‘Innovative Protest’

Baba Umar
RISING KASHMIR
SRINAGAR, Dec 10

Kashmir University Students Union (KUSU) today held a peaceful candle light march past to observe the International Human Rights (IHR) day.

In what may termed as an ‘Innovative Protest’, students carrying placards and candles took the procession from Press colony that ended in Lal Chowk’s clock tower (Ghanta Gher).

The protesters were demanding immediate cessation of human rights violation by troops in the valley. Terming the state of Kashmiri students as ‘nightmarish’, demonstrators called for the intervention of international community to stop the growing number of human rights violation in the valley at the hands of Indian soldiers.

“We want to make international community aware of the plight of Kashmiris through this protest,” said Aala Fazili, carrying a pack of candles in his hand. On the wax that covered his fingertips, he said, “Let me feel the same pain that every Kashmiri student has been going through from the past 18 years.”

“Are we the creation of lesser gods?” asked one of the students referring to the escalating violation of ‘Zero tolerance slogan’ floated by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Calling their candle light protest ‘a unique resistance through non-violent means’, members of KUSU demanded the students’ rights must be upheld and any violation should be addressed by the international community.


“The concept of lighting candles was to call for United Nation’s attention towards the plight of Kashmiri students,” said Sakib Amin, a KUSU member. “There should be a UN cell in the Kashmir University for the student fraternity.” He asked for.

Resting the lit candles on the base where the Clock Tower erects, KUSU members before several media persons demanded that students both in and outside Kashmir should not be harassed and maltreated and the physical torture meted out to them should be immediately put on halt.

“Students of Kashmir are tense and depressed. How come we expect a better future?” a student and a KUSU member posed.

Unfortunately, his poser had no immediate answer.