Death of a boy from Harwan: Who is responsible?

by Rajesh Razdan

Nasir Shafi Qazi of New Theed Harwan

Today I read about the death of Nasir Shafi in Harwan area of Srinagar. Nasir was 11 years old. Do you have a 11 year old in your life ? Think about it for a minute.

Nasir’s dead body was found in bushes by the Harwan gardens. His family says he was killed in cold blood by either Police or CRPF. Police says he was a known “stone pelter” with 5 FIRs against his name. The young boy’s family refused to hand over his body for post mortem and he was buried amid speculations.

One thing is clear though. Nasir was not the lone child out there on the streets pelting stones and fighting security forces. There are hundreds like him. As part of Kashmir Files reportage, Barkha informed us about the phenomena of ‘toppers’ leaving home in droves towards highlands to embrace militancy. She also talked about younger faces in stone pelting groups this time around. 

But somehow the conversation stopped there without connecting the dots. You can bring up “political issue” all day long, but you know a society has reached a new level of moral depravity when interring child caskets becomes de rigueur.

Harwan used to to be the place you’d go to commune with the gods, but the gods have long been chased away.

This has happened before. In nineties African despots pushed children as young as eight into their dirty civil wars and the word ‘Child Soldiers’ entered the lexicon.

What we see today on the streets are the Child Soldiers of Kashmir.

In 2006 Thomas Lubango Dyilo, leader of Union of Congolese Patriots, was charged with three counts by ICC (International Criminal Court) related to military use of children in Congo. The charges were: 

• Enlisting children, constituting a war crime in violation of article 8(2)(b)(xxvi) of the Rome Statute;
• Conscription of children, constituting a war crime in violation of article 8(2)(b)(xxvi) of the Rome Statute;
• Using children to participate in hostilities, constituting a war crime in violation of article 8(2)(b)(xxvi) of the Rome Statute.

In 2012, Dyilo was convicted and sentenced to 14 years in prison.

Yet, our Dyilos’ remain free and are openly enlisting everyday. About time those who invoke UN day in and day out are frog-marched in front of ICC.


Note: The text is from a post on Facebook by Rajesh Razdan on 18 September 2016.