Freedom House finds that India is “Partially Free”, with a score of 49/100 (22/40 for Political Rights and 27/60 for Civil Liberties).

Topics:  access to information and internet, freedom of assembly, minority rights, electoral freedom, political pluralism and participation, government functioning, freedom of expression and belief, associational and organisational rights, rule of law, personal autonomy and individual rights

Terms: internet shutdowns, right to freedom of assembly, right to free and fair elections, right to freedom of speech, right to political self-determination, right to dissent, extrajudicial killing of journalist Shujaat Bukhari

This report by Citizens Against Hate (a collective that documents violations, provides victim support and engages with institutions for improved justice and policy reforms in India) shines a light on the illegal detention of minors in Kashmir since the security clampdown on 5th Aug 2109. The report also looks into a lawsuit brought before the Indian Supreme Court challenging illegal detention of minors in Kashmir, and its casual dismissal there, before examining some of the evidence.

Topics: Kashmiri children bearing the community’s burden, the farce of a judicial review, blind to injustice,  Kashmir a zone of exception to national and international law, case studies

Terms: Indian Supreme Court, illegal incarceration of children, arbitrary detention of minors, preventive detention of minors, denial of due process, denial of basic rights, role of justice system in enabling violations, stone pelters, denial of the right to free expression, Jammu & Kashmir Juvenile Justice Committee, J&K Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2013, violations of international law, victim testimonies, Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act (PSA), Code of Criminal Procedure Section 107, custodial torture of minors, Juvenile Justice Boards

Article Summary: This report summarises key human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir in 2019. The year 2019 will be remembered as a landmark year in the annals of J&K’s chequered history as the last vestiges of J&K’s limited autonomy were permanently revoked by the Government of India on August 5, 2019. The government of India not only did not consult with people of J&K or their representatives in a decision which they regard as ‘beneficial for the future of J&K’ but threw the entire leadership – both pro-India and pro-resolution political leaders in jail. The decision was also accompanied by a military siege in which nearly one hundred thousand troops were deployed in the state – especially in Kashmir valley, manning streets, alleys and all major city and town squares. A strict curfew was enforced accompanied with a total communication blockade – in which all mobile phone services, internet services, and postal services were shut. This report documents allegations of mass arrests, torture, killings, use of excessive force, harassment and intimidation emerged soon after the abrogation of Article 370.‍

Topics: statistics of human rights violations, extrajudicial executions, encounters, cordon and search operations and raids, arbitrary, administrative arrests and illegal detentions, enforced disappearances, unknown, unmarked and mass graves, violations to right to freedom of opinion, expression and free media, curbs on freedom of movement, association, and assembly, curbs on religious freedoms, restrictions on internet and social media, destruction, vandalism of civil property, sexual violence, surveillance, persecution of Kashmiris in India, use of excessive force, continued use of torture, abrogation of Article 370- impact and assessment, killings of political activists, violence against children, violence against persons with disabilities, attacks on non-local workers, grenade attacks at public places, militarization, access to justice - dysfunctional judiciary, suicides and fratricides among Indian armed forces‍

Terms: custodial torture, custodial killings, Jammu and Kashmir State Information Commission (SIC), Jammu and Kashmir State Human Rights Commission (SHRC), pellet-guns, extrajudicial killings,custodial killings, extrajudicial killings, killings of children, killings of women, torture, torture of children, preventive detention, arbitrary detention, extrajudicial killing of RIzwan Pandit, Ishrat Muneer, extrajudicial killing of minors Sharafat Bashir, Junaid Bilal and Atif Ahmad, violation of right to life, July 2019 amarnath yatra, lockdown of Jamia Masjid,  2019 Pulwama attack, violation of right to health, cross-LOC shelling, Cordon and Search Operations (CASOs), harrasment, shotguns, pellets, excessive force, indiscriminate force, teargas, pepper gas, impunity, failure of accountability mechanisms, failure of judiciary, internet blockades, internet shutdowns

This report describes the situation in the Kashmir Valley after August 2019 with a focus on the impact of the "abrogation" of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution.

Topics: abrogation of Article 370, detentions, torture, media, journalism, communications, access to healthcare, education, children, essential commodities, barrier to trade, religious freedom, access to justice, political history of Kashmir

Terms: siege, lockdown, Article 370, erosion of Article 370, board exams, Jamia Masjid closure, Constitutional Order of 1954, Constitutional Order of 1986, Constitutional Order of 2019, Public Safety Act (PSA), habeas corpus, fake encounter killings, night raids, lack of Information, exclusion from public participation, militarization of schools, closure of mosques, Intimidation of clerics, legal discrimination, normalization of emergency, Impunity, denial of economic, cultural and social rights

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This report by an independent 11-member civil society group from India summarizes a fact-finding mission to Kashmir. The group sought to see first hand ground realities in the true spirit of a democratic society and to hold the government accountable for their actions.  The report draws attention to the history of Jammu and Kashmir while understanding the events just before and after August 5, 2019. Along with the collective aspirations of the people of Kashmir, the ongoing committed resistance of the people, the resulting structured state violence on them and the systematic denial of legal recourse and justice to the people, it traces the judicial trends to peoples’ issues.

Topics: history of broken promises, new normal in Kashmir, restricted mobility, communication blockade, government services discontinued, disruption of livelihood and commerce, The People’s Hartal in the face of the siege, state oppression, mass militarization, night raids as collective punishment, torture, arbitrary arrests, deaths, pellet gun injuries, forced labour, religious freedom trampled on, violations of law, unwelcome presence of reporters, high courts, district courts, TADA/UAPA court, J&K State Human Rights Commission (SHRC)

Terms: Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act 1078 (PSA), Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967 (UAPA), Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA), violation of right to movement, arbitrary arrests, extrajudicial killings, information and communication blockade, legal impunity, violation of habeas corpus, excessive use of force, collective punishment, custodial killings, maiming, use of non-lethal weapons, use of pellet guns, failure of accountability, harassment of human rights defenders, violation of right to freedom of religion, judicial failure, denial of due process, denial of access to justice, lack of redress, custodial torture, forced labour, violation of right to healthcare