Silence of the lambs: the forgotten victims of Kashmir violence
- There are many innocent victims of the fighting between the Indian army and separatist insurgents in Kashmir – among them, a group usually ignored: farm animals
When a gunfight broke out between Indian troops and local militants in the sleepy village of Adoowa, Southern Kashmir, farmer Ghulam Hassan Bhat lost everything.
The Indian troops had traced the militants to the village before chasing them out of their hideout and finally cornering them in a stable belonging to Bhat.
In the gunfight that ensued, the structure was burnt down, along with all the livestock inside – a flock of 50 sheep and a cow that provided Bhat’s primary source of income.
“I asked the Indian forces to allow me to let the sheep out but they refused,” Bhat’s son Imtiyaz Ahmed said. “I could hear the terrified howling of those sheep while they burned to death.”
The loss was devastating; Bhat had spent his life savings of about US$10,000 on the livestock – no easy feat in a land where per capita income is about US$1,200. While they have applied for compensation from the local government, more than a year after the fighting last January they are still waiting.
