HAVING suffered a severe beating, Farooq Dar was tied up on a spare tyre attached to the front bumper of an armoured jeep. Indian soldiers claimed he had been throwing stones. Mr Dar was driven in agony through villages south of Srinagar, the largest city in the Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir. The soldiers reckoned the sight of him would deter others from throwing stones at their patrol.
Footage of Mr Dar’s ordeal on April 9th circulated widely online, fuelling anger among inhabitants of the Kashmir valley, the Muslim-dominated part of the state to which Srinagar belongs (see map). The soldiers had been deployed to prevent unrest during a by-election that was held around the city for the national parliament. So bitter is the enmity felt by many Kashmiris in the valley towards the Indian government that only 7% of eligible voters cast ballots. Mr Dar, a weaver, says he was one of the few who did and that he did not throw anything at soldiers.
The Indian government is...Continue reading
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