violating human rights in the Valley

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 violating human rights in the Valley

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• Abrogation of Article 370, and rights: Ever since the article was abrogated in August 2019, unchecked preventive detentions (house arrests or in jails) have been a grave cause of concern throughout Kashmir. To even get information on these is nearly impossible.
• What about house arrest: The concept isn't part of criminal manuals, but a state can declare a building as a sub-jail. So many residences have been turned into sub-jails. That is what house arrest and detention is. The person who owns the property is entitled to rent and compensation. So one under house arrest and not getting paid is doubly jeopardised. (Many Mizos faced the same problem when Army took charge of large tracts of their lands)
• Emergency 1975: Some tourist resorts were declared as jails, and political leaders put there. That process has repeated in 2019 and 2020, in a way.
• Preventive detention: Many citizens have suffered due to preventive detention under PSA (Public Safety Act). The logic is imagined future events based on past record. The constitution provides for crucial safeguards in PSA provisions, else dentention is quashed. The most crucial safeguard is getting to know under what grounds is one being detained, and the right to represent oneself against it. Any delay is unwarranted. This applies to PSA also, but sadly, many habeas corpus petitions are pending in High Court for months!
• Blatant lies: For one leader, the State informed the Supreme Court that he had not been detained while he actually was.
• Case law: In the A.K.Roy v. Union of India (1981) the SC said that "preventive detention cannot have processes that become punishment... a resident of Delhi must be detained in Delhi... there can be no punishment". Sadly the PSA detenus have not got this benefit. The process is punishment, without a trial.
• Children suffering: A very large no. of children are paying the price, too. Can the police decide children's welfare, more than the parents?
• Access to information: It is not a fundamental right yet, but is surely a human right. There is no 4G in the Kashmir valley since a year, which has badly hit internet learning for students (2G internet!), and also hit doctors hard. Many patients have had their right to good health (right to life) harmed. Even the S.C. is unable to change things, as the State is adamant.
• Stopping terror: The logic given is to stop terrorists from using the internet, but that can be effectively done without blocking it for everyone. Many citizens are being harmed.
• Stop beating about the bush: It is high time that human rights are discussed openly, and this flagrant violation stopped.

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