 5 October 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.