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Society
Child Warriors of Kashmir
by Prakriiti Gupta
November 20, 2005
On July 12, 2005, Mohammad Akram, 11, was on his way home from school
when he was stopped by a group of terrorists. They asked him to throw a
grenade in the local market place, and promised him Rs 500 (1US$=Rs 43)
for the task. Terror-stricken Akram did not have a choice - he had to do
as the men said. But before he could fling the grenade, it exploded in
his hands, injuring him severely.
A few days later, Tahira, 9, from Pangai village, Poonch district, was
seriously injured when an improvised explosive device (IED) that she was
handling exploded. She too had been forced by terrorists to place the
IED on a road often used by the Indian troops.
An alarming number of children are being used as 'terror tools' by
various terrorist groups in Jammu and Kashmir. The children are used as
spies, porters, and as guerrillas who throw grenades and plant IEDs. The
children (some barely nine or 10 years of age) are even used as shields
in encounters and deployed in operations against Indian security
agencies.
"The terrorists sometimes give Rs 100 for throwing a grenade. In most
cases, either the children get hurt or they miss their target (security
forces), which results in many civilians being hurt. That's why there
are so many civilians dying in grenade attacks these days," explains R K
Chibber, Public Relations Officer with the Army.
Srinagar Police Inspector General Javed Maqdoomi adds, "There are
umpteen examples where unsuspecting children have been used either as
couriers to send messages or to ferry arms and explosives. A security
patrol would never bother to search a child earlier. But now we need to
change our strategy."
Increasingly, the army has been discovering several 'young warriors'
working for terrorist groups. Abdul Gafoor, 12, from the remote Udhampur
village, was 'recruited' by terrorists and used for operations against
the security forces. He travelled with the Hizbul Mujahideen men in the
thick forests of Pakikot, Narla and Larki in the hilly belt of Udhampur.
Terrorists killed his father in 2003 and his mother was kidnapped for
allegedly having links with security forces. "The first two months, I
was made to wash utensils and carry their load as they moved from one
village to another. Later, I was trained to use the AK-47 rifle and
handle explosives," he said, narrating his experience after being
rescued by the security forces in 2004. Gafoor was also used as a spy
and as a human shield during attacks on army patrols.
In June 2005, during an encounter in the Pir Panjal mountains, the army
found Muzaffar Iqbal, barely 11, doing the job of a porter, guide and a
part-time guerrilla. Iqbal was recruited one day in February 2004 at
gunpoint while he was returning from school. "I was also made to carry
sorties (raid or an attack)...we were not aware of the bigger game-plan
of the terrorists," he is reported to have told the army.
Mohammad Altaf, 13, was with the terrorists for more than a year. "Five
other children and I worked day and night. We cooked for the terrorists
and washed utensils. We were also trained in arms and sent to get
weapons from hideouts," he says.
The security forces claim that along the Indo-Pak border, Pakistani
boys, as young as 13-14 years, carrying deadly weapons, have been
arrested. Recently, nine such children were picked up from the Line of
Control. They revealed they had been trained at a madrassa (religious
school) in Pakistan and were sent back to India territory after
undergoing basic military training.
At times, these child warriors also get killed in encounters. On August
8, 2003, a 13-year-old boy was killed in the Mendhar sector of Poonch
district while entering Indian territory from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
The child was among the seven other terrorists killed in an encounter.
Most of the children picked up by terrorists are from remote areas of
Rajouri, Poonch, Doda, Udhampur and Kupwara, and belong to very poor and
illiterate families. In fact, the Jammu and Kashmir police has noticed a
clear trend since 2004 - more and more children go missing from remote
areas. An estimated 100 children have been reported missing in Kashmir
since 2004.
"In the early 1990s," says Srinagar Inspector General of Police Javed
Maqdoomi, "a handful of children were involved. Last year (2004), around
200 were recruited by the terrorists and hidden in the mountains. We
only know of children missing when a complaint is registered. If we
consider unreported cases, the number of children missing and recruited
by terrorists may run into hundreds."
Chibber explains, "The terrorist groups (many of whom have lost several
members in recent years) want to save trained terrorists for bigger
operations. Constantly, they are directed by their leaders to launch big
attacks."
By arrangement with
Women's Feature Service
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| Society
The Week of November 20, 2005
Law of Karma by Dr. Anil K. Rajvanshi
Why Am I Here? by Shefali Burns
Global Threats,
Local Responses by Rajinder Puri
When will India get over Its Awe of White Skin?
by Kusum Choppra
The PM who
Placed India on Fast Trace to Global Power Status by Dr. Subhash Kapila
All You Who Seek Sleep Tonight by
Susan Philip
Gender Equality or Encashment of the Last Human
Resource by Kusum Choppra
Credibility of University Courses:
Uniform
Evaluation is the Answer by Prof. Raja Mutthirulandi
Caste System in Hinduism: A Historical and
Analytical Approach by Dr. RK Lahiri, PhD
India's African Past by Fatima Chowdhury
Goa and Garbage by Lionel Messias
Peace via Technology by Anat Cohen
Poet, Poetry and the Native Land by Alipta Jena
Footsoldiers Ask for a Better Deal by
Kathyayini Chamaraj
Brazil: Waiting for Their Land of Freedom by
Marlinelza B de Oliveira
At Peace in Conflict Zone
Child Warriors of Kashmir by Prakriiti Gupta
Shedding Light on the Dark Continent by Aparna
Sharma
Main, Meri Patni aur Woh by Kusum Choppra
A Second Lesson by NS Murty
Insanity by Anu Chopra
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