With GPS tracker on ankle, Kashmiri activist seeks votes and ‘freedom’

Mohammad Sikandar Malik stands before a large crowd, ready to address a political gathering in Bandipora district of India-administered Kashmir.

Even before he could speak, a collective cry of the people pierces the air in Shah Gund village: “Hafiz sahib qadam badao, hum tumhare sath hain” (Hafiz sir, go ahead, we are with you).

Malik, 37, is among more than 870 candidates contesting the local elections in the former state of Jammu and Kashmir – the first polls in a decade and also the first since the region was controversially stripped of its autonomous status in 2019.

But he is not just another candidate seeking an election victory in one of the most militarised places in the world – Malik is projecting himself as a symbol of New Delhi’s oppressive policies in the Muslim-majority Valley.

He is also contesting the elections with a GPS tracker attached to his right ankle, a condition set by a local court after police opposed his bail.

Malik, contesting as an independent, is seen as a champion of Kashmiris’ cause of freedom from harassment and for the release of many Kashmiris languishing in jails across India, some of them hundreds of miles away from their families.

“My personal freedom has been taken away, and it has had a big impact on me,” Malik tells TRT World during a break from campaigning.

“I have been tracked for the last five months, and this kind of monitoring violates the fundamental rights of individuals guaranteed under the Constitution of India.”

Police monitor his movement and whereabouts through the tracker, which uses the global positioning system to pinpoint his exact location.

A former member of the Jamaat-e-Islami – an Islamic socio-political organisation – Malik has faced repeated arrests for alleged militant links and has been in and out of jail since 2019. He denies the allegations.

The Jamaat-e-Islami was first banned by the Indian government in 1975 and then again in 1990 at the beginning of an uprising against New Delhi’s rule.

In 2019, barely weeks before Article 370 was abrogated and Kashmir’s special status revoked by the Hindu nationalist government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the organisation was banned again for five years for allegedly inciting terrorism and indulging in anti-India propaganda.

Shortly after, Malik was arrested under the draconian law – the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act — by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), often accused of being used by the Modi government to target dissenting voices in Jammu and Kashmir and other places.

Malik incidentally had no criminal record before the first charges were slapped against him just because of his association with the Jamaat.

“They made us accused in these ‘open FIRs’, forcing us to move from one place to another and even sent us to jails outside Jammu and Kashmir,” Malik says, referring to police complaints lodged in other states.

After Article 370

After revoking Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, India launched a major crackdown on Kashmiri leaders, placing many of them under house arrest, putting others in jails and imposing a communications blackout throughout the valley to quell any potential uprising.

Under New Delhi’s new security policy, police in Kashmir adopted the use of GPS trackers to monitor undertrial prisoners out on bail.

In November 2023, Jammu and Kashmir became the first in India to introduce the highly intrusive device, with a 65-year-old attached with the GPS tracker on his ankle.

Jammu and Kashmir’s top police official Rashmi Ranjan Swain justified the use of the trackers, claiming that the move – which was condemned by right activists as regressive – was aimed at curbing narco-smuggling and terrorist activities.

At present, there are at least five people in India-administered Kashmir with the tracker on them.

However, none of them agreed to talk about the device as they feared that even this compromised freedom of theirs could be snatched away from them.

Since the introduction of a GPS tracking system, it has come under heavy criticism from rights activists.

Anuradha Bhasin, a noted journalist and author of ‘A Dismantled State: The Untold Story of Kashmir After Article 370’, says that using trackers is “not healthy for democracy”.

“If a person on bail is free to contest elections, he or she can't be put on constant surveillance…This is also an infringement on privacy,” she tells TRT World.

Leaders from mainstream Kashmiri political parties have, however, come under criticism for not condemning the draconian measure.

This election has also seen a break from the past when mostly mainstream political leaders participated, with a new category of candidates emerging in the political landscape of the Valley.

Dozens of prominent separatist leaders, including members of the pro-Pakistan Jamaat-e-Islami, are contesting this time around, though some separatist leaders have dismissed the elections as rigged in New Delhi’s favour.

The last phase of voting in the multi-phase election is being held on October 1.

From prison to polls

For Malik, the election presents a unique opportunity to highlight what Kashmiris call their collective plight – a life under the constant scrutiny of the authorities, from the streets to their living rooms.

However, it has not been easy to connect with voters because of the tracker, which weighs just over 100 gms but “feels like a burden”.

“...People are afraid to meet me openly… they feel that if they meet me, they might be tracked (as well). And because of that, I am unable to connect with them properly. People are very hesitant to express themselves freely in front of me,” Malik says.

Despite these challenges, Malik is hoping for a result in his favour. For the record, he is pitted against several candidates, including the BJP and Congress.

“The fear is there, but people are slowly joining me…Traditional politicians have betrayed the public and broken their trust. I want to serve the public with honesty and integrity and address their basic issues,” he adds.

Ironically, the tracker might also be helping Malik as people sympathise with his ordeal.

“They see me as a simple citizen…people are even more attached to us because of it (the tracker),” he adds.

At a recent election rally, one of his aides shows Malik’s tracker to the crowd and asks the question, “GPS ka badla? (How shall we avenge the tracker?)”

“Through our votes,” the crowd responds.