Kashmir violence spills on to the Net

Nisar Ahmed,a software engineer from North Kashmir says since he is not courageous enough to hurl a stone on the streets,he hurls mini-posts on Facebook expressing his thoughts and anger over the escalating human rights violations in the Valley. People have different capacities to fight oppression. Some fight it on the streets,some write against it but we,the more tech-savvy people who see the web as a global platform to express their thoughts and anger,use the social networking sites, he says. These days,he spends more than 10-12 hours on the Internet,searching for news on Kashmir,commenting on various news portals and debating issues concerning the Valley.

Ahmed is one among the thousands of angry young men and women in Kashmir who have taken to the Internet to spread the word about human rights violations in Kashmir. Posts on Facebook,tweets on Twitter,videos on YouTube,and graffiti everything is being marshalled by these youngsters to vent their ire against the government.

Many Facebook users from the Valley have even begun using posters proclaiming slogans like I Protest,Go India,Go Back Stop Human Rights Violations in Kashmir instead of their personal profile pictures. Some groups even host polls online asking new users to answer questions on the situation in the Valley. The Anjuman-e-Himaayat-e-Sanbazaan-e-Kashmir asks its new members whether they support stone-pelting in the current scenario in Kashmir.

The social networking sites are also doubling up as alternative sources of news. There are pages on Facebook that update the breaking news. I also write posts that I think will help mould public opinion. I have many friends outside Kashmir. We want to show them the real picture of Kashmir, says Ahmed.

Musaib,a Kashmir University student who recently formed a page named Road Map for Kashmir Issue says,We are being restricted to our houses,like pigeons in their cages with no possibility of expressing our sufferings. The only thing that allows us to communicate to the world is the Internet. It connects us to the world,to the people outside and helps us to hold debates,discussions in a dignified and honorable way. Internet,he says,transcends all walls and ignores all barricades and is without any threat of bullets and batons.

Even reports of many of these rebels being detained by police for posting videos that incite violence seem to have failed to act as a deterrent,with the number of likes on these pages increasing by the day,say the users. Nasir second name held on request,an active Facebook user from South Kashmir says,When you want to know the uncensored news,Facebook is where we look. There are news updates followed by the video of that incident. That gives it more authentication.

For Kashmiris living outside the state,YouTube and Facebook are their windows to their lost homeland. It shakes me to see pictures and videos of dead people,wailing mothers. Since I cant be there,I use social networking to express solidarity with the people back home, says a Kashmiri research scholar at AMU who declined to be named.

Meanwhile,Kashmiris believe that the sites have helped forge a strong bond among the people of the Valley. Khurram Parvez,Programme Coordinator J-K Coalition of Civil Society,said, In the last few weeks,governments consistent attempt has been to fragment our society but Facebook has helped us get together; share our ideas and opinions with each other. It is the only democratic space we have. These sites have also helped us in spreading the idea of remembrance. The best weapon Indian state could have is that people forget. This is our way to remember.

Interestingly,Masarat Alam,the Hurriyat leader,also used YouTube to send his message across to the Indian soldiers posted in Kashmir. He appealed to them to defy orders. Earlier,newspapers had been banned but for the first time,this news statement was banned by the government, says Parvez.

Apart from the social networking sites,there are many online petitions doing the rounds which activists intend to present to organisations like Amnesty International,Asian Human Rights Commission etc.

When tears stop,a revolution begins ,a status update by a girl on one of the sites is an indication of the raw anger bubbling beneath the surface. Various Kashmiri revolutionary songs penned by the lyricist during 1990s are getting a new lease of life at the hands of the Internet protest. Aga Shahid Ali,the late Kashmiri poets verses are being increasingly used as status updates. His verses like They make a desolation and call it peace and various other poems are being uploaded on these sites. Even recent hits like Kanans Wave your flag are being incorporated into the protest. Sameer name changed on request,a Kashmiri youngster who uploaded pictures of protests in the Valley with the song being played in the background on YouTube and Facebook,says,I tried using the pictures that somehow matched the lyrics of the song. I am using art as a means to reach out to people. Art has more shelf life.

However,behind this growing trend lurk fears of a ban on these sites. If the Indian state does that,that will be most shameful, says an online protester.

As the real world collapses around them,these rebels have found a method of protest and solace in the virtual world.