... The massacre of the Sikhs at Chittisinghpura adds a new dimension to the Greek tragedy played out in those killing fields ...

The security forces' claim of having eliminated the "dreaded foreign militants" responsible for the Sikh killings was shattered by subsequent events ... (Protest in) Anantnag highlighted two disturbing factors – the degenerating credibility of the security forces and the growing frustration of the people.

The death of protesters in the Police firing further exacerbated the situation. Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah bought temporary peace by ordering an inquiry into the firing and the exhumation of the bodies buried in Panchalthan village ...

Killing unarmed people in cold blood in fake encounter is deeply disturbing. It extinguishes the values that underpin democratic governance, the foremost being the right to life and liberty. Violation of human rights not only .. alienates- the people' and indelibly stains the nation's escutcheon but also reinforces the enemy voices clamouring about the suppression of the people's rights in Kashmir.

The question asked by a villager of Farooq Abdullah, whether he wants the land or the people, goes to the heart of the problem. The Kashmir conflict is perceived as a fight for the sovereignty over a piece of land ...

Obvious of the texture of the two confronting polities as well as that of the cultural entity the two are fighting oyer ... A pluralistic, secular polity is locked in combat with an orthodox fundamentalist religious polity. If Kashmir's pluralism is subverted by religious fundamentalism, the roots of South Asia's secular polity will be destroyed. Its repercussions will ripple across to distant shores.

... The conflict's texture demands an innate concern for human rights.

The insensitivity to human rights is a legacy of our colonial past. The administrative apparatus is yet to be fully attuned to the requirements of a democratic polity. The chilling Panchalthan incident will not be in vain if, instead of searching for the villain of the piece, a sincere campaign is launched to sensitise the security forces to the citizens' basic right, the right to life and liberty. The battle against terrorism and bigotry will never be won if human rights are abused. Not in Kashmir nor elsewhere in the country. (Source: The Pioneer, 27.April, 2000)