Muskaan, Hiba and the unknown

November has been a gruesome month, full of nothing but extraordinary mourning. Almost every day was marked with several violent deaths – of young boys who impulsively took up arms in response to the brutal state architecture and its unyielding violence, only to be cornered by a massive military force that is motivated to ruthlessly kill them and earn rewards and promotions, and, of course, triumphalist soundbites for a national media devoid of any moral responsibility for the hate and apathy generated for Kashmiris.

True, the funerals of these resistance fighters have become carnivals of defiance and a renewal of the oath to serve the cause, as women sing odes to martyrs and celebrate their sacrifices. However, it is difficult to ignore the fact that the amount of carnage that such events unleash is just too extraordinary to be ignored and must not be discounted amid a wild flow of raw emotion.

Last month, nearly 50 youth were killed across the Kashmir Valley. But the focus remains on South Kashmir – from the districts of Anantnag (Islamabad) and Shopian to Pulwama and Kulgam – which is the resistance belt that has informed and defined the ongoing defiance since the death of Burhan Wani, the iconic resistance commander who was killed in 2016.

Personally, I have been overwhelmed by the increasing number of deaths of rebel youths from my locality or its immediate vicinity. Apparently all educated boys from well-to-do families are convinced that they must mount defiance against one of the world’s largest armies and be part of the unending stream of human sacrifice, which is being offered with such nonchalance that it sounds all too surreal.

What is increasingly perplexing is that there seems to be no end in sight to these macabre ceremonies and nobody seems to care. Equally, it is quite frustrating that an unrelenting torrent of fiery rhetoric is being produced sans any appreciation of possible compensation for the losses and the trauma it engenders.

While the state might pull up some vague justifications for awarding instant and vicious deaths to the youth holding guns, there is an increasing carelessness being displayed for civilian deaths. There are growing indications that these deaths are heartlessly being characterised as part of the Western concept of collateral damage that came to the fore after America’s war on terror across the Muslim world.

Muskaan, a student of class nine, was killed while she was at her home located near an army camp. While she is believed to be hit by a ‘stray bullet’ during an exchange of fire between resistance fighters and the military, there appears to be total apathy to seek a convincing answer.

In another incident, 19-month-old Hiba was attacked by vicious pellets fired by the paramilitary forces while she was in her mother’s lap. The steel projectiles, according to newspaper reports citing a human rights petition, have ruptured the eyeball of Hiba’s right eye, adding her to the growing statistics of people who have been partially-blinded by pellets.

As the outrage against Hiba’s blinding and Muskaan’s death was being felt across Kashmir, Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat dropped a bomb shell by suggesting the use of armed drones to fight militants. “We can use strike drones if people will accept collateral damage,” he said, upping the ante and further constricting the room for accommodation and negotiation.

General Rawat, known for his tough speak and unvarnished statements, chose to launch his extremely disturbing declaration at a time when the ground was being broken for the Kartarpur Corridor – an exciting prospect for the two Punjabs, and particularly for the Sikh community whose religious rights and needs are being slowly acknowledged in Pakistan.

The statements emanating from the Indian leadership were equally disturbing as they seemed to be calculated to ensure that the peace dividends, if any, from the Kartarpur ceremony are strictly contained in order to not disturb the political prospects for the upcoming national elections next year.

For the rhetoric of hate that forms the main plank of electoral politics in India, Kashmiris have to die unabated and Pakistan must be demonised beyond any shadow of doubt.

The story of Muskaan’s death has haunted me for several days even though everyone else seems to have moved their attention to the latest tragedies involving deaths in encounters and the targeted killing of civilian protesters – stories that continue to emerge across the landscape, and that too in bulk. Here is a slightly edited version of her story as narrated by Khalid Gul, a talented young journalist, in Greater Kashmir: “Muskaan Jan, 14, woke up early on Thursday morning with a smile on her face as she had passed class [nine] examinations with flying colours only a day ago. She was excited to join the 10th standard.

“After having her early morning tea, she asked her father to get her books for class 10 that day. The private winter tuitions were on her mind too as class 10 was a ‘challenge’ and she had promised to score high [marks] in the exams. But a bullet that hit her head at her home at Wangund-Qaimoh during an exchange of fire between the militants and government forces in the area dashed all those dreams.

“She had slipped into coma after the doctors operated upon her at SKIMS. She succumbed to her injuries on Saturday morning. Muskaan was buried in the graveyard located next to her school and her funeral was held in the compound of the school.

“A police official said the militants fired several shots at an army camp stationed inside the Rice Research Institute of the Sher-e-Kashmir Agriculture University campus [in] Khudwani Village. ‘The army soldiers retaliated, leading to a brief exchange of fire. Muskaan was unfortunately caught in the crossfire and sustained [a] bullet injury,’ he said.”

Twitter: @murtaza_shibli