I find this report to be both unfair and one-sided (“Pellets blind hundreds of Kashmiris”, Gulf News, December 15). It is not enough for a newspaper like Gulf News to just reproduce such material fed by agencies, without making sure that the ‘whole’ picture is presented.
Authorities in every country have a duty to maintain law and order. A small group with a selfish agenda cannot be allowed to take the law in to their own hands and disturb the lives of the rest of the population. If anyone has a grievance, they have a right to protest - but without recourse to violence.
Ever since Burhan Wani, a local commander of Hizbul Mujahideen, the terrorist outfit, was killed in an encounter with the army, street protests have erupted in southern Kashmir. The fact that these protests were engineered became so evident, as the stone-throwing crowds that had brought normal life to a halt for over 50 days simply disappeared the day after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s demonetisation drive. It is generally known that fake Indian currency notes were being used to fund misguided Kashmiri youth to lead the stone-throwing mobs.
Why were these people sprayed with pellets? It’s because they were on the street, throwing stones at the police.
Were they protesting out of any deep and sincere conviction? Burning down schools and preventing the education of youth in Kashmir is another prong of the same strategy.
So we come back to the very first question I asked. Why were these handful of mercenaries on the streets pelting stones at the local police? Why were they disturbing the life of the vast majority of the populace, shutting down shops and stealing people’s livelihood?
Cross border terrorism is a fact that India has to live with. If people stay indoors, then they will not be hit by pellets. If children stand at the window and watch such rioting, they may get hit by stray pellets.
From Mr Pankaj Shah
UAE
Gulf News is committed to responsible journalism and seeks to give an unbiased view of events.
The article, on ‘Pellets blind hundreds of Kashmiris’ by the Associated Press (AP), was selected for publication because it highlighted the plight of a certain number of people. Not all people blinded were protesters - some were bystanders, one was a photojournalist. Sitting indoors or asking children not to stand by the window, as you have suggested, is not a solution to the problem. Even Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh had warned security forces to minimise use of these weapons.
The article itself is well rounded and gives a clear picture of what is happening on the ground.
As journalists we are responsible for reporting facts, without taking sides, which is what we have done with this article.
Gulf News
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