Skip to main content

Non-lethal injuries? Pellet guns have led to major "public health crisis" in Kashmir

Hiba, youngest pellet gun victim
By Jitamanyu Sahoo*
At a first glance, their scars will appear as pitted marks. Their eyes padded and bruised. Some of the eyes are closed as they are scared of their own vision; some of the eyes are open but their vision is blurred. Kashmir’s men, women and children are gazing at nothing. They are staring at the darkness that surrounds them in life, as they have been partially or fully blinded by pellets.
In November 2018, 18-month Hiba became the youngest pellet victim, whose right eye had been extensively damaged because of the metallic ball fired by the security forces. Intervention by two human rights activists from Kashmir, Syed Mujtaba and Mirza Beg, demanding compensation and independent investigation brought this horrific incident to attention of the authorities.
But with sheer lack of apathy by the state government her loss of vision was compensated by a meagre sum of Rs 1 lakh. The questions then we need to ask to the state today, “Why? What was Hiba’s fault? Why have they ruined this child’s future?”

Scale of the problem

The state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has suffered waves of intense unrest and sporadic violence since 1947. But pellet guns were introduced as “non-lethal weapons” into Kashmir as a method of crowd control due to the rise of civil unrest in 2010. According to Amnesty International in 2010, pellet guns have reportedly killed 14 people in Kashmir.
However, since 2016, following the renewed unrest in Kashmir after Burhan Wani’s killing more than 80 people were killed and over 20,000 people were injured by pellet guns. Billy Perrigo in
“Time” laments that the ammunition used in these guns are not designed for crowd control but are commonly used by hunters.
Siddharth David, placing reliance on his studies argues, “Usually, (pellets) have a range of around 45 metres and hence are stipulated to be shot only from a distance beyond 50 metres. If used at closer ranges, the pellets do not have enough time to disperse and travel in a compact group which move at very high velocities, making them extremely harmful, almost behaving like hand gun bullets, enough to penetrate deep and cause severe damage to bone and tissue.”
The United Nations’ “Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials” and India’s own laws on crowd control have specific directions on how to use Force and Firearms in crowd control. But subsequent reports have highlighted that these conditions are not adhered to in stressful situations in managing the unrest. The arbitrary and abusive use of force and firearms by law enforcement officials in violation of the international standards have led us to a situation we have never witnessed before in the valley.
The truth is more than 1.7 million pellets have been fired by the security forces which has been admitted before the J&K High Court seeking ban on use of weapons.
The truth is under the garb of “non-lethal" weapons pellet guns are justified by the state to be more humane and acceptable instruments of crowd control. The truth is, our own citizens are blinded, injured and maimed by their own state.

Why should one care?

Today the use of pellet guns has given rise to a new public health concern which is constructed by our own state actions. We are grappling at this very moment with a health crisis in Kashmir which is having far-reaching human costs.
According to the clinical studies by Dhar and Wani, one-third of the injury sites of the survivors and victims of pellets were the lower limbs, one-fourth hitting the head region. The study further mentions one-third of the survivors of ocular pellet gun injuries in Kashmir permanently lost their eyesight.
In addition the outcomes of these catastrophic injuries documented in the literature are amputations, permanent disability or loss of life. Apart from physiological and psychological damage, the costs for treatment, disability costs and loss of livelihoods pose a life-long economic burden on the survivors. The bystanders who are not participant to the unrest are also caught in the midst of pellets. The lethal use pellet guns have dramatically affected the health landscape in the valley adding to the already loaded health burden.
The Amnesty International report ‘Losing Sight in Kashmir’ states, “People injured by pellet-firing shotguns have faced serious physical and mental health issues, including symptoms of psychological trauma. School and university students who were hit in the eyes said that they continue to have learning difficulties. 
Several victims who were the primary breadwinners for their families fear they will not be able to work any longer. Many have not regained their eyesight despite repeated surgeries.’ The report have elucidated that the use of pellets have triggered a security and public health crisis in Kashmir.”

Re-thinking public health policy

It is impossible to separate the question of why we should care about the impending public health crisis of pellet gun cases from the questions of what human rights imply about health and being human. The blind application of pellets by the state has left J&K itself in a flux with the absence of coping mechanism. The health priorities and heath utility today in the state have not accounted for the ever expanding injuries of their own targeted citizens.
The complexity of the healthcare systems have witnessed tremendous pressure in treating the pellets victims and finding it difficult to do follow up. 
The unanticipated consequences and the difficult conditions under which overwhelming number of children and young people were brought in emergency situations have put burden on the health providers. In consequences of which the socio-economic burden has taken a surge restricting people to live lives of dignity, to be free and equal citizens.
The prevailing trends to use disease protocols, financial levers, and siloed programmes to manage the health care system are fatally flawed and will lead to unintended consequences. 
The health policy in J&K needs to take into account the quality of care and reduce healthcare variations, it must address the socio-economic disparities in the treatment of pellet victims, the cost of loss of livelihood and sharing of responsibility of patient care needs to be burdened by the state.
My objection is on the ethics of the use of pellet guns by our security forces. The use of pellets has caused pain and agony to our own citizens, but whether the security forces deliberated on other option is something which needs to be ascertained. 
The opaque promises made by the government to set up panels to consider alternatives to pellets for crowd control have led to social-disorder in the valley. Moreover, the state today must acknowledge it is in the nub of a public health crisis resulting from political and policy miscalculation.
The use of pellets and its ramifications is tearing down our democracy. The bodily injury and mass debilitation have led to humanitarian collapse in the valley. To puncture the resistance and breaking the will of the people by violating all the norms of human rights is political contamination.
Each and every time pellets are fired on an unarmed protester, humanity loses its vision. Today we must use rights-based approach to address this fundamental health reality in Kashmir. Moreover, a public health discourse on the glaring health crisis in the valley must be activated.
---
*Human rights activist, litigator and independent researcher with interests in health law, and policy on peace and conflict studies

Comments

Anonymous said…
We should request with folded hands to the public throwing stones at Army to please not do so and distribute sweets and flowers to them . And request them with folded hands not to snatch our weapons and not attack men in uniform .
This is separatist propaganda . I am paid to have loyalty to the Govt of India and execute all orders as given . Not to hear the story of stone pelters. We will fire in self protection . And will fire the weapon ordered to with the ammunition provided to us. We didn’t buy these weapons out of our own pocket .
Anyone willing to support the life and limb of a soldier also or all Human rights are for stone pelters and separatists ?

TRENDING

Reducing emission? India among top nations whose coal as energy source going up

By NS Venkataraman*  The State of the Global Climate report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) confirmed that the year 2023 was the warmest year on record, with the global temperature of 1.4 degree celsius above pre-industrial 1850-1900 base line.

Lockdown 'total failure' of science more than of politics: Open letter on 4th anniversary

Counterview Desk  In an open letter to fellow academicians, scientists and medical practitioners in India, marking the fourth anniversary of India's lockdown (25 March 2024), the Managing Committee* of the Universal Health Organisation (UHO) has insisted on the need to "repair two years of immense damage to science".

Insider plot to kill Deendayal Upadhyay? What RSS pracharak Balraj Madhok said

By Shamsul Islam*  Balraj Madhok's died on May 2, 2016 ending an era of old guards of Hindutva politics. A senior RSS pracharak till his death was paid handsome tributes by the RSS leaders including PM Modi, himself a senior pracharak, for being a "stalwart leader of Jan Sangh. Balraj Madhok ji's ideological commitment was strong and clarity of thought immense. He was selflessly devoted to the nation and society. I had the good fortune of interacting with Balraj Madhok ji on many occasions". The RSS also issued a formal condolence message signed by the Supremo Mohan Bhagwat on behalf of all swayamsevaks, referring to his contribution of commitment to nation and society. He was a leading RSS pracharak on whom his organization relied for initiating prominent Hindutva projects. But today nobody in the RSS-BJP top hierarchy remembers/talks about Madhok as he was an insider chronicler of the immense degeneration which was spreading as an epidemic in the high echelons of th

Magnetic, stunning, Protima Bedi 'exposed' malice of sexual repression in society

By Harsh Thakor*  Protima Bedi was born to a baniya businessman and a Bengali mother as Protima Gupta in Delhi in 1949. Her father was a small-time trader, who was thrown out of his family for marrying a dark Bengali women. The theme of her early life was to rebel against traditional bondage. It was extraordinary how Protima underwent a metamorphosis from a conventional convent-educated girl into a freak. On October 12th was her 75th birthday; earlier this year, on August 18th it was her 25th death anniversary.

Savarkar 'criminally betrayed' Netaji and his INA by siding with the British rulers

By Shamsul Islam* RSS-BJP rulers of India have been trying to show off as great fans of Netaji. But Indians must know what role ideological parents of today's RSS/BJP played against Netaji and Indian National Army (INA). The Hindu Mahasabha and RSS which always had prominent lawyers on their rolls made no attempt to defend the INA accused at Red Fort trials.

'Flawed' argument: Gandhi had minimal role, naval mutinies alone led to Independence

Counterview Desk Reacting to a Counterview  story , "Rewiring history? Bose, not Gandhi, was real Father of Nation: British PM Attlee 'cited'" (January 26, 2016), an avid reader has forwarded  reaction  in the form of a  link , which carries the article "Did Atlee say Gandhi had minimal role in Independence? #FactCheck", published in the site satyagrahis.in. The satyagraha.in article seeks to debunk the view, reported in the Counterview story, taken by retired army officer GD Bakshi in his book, “Bose: An Indian Samurai”, which claims that Gandhiji had a minimal role to play in India's freedom struggle, and that it was Netaji who played the crucial role. We reproduce the satyagraha.in article here. Text: Nowadays it is said by many MK Gandhi critics that Clement Atlee made a statement in which he said Gandhi has ‘minimal’ role in India's independence and gave credit to naval mutinies and with this statement, they concluded the whole freedom struggle.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

'Wrong direction': Paris NGO regrets MNC ArcelorMittal still using coal-based steel

By Rajiv Shah  A new report by Paris-based non-governmental research and campaigning organization, Reclaim Finance, has blamed the MNC ArcelorMittal – formed in 2006 following the takeover and merger of the western European steel maker Arcelor (Spain, France, and Luxembourg) by Indian-owned Mittal Steel – for using use “climate destructive” metallurgical coal for its projects in India.

Attack on foreign students: Gujarat varsity's reputation, ranking at stake, say academics

Counterview Desk  Expressing anguish over the attack on international students in Gujarat University hostels, a letter claimed to have been signed by 122 current and former academics has asked the Gujarat Vice Chancellor, Dr Neerja Gupta, to provide emotional support to the attacked students and to ensure their physical safety.  

Poor private sector engagement 'impacting' carbon pricing policy in Global South

Counterview Desk  The joint report by Environmental Defense Fund and Observer Research Fund, "Navigating Carbon Pricing: The G20 Experience and Global South Prospects", delves into the complex landscape of carbon pricing, examining its application within the G20 nations and the potential implications for emerging economies in the Global South.  The report claims to provide insights and recommendations for effective carbon pricing strategies in diverse economies.  A note: The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and Observer Research Foundation (ORF) have launched the Navigating Carbon Pricing: The G20 Experience and Global South Prospects” report. The report delves into the complex landscape of carbon pricing, examining its application within the G20 nations and the potential implications for emerging economies in the Global South. The report offers a comprehensive analysis of various carbon pricing instruments currently in existence, providing valuable i