Truth prevailed and in the light of the Anantnag incident, the smouldering discontent and rebellion of the Kashmiri people is justified and understandable.

But some nagging questions persist. What if the truth had remained buried in the Patribhal graves? Have the many who "disappeared" in the last ten years of militancy met the same fate? And now, when the Chief Judicial. Magistrate has ordered a case to be filed against the erring officers, will justice prevail?

The questions have naturally shifted the focus to the phenomenon of missing people and to the contentious issue of human rights violation in Kashmir. It is tempting to seek an explanation and justification for all such actions committed in the past. But in our enthusiastic demands for punishment and justice, we tend to overlook the onerous legal process with its defunct legal machinery, breeding corruption and nepotism, which actually helps the guilty to continue to commit such violations with impunity.

.. Take for example the case of women (who) wait for their husbands ... to return home. Labelled as half-widows, these women bear the burden of schooling their children, feeding them and continuing the court cases they are fighting.

Do human rights exist for ...? Till date there has been no redressal for any one of them. The guilty have not been identified, and even in cases where they have been, no punishment has been awarded. Although the wives and the parents of those who have "disappeared" have formed an association to highlight their victimisation – besides providing moral support to one other - they have not been able to do much.

Their association has no funds, no office or patronage from a militant or any opposition organisation to fight for them. They are also afraid to protest or demonstrate for fear of being identified and eliminated. Each of them thus fights a lonely battle running from pillar to post with no hope of justice ...

... What makes things more difficult for these families is that now they cannot approach the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) as their cases are still pending with the High Court. Even if they could, their cases cannot be registered with SHRC as it is not within the commission's parameters to deal with accusations against the armed forces.

Also in such cases, it is the Central Government which has to give the clearance for producing the accused in the State High Court - something which till date has not happened.

The bitter truth is that disappearances in Kashmir and the trauma the concerned families have to experience have not been able to attract attention as a human rights abuse. In a sense, these disappearances remain too "particular to be universal" or "too universal to be particular" ...

... The fact (is) that there is a high level of ad hocism at the higher echelons of judiciary in Kashmir. Added to this is the disinterest shown by the bureaucracy and the politicians towards any efforts to expose the "system", of which many of them are a part.

However ... at no stage should state-sponsored terror or the denial of rights become a part of the Indian Government's policy: in combating armed opposition groups .... Let the common Kashmiri experience real democracy. (Source: The Hindustan Times, 15 May, 2000)