India’s State Sponsored Terrorism in Kashmir: Rape as a Weapon of War

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to highlight the Indian atrocities on the women of Jammu and
Kashmir under the umbrella of Indian state sponsored terrorism. Rape is used as a war tactic
after the implementation of immunity laws in conflict zones. Rape is used strategically
along with other strategies of warfare. Indian government is always in a state of denial and
government reports shows the lowest numbers of reported sexual harassment cases in Indian
occupied Kashmir. But, the reality is totally different and the Indian government did not
conceal the truth. Currently, many Kashmiri women have assumed a new role. They are
speaking publicly and even in court that what is happening to them and how they are
mistreated by the authorities and police. This paper also argues that why many Kashmiri
women do not report rape cases because they lack faith in the existing system of justice,
fear and social taboos. Mostly women are silent about the sexual violence because they fear
to be raped again. Raped women are stigmatized by the rapists and the community that
continuously ruined their lives in the socially constructed male dominant society. Nobody
wants to marry a raped girl, retain marriage or allow her to live in home peacefully. The
victimized and raped women are considered a curse and bad name for the family and the
society. Human right activists are silent because voices of Kashmiri women do not matter
in India and the world. The exploratory cum analytical method of research is applied to the
study. Newspapers and reports of different organizations have been reviewed for collection
of the data. The words of the Professor William Baker on the 52nd UN Commission on
Human Rights mark the dent on India secular state status. Rape in Kashmir was not the
product of a few undisciplined soldiers but a systematic instrument of the security forces to
demean and terrorize the Kashmiri women and population. It is the responsibility of the
international community, states and human right activists to protect Kashmiri women from
the Indian atrocities and put pressure on Indian government for not committing crimes that
are internationally recognized as crime against humanity. This paper ends with some
recommendations and way forward strategies.