27 th 2018 . In both instances , injustice is done to the people who died in police firing . Here the drama of filing the FIR by the Kashmir govt . and its nullification by the Court will give the rulers enough time to fizzle out the people ’ s anger and protest . Gruesome Crime in Katua
Gruesome crime in Katua against a child of 8-years age right in this period made every civilised person to bow his head in shame .
On Jan 10 th 2018 , an eightyear ’ s child belonging to a nomadic Gujjar-Bakrawal community was abducted from Rasna village in Katua district by a gang . The child was kept in captivity in a small temple for a week . She was sedated , raped , suffocated and bludgeoned to death . Her body was found on Jan 17 th 2018 .
The protest from the people of Gujjar community had compelled the Crime Branch of JK govt . to order for probe and criminal proceedings . It was revealed that the crime was committed right in the temple . 8 persons were involved in the crime . Shanji Ram , temple care taker , 4 police officials , 2 special police officers , Deepak Khajuria and Surinder Kumar have been charged with direct involvement in the crime and a SI and a Head Constable have been accused of helping to cover up the crime .
The Hindutva forces in Jammu , including the BJP , openly stood by those involved in the ghastly crime . A Hindu Ekata Manch has come up to defend those who had committed the crime . This organisation has openly accused the Crime Branch of JK police that it framed the case against the accused only because they were Hindus . It took out rallies to oppose the case and they were participated by two BJP Ministers ( Chandra Prakash Ganga and Lal Singh ) of JK Govt . The two BJP Ministers had to resign under much pressure from the people and , that too , as an eye washing measure . On April 9 th 2018 , the Jammu wing
20 of Bar Association has prevented the Crime Branch from filing the charge sheet in the Court . It also called for a bandh on April 11 th 2018 . In one word , Katua lawyers have joined the band wagon of Hindutva forces in the campaign against the case . The Crime Branch ’ s investigation faced many odds . Swetambari Sharma , lone female member of SIT and the Deputy SP said : “ The people we believed were involved in the gruesome rape and murder of that eight-year old angel , and their relatives and sympathisers , including a multitude of lawyers , left no stone unturned to disrupt our investigation . They went to the extreme of our humiliation and harassment . But we stood our ground firmly till the end ”.
The abduction , rape and murder of Katua child was a part of conspiracy to drive out Muslim Gujjars and Bakrawals from Jammu . In Jammu , a predominantly a Hindu populated region , BJP is dead set to further tighten its political and communal hold on Jammu . Eversince PDP-BJP combine came to power in Kashmir , it has intensified its attempts to polarise the people communally . Hindutva forces chose to terrorise the people of Gujjar – Bakrawal community to realise their aim . Katua crime came as part of it . Welcomingly , the people and democratic forces in India and the world have widely come out condemning and protesting against the ghastly Katua crime and questioning the policy of Indian rulers towards the Kashmir people .
All the developments in Kashmir only show that the Kashmir people are being pushed to the wall .
The Indian ruling classes must learn from their own experience in Kashmir in the last several decades .
The methods of suppression , slander and manipulation cannot help to win the Kashmir people . In reality , all such methods had only further widened the gulf between the Kashmir people and the Indian rulers and strengthened the peoples ’ resolve and determination to defend their own rights . The methods of blaming others for the Kashmir problem may , at best , temporarily divert the attention of Indian people but will not help finding the solution to the problem . The attempts to communally divide and polarise Kashmir people are wrought with dangerous consequences not only for the Kashmir people , but also for India as a whole . They would only make the resolution of Kashmir problem more difficult , more complicated and land Kashmir and India in the quagmire of new problems . The Indian rulers must realise that Kashmir people are strong and unshakable in their national and democratic aspirations . Kashmir people ’ s love for their own culture , language and life style and urge for a free and democratic economic and political life are strong . One who cannot understand this is sure to fail to understand the Kashmir people . The Indian ruling classes must know that the vast masses of Indian people respect the national and democratic aspirations and rights of Kashmir people and they never accept the brutal suppression of the Kashmir people . They cannot be carried away by the national chauvinism . It is heartening to see the Indian people increasingly expressing their sympathy and solidarity towards the genuine aspirations , rights and struggles of Kashmir people . So , a small but essential step towards understanding and addressing the real problems of Kashmir people can be to create democratic , peaceful and congenial atmosphere and conditions in Kashmir where the Kashmir people can express their national and democratic aspirations and views freely and without any fear . �
Class Struggle