'Your land is our land': Rights violations in India-administered Kashmir

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) has documented widespread human rights violations that have resulted from the legal changes implemented in India-administered Kashmir since August 2019.

The 50-page report, titled "Your Land is Our Land – India’s Land Rights Violations in Kashmir", analyses the consequences of the abrogation of India-administered Jammu & Kashmir’s statehood on land-related laws.

It also documents the impact of these changes on a range of socio-economic and political rights.

"The Indian government’s obliteration of Jammu & Kashmir’s legal framework, which had protected land rights for decades, has already had a disastrous impact on the Kashmiri people," FIDH Asia Desk Deputy Director Juliette Rousselot said.

"Thousands have already been evicted from their lands and lost their homes. Key EU and UN institutions, including the UN Human Rights Council, must wake up to this human rights crisis and start putting public pressure on the Indian government to adhere to its own international legal obligations."

On 5 August 2019, the Indian government unilaterally revoked the special status of Jammu & Kashmir, which had been partially protected by Articles 370 and 35A of the Indian Constitution since 1950.

These constitutional safeguards were key to relationship with India, UN resolutions and had also been central to the protection of land rights in India-administered Kashmir.

By October 2020, the majority of Jammu & Kashmir’s progressive land laws had been either amended or repealed, resulting in evictions, destruction of property, and land confiscation that affected thousands of Kashmiris.

The report also details the increased repression of civic space and violations of human rights that have taken place in India-administered Kashmir, including the criminalisation of civil society, and arrests of human rights defenders and journalists.

"Jammu & Kashmir has often been used by the Indian government as a testing ground for its tactics of repression," FIDH Vice-President Fatia Maulidiyanti said.

"Human rights violations and attacks on civil society in Jammu & Kashmir must be a matter of serious concern in India and beyond, as Delhi’s abusive policies and actions risk having far-reaching and long-lasting effects."

The report is dedicated to Khurram Parvez, a Kashmiri human rights defender and FIDH Deputy Secretary General, who has been arbitrarily detained since November 2021 over "politically motivated charges" under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Parvez and his colleagues at the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) and the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) have long faced attacks and reprisals by the Indian authorities for documenting the "grave human rights violations" that have been committed in India-administered Kashmir.

India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir, but both claim the entire territory. Rebel groups have been fighting against India's rule for Kashmir’s independence or merger with Pakistan.

Rights groups have accused India of using repression to suppress the movement for Self -determination.