How Covid-19 is adding to the miseries in occupied Kashmir after India's clampdown
the corona virus adds to the woes of the people of Indian-occupied Kashmir, who have already been tortured by Indian police and the army in a dungeon set up by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi since last August.
A New York Times report highlights how the Indian government has imposed a nationwide lockdown in recent weeks to combat the coronavirus that further exacerbating the situation in towns and cities in occupied Kashmir.
Police have cordoned off roads and streets with shiny concertina wire and residents are abused and beaten if they try to leave their homes.
The publication reads, “Eight months after India revoked Kashmir’s semiautonomous status and brought the region fully under its authority, doctors here say a state of hopelessness has morphed into a severe psychological crisis. Mental health workers say Kashmir is witnessing an alarming increase in instances of depression, anxiety and psychotic events.”
According to the newspaper, local medical professionals say they are seeing an increase in suicides and already alarming rates of domestic abuse.
Doctors and researchers say the occupied valley, where the majority Muslim population is fighting for its independence, has little resources to deal with it. According to the New York Times, decades before the events of recent months, the violence perpetrated by the Indian security forces on the Kashmiri people has had a physical and mental impact on the region and its people.
After surveying 5,600 households in 2015, doctors estimate that about 1.8 million Kashmiris suffer from some form of mental disorder. Nine out of 10 have experienced conflict-related trauma. The figures are much higher than in India.
The paper described an incident of a Kashmiri woman, Sara Begum, whose house was raided on August 3 by some masked policemen. They "barged into her home, badly roughed up her 28-year-old son", Fayyaz Ahmad Mir, and took him away.
The article cites an incident involving Sarah Begum, a Kashmiri woman, whose house was raided by masked police on August 3. They "barged into her home, badly roughed up her 28-year-old son", Fayyaz Ahmad Mir, and took him away.
The New York Times noted that Fayyaz was "one of the thousands of civilians arrested and tortured by the Indian government to establish its control over Kashmir."
"The clampdown has disrupted daily life, with many people feeling besieged and afraid to leave their homes," according to the publication.
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