Indian rights body: Kashmir killings show state failure, demands return of rights

A coalition of prominent Indian jurists, civil servants, and military veterans has accused the Modi government of grave security lapses and human rights violations in Kashmir, linking the deadly April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack to intelligence failures and calling for the immediate restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s full statehood. In its latest annual report, the Forum for Human Rights in Jammu and Kashmir warned that repression, disenfranchisement, and militarization are driving the region deeper into crisis.

The Forum for Human Rights in Jammu and Kashmir — co-chaired by former Union Home Secretary Gopal Pillai and conflict resolution expert Radha Kumar — said the Indian government failed to act on prior intelligence, directly contributing to the massacre of 25 Hindu tourists and a Muslim pony guide in the Baisaran meadow near Pahalgam.

The Forum comprises an extraordinary range of former public servants and experts, including retired Supreme Court justices Madan Lokur, Ruma Pal and A.P. Shah; military officers such as Lieutenant General H.S. Panag, Air Vice Marshal Kapil Kak, Colonel Yoginder Kandhari and Major General Ashok Mehta; and leading civil society figures like child rights activist Enakshi Ganguly (HAQ), historian Ramachandra Guha, and Probir Sen, former Secretary-General of the National Human Rights Commission.

In its 2025 annual report, the Forum said the failure to reinstate a CRPF picket — removed months earlier — and the lack of basic advisories despite credible warnings amounted to gross negligence by both the Union Home Ministry and Lieutenant-Governor Manoj Sinha.

“This was a grave and avoidable lapse,” the report said, adding that the Union Home Ministry’s response “exposed civilians to unnecessary risk” and failed even to issue a basic public advisory. 

The lieutenant-governor took responsibility for the failure three months later — without resigning — while Union Home Minister Amit Shah has not acknowledged his role despite directly overseeing security briefings.

Instead of recognizing the valley-wide condemnation of the killings — including black front pages in newspapers, strikes, and prayers in mosques — the police prematurely claimed that two of the attackers were local Kashmiris. 

That claim was later disproven by the National Investigation Agency, which said all attackers were Pakistani nationals.

But the damage was done. The report documents a nationwide surge in anti-Kashmiri sentiment, hate speech, assaults, and police action. Over 2,800 people were detained or summoned, including 100 under the PSA and UAPA. At least 12 were formally charged, and several homes of alleged militants were demolished in violation of Supreme Court orders. Among those targeted were journalists, students, and ordinary Kashmiris.

“Collective punishment, fear-based governance and the dismantling of local institutions are not solutions. They deepen the crisis,” the Forum warned.

‘Deliberate disempowerment’

The Forum said the crisis stems from the political disenfranchisement that began in August 2019, when Jammu and Kashmir lost its statehood and special constitutional status. Though assembly elections were finally held in late 2024, resulting in a National Conference victory, the Union government has yet to restore statehood — despite repeated promises by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Shah.

Instead, new “Business Rules” have ensured that the lieutenant-governor retains control over all civil, police and legal services — a move the report says undermines the elected government.

The Forum said the stripping of statehood and imposition of central rule violated constitutional principles and must be reversed. 

It also backed Ladakh’s demand for statehood and inclusion in the Sixth Schedule, and urged a parliamentary dialogue with Kashmiri lawmakers on the region’s future status, including land and economic rights.

Mounting civilian toll

The report paints a grim picture of the ground reality in Jammu and Kashmir between August 2024 and July 2025:

• Security incidents rose sharply, with 126 deaths including 42 civilians, 20 security personnel, and 64 militants — up from 104 the previous year.

• Targeted killings included multiple attacks on migrant workers and religious minorities. Six non-Muslim workers and a local doctor were killed in Sonamarg in October 2024.

• Custodial abuse continued. At least two Gujjar men died in disputed circumstances — one after alleged torture and another while in police custody. A 23-year-old man was found dead in a river after reportedly jumping from custody.

• Crimes against women and children remain underreported. In one case, a Gujjar-Bakerwal woman was gang-raped and denied emergency treatment. “This is not just hate — it’s dehumanization,” a community member told the Forum.

The report also criticizes the lack of accountability, noting that the Jammu and Kashmir Human Rights Commission remains defunct, and the Women’s Commission was dismantled after the 2019 reorganization. Even the elected government has been blocked from overseeing police and relief work, with the lieutenant-governor holding overriding authority.

Militarized response and media clampdown

Despite the failures, the Union government is expanding its militarized presence. The report notes approval of 20 new CRPF battalions, adding 20,000 personnel — in addition to existing reinforcements — while dismissing trained local officers. 

The Forum questioned the logic of this approach, saying it failed to prevent the Pahalgam attack and fuels alienation.

Journalists too have faced reprisals. Several were summoned for innocuous tweets, while others were caught in the broader crackdown. “There is no avenue left for redress,” the report warns. 

“Only full restoration of democratic and constitutional rights — including statehood and oversight commissions — can begin to repair the damage.”