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By Sara Nazir

On January 27, 1994, the fragile calm of Kupwara district in Indian-administered Kashmir was violently ruptured. What followed remains one of the most disturbing and least resolved episodes of the region’s prolonged conflict. Thirty years later, the killings in Kupwara continue to haunt survivors, families of the dead, and a society still waiting for truth.

According to contemporaneous media reports, survivor testimonies, and human rights documentation, Indian Army personnel opened fire on civilians in Kupwara following protests the previous day against India’s Republic Day celebrations. Scores of unarmed Kashmiris were reportedly killed or injured. The incident has since entered public memory as the Kupwara massacre, yet despite the seriousness of the allegations, no independent or transparent investigation has ever reached the public domain.

The Indian government’s response to Kupwara exemplifies a broader pattern of negligence that has characterized its handling of alleged human rights violations in Kashmir. Although the army announced a Court of Inquiry in the aftermath, its findings were never disclosed. Families of victims were excluded from the process, civil society was denied access to information, and judicial oversight was effectively sidelined.

Human rights reports later revealed troubling allegations that senior civil administration officials were summoned to army headquarters and pressured to modify or soften their accounts of the incident. Such interference, if substantiated, represents a grave breach of democratic norms and undermines the independence of civilian institutions meant to act as checks on military power.

Rather than correcting these failures, the Indian government allowed the case to quietly wither. Years later, media reports indicated that the investigation was closed due to the army’s non-cooperation. No prosecutions followed. No official acknowledgment of responsibility was issued. This was not merely bureaucratic inertia. It was state negligence that denied victims their right to justice.

International human rights organizations have long warned that such outcomes are not anomalies but the predictable result of India’s legal and political framework in Kashmir. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have repeatedly documented how laws such as the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, or AFSPA, shield security personnel from prosecution by requiring prior government sanction. In practice, this has produced near-total impunity. In numerous cases across Kashmir, requests to prosecute soldiers have been delayed indefinitely or denied outright.

The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, in its reports on Kashmir, has expressed concern over the lack of independent investigations into alleged extrajudicial killings and excessive use of force by Indian security forces. UN Special Rapporteurs have similarly emphasized that internal military inquiries do not meet international standards of accountability, particularly when their findings remain secret and inaccessible to victims.

Kupwara stands as a clear example of these systemic failures. The absence of transparency, the suppression of civilian testimony, and the state’s unwillingness to pursue accountability all point to a deliberate choice to protect institutions rather than uphold justice.

The consequences of this negligence extend far beyond one incident. When violations go unpunished, they normalize abuse. When victims are denied redress, resentment festers. For many Kashmiris, Kupwara is not just a memory of loss. It is a symbol of how their lives and rights are subordinated to a security-first doctrine that tolerates civilian harm as collateral.

Indian authorities often frame Kashmir as an internal matter, beyond international scrutiny. Yet international law is unequivocal. Serious human rights violations are not shielded by sovereignty. States have a continuing obligation to investigate, prosecute, and provide reparations, regardless of how much time has passed.

Thirty years on, the passage of time has deepened, not diminished, the injustice. Justice delayed has become justice denied. Releasing the findings of the Court of Inquiry, permitting independent and impartial investigations, and removing legal barriers to prosecution would be essential first steps toward restoring credibility.

Remembering Kupwara is not an exercise in historical grievance. It is a demand for accountability in the present. It is a reminder that peace cannot be built on enforced silence, and stability cannot rest on unaddressed crimes.

As the world marks three decades since the Kupwara killings, silence from New Delhi or the international community is no longer neutral. It is complicity. Until truth is acknowledged and justice pursued, the wounds of Kupwara will remain open, casting a long shadow over Kashmir and over the principles the world claims to uphold.