Indian forces in Kashmir continue to inflict mental scars on young people in the disputed Himalayan territory that has also escalated tensions between nuclear armed neighbors since mass demonstrations against New Delhi’s repressive rule last year.
In the latest incident of state brutality, a group of Kashmiri club cricketers were detained by Police in the Indian controlled valley after a video clip surfaced of them coming into a match wearing Pakistani team kit.
The clip also shows them singing Pakistan national anthem for what they called a ‘mark of respect’
The clip has gone viral since then. According to Indian media reports, Ghulam Hassan Bhatt, the Central Kashmir Deputy Inspector General of Police, confirmed that the boys had been detained for questioning.
Residents gathered near the police station, demanding immediate release of the 11 players that represent a club from the Kalmul area in central Kahsmir’s Ganderbal.
The players impersonating the Pakistani team turned out in green colors, while the team representing India wore white. As per reports, the National Investigation Agency, the counter terrorism force, will fly to the Indian-controlled Kashmir to probe the incident.
This is not the first out of proportion reaction to Kashmiri youth by the Indian forces. Last week ago, a photograph of 11-year old Mir Mehran went viral in which Indian paramilitary soldiers force him and his friend to perform sit-ups while holding his ear lobes.
The picture splashed across the international media including the United States where major newspapers reported on the incident.
The kid was let go finally but the pictures perturbed people in the region and angered human rights activists who said such humiliation leaves unseen scars on minds of children in their formative years.
“They asked us to hold our earlobes and do sit-ups for10 times. As we were doing so, they laughed at us,” Mehran said, according to Indian media, after photos of the incident on the social media platforms sparked outrage among local Kashmiris.
While the other boy quickly did the sit-ups as dictated and then ran away, Mir said he was too terrified and waited until the soldiers allowed him to go. “I was thinking they could have killed me or done something else. I was scared,” he later said.
The United Nations and the United Sates have both offered to play mediator in resolving the decades-old dispute but New Delhi has rejected such offers.
Both India and Pakistan claim the territory but a plebiscite pledged by the United Nations ascertain the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir has not taken place as both countries must first demilitarize the region.
