Migrant Labourers Face the Heat of Collective Punishment

Kashmir Times asserts that collective punishment for individual crimes cannot be acceptable in this editorial:

"Whether it is setting deadlines or issuing mere statements, the call for sending back migrant labourers working in Jammu and Kashmir is an outrightly pernicious one, spelling not just contempt for the outsiders but also several dangers for the people of this state. Those who first raised the demand seem to have now distanced from it. However, the perils are far from over. Last week a couple of labourers from outside Jammu and Kashmir, along with two other local accomplices, allegedly raped and then murdered a teenager student of class VIII at Langate. The crime is not only a heinous one, but is also an extremely sensitive one. Naturally, the rage of the locals exploded and spilled over the brim of all rationality and restraint. In the heat of the moment many of the migrants labourers there were beaten up and the rest went to bed scared of losing their lives or limbs in the hands of their enraged neighbours. Left alone the situation might have cooled down within a few days. But, that was not to be. Unfortunately, it was the Bar Association of Kashmir that was second to Syed Ali Shah Geelani in taking the lead in politicising and polluting this isolated, unfortunate and not a very abnormal an incident. A day before that Geelani while addressing a gathering in Handwara had called upon the migrant labourers to move out. Though, later he may have backtracked from his statement, the demand caught the fancy of many others. On Friday, July 27, the Bar Association passed a resolution asking all labourers from outside the state to quit Kashmir soon, so that they are no longer around to repeat such a crime. A day later, on the July 28, Hizb-ul-Mujaheedin too joined the fray by asking all outsiders to "Quit Kashmir" within a week. This timebound threat was enough. The ultimatum issued by HM had a salutary effect. Reportedly, around 7,000 migrant labourers have left Kashmir in the last three days and many more are expected to follow them in days to come. Such is the fear that any diktat issued by any well-known militant organisation still arouses that it can frighten the migrant labourers to run for their lives. The fleeing workers leaving, at least temporarily, both the valley and their future behind them do not blame their Kashmir neighbours, but their own fate and ask in dismay, why should the Bar Association and the HM decide to punish a large group of people, from many different states, for the crime committed by only a couple of black sheep among them? Was the demand borne simply out of whims or was there a design to whip up atavistic collective urge of a community? Though Hizb-ul-Mujahideen on Sunday denied having given any deadline and asking migrant labourers to move out, it is the Kashmir Bar's role that inspires shock. Why should the black-coated intellectuals of the valley fall victims to such puerile xenophobic emotion? They know very well why most of these outsiders are here in Kashmir.

Most of the outsiders are skilled workers and come here purely because there is a huge demand in the local markets for their skills. Many of them have been brought here by the contractors charged by the government or private builders to carry out certain development projects, only because locals are not skilled enough for those jobs. So, who will do these jobs if all of them are forced to leave? Not many local labourers are skilled to peform these jobs. So if the outsiders leave, it is development that will suffer. Perhaps, that may have been the reason why Mehbooba Mufti, some years back, chose to keep wraps over her earlier demand for sending back the outside labourers. Her hand on the lever of power, she had probably realised that this would not solve the unemployment problem of the state, instead it would block all development and affect the day to day economy and life of the common man. Perhaps, she was also conscious of the fallout of such a demand on the innocent Kashmiris working or studying in various parts of the country. Probably, it is the belated realisation of this economic truth and the possible backlash that persuaded both SA Geelani and HM to moderate their views on this issue. Both now they maintain that migrant labourers should not move out of the state, only the criminals among them should. Of course, criminal elements among them, including the 'informers', should be punished. But, criminals and informers are there among the locals also and who is going to screen them? Who would certify criminals and non criminals among both the locals and the outsiders? Whether Geelani or HM have retracted from their demand or have been misquoted by the media, their present demand to send home only the criminals among outsiders is equally ridiculous and does not only allow people to take law into their hands but also allows vested interests to make much of this opportunity. In these respects, it continues to be a dangerous demand and must be rolled back immediately. At the same time, the genesis of such pernicious demands, also needs to be understood. The abject failure of the state administration and its mammoth police force in dealing with the criminal elements despite repeated pleas of the people from various quarters of the state, is responsible to a great extent for the irrationality of such demands and the euphoria that first came with these. The state must realise its responsibility and begin the process of identifying and nailing criminals, whether they are locals or outsiders, to avoid such an unneceassary [sic.]confrontation.

Both Geelani and the HM have thankfully now realised that the average Kashmiri does welcome outsiders as labourers, tourists and pilgrim for reasons of their own economy and development. There might have been occasional attacks on them, most of them condemned by locals and militant groups, but, by and large, organisations, like the HM have extended their welcome to tourists and pilgrims. Besides, the separatists stand for a certain cause and they should know that many among the outsiders do sympathise partly with their cause, though not with their methods. So, why should those elements be unnecessarily antagonised and the economy of Kashmir left destabilised? A permanent exodus of these workers will mean a spurt in crime rates in their home states and in metros, like Delhi or Mumbai. So, the 'Quit Kashmir' notice is as bad as the occasional moves in many north Indian cities to evict their Kashmiri tenants or to boycott Kashmiri neighbours and businessmen. Exclusionism on atavistic lines has never served any noble cause."

Mirwaiz Decries Collective Punishment

The Mirwaiz faction of Hurriyat Conference while demanding severe punishment for the criminals involved in the Langate-Handwara rape and murder case, warned that awarding collective punishment for individual crimes would be a dangerous thing for the ongoing freedom movement. [Source: Kashmir Times]