Community Correspondent Yaseen Mir hails from Baramulla District, an area that has been at the heart of militant uprisings in Kashmir. In the coverage of these conflicts, what hasn’t been documented is their impact on rural communities like Yaseen’s. Here, every aspect of life is lived out in the shadow of a conflict zone where hundreds have gone missing, have…

Yaseen Mir

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Across the fields in Kashmir, Danish Manzoor,18, was on his way to tuitions when a bullet hit him during the Kashmir Unrest. He could hear a peaceful protest, condemning the death of a 20-year-old youth, as he breathed his last breath.

Danish and his friends were standing at a distance observing the protest of a slain youth when the army open fired at the protesters in Nadihal, Rafiabad in northern Kashmir. "The protest was going away that way while Danish stood here. He was martyred here," says his friend, pointing at a distance. Several youths also got injured in the open fire.

During the Kashmir unrest, there were extrajudicial executions of more than 100 civilians; more than 15,000 persons got injured in the State forces action with 4500+ injuries by the use of pellet shotguns with 1000+ civilians receiving eye damage fully or partially. Protest gatherings and marches, including funeral processions and public prayers, were met with violence. Essential services including telecommunication and internet services remained by and large curtailed. Freedom of Press was violated as media professionals were attacked and injured. There were instances of ban on publication of few dailies and seizure of daily newspapers. The Medical aid services during the uprising were also affected as there were attacks on ambulances, assault on doctors and paramedical workers and crack down on voluntary aid workers by various security agencies. The report by the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Societies further examines these violations  in their report  Human Right Review of 2016

Danish was eldest among his siblings, including a brother Aquib Manzoor studying in Class 9, and a sister. His father, Manzoor A Lone, is a labourer. The family is at loss of words due to the loss. "I feel like it is the end of the world without my brother," Aquib tells Yaseen while holding back his tears. 

Yaseen Mir reports from Jammu and Kashmir for Video Volunteers.