Does The Lancet Medical Journal Legitimize Terrorism?

Last week, Indian Doctors were outraged to read an Editorial in “TheLancet”, a highly reputed International Medical Journal, on a political situation in the Indian state of J&Kunder the garb of Mental Health concern. All this amounts to blatant interfering in internal affairs of a Sovereign Nation, that too with a distorted, fabricated narrative in a Journal meant for ethical scientific deliberation of Medical & Healthcare issues. To it’s credit, the Editorial made no effort to hide the political Nature of the message as conveyed in the title, despite the mention of Mental Health issues within. All this by selective references to UN Human Rights report (OHCHR) already rejected by the Indian Government, and biased reports on Mental Health in Kashmir.

While the Editorial shows concern for health, safety & freedom of “Kashmiris” in the Kashmir province, Lancet admits “Autonomous status revoked’ applies to the entire state of J&K including the provinces of Jammu & Ladakh. Then why the concern for the just Kashmiris? Guess the Editorial may have found it inconvenient to include the other two provinces who do not have any such bloody conflict on the lines of Kashmir, but rather have welcomed the revoking. The Editorial next refers to the Human Rights report by the UN Commissioner of July 2019, and mentions both state security forces and armed groups (collectively) as having caused various acts of violence including terrorism.

The Editorial has conveniently ignored the History of Kashmir, lest it expose their tall claims. What has been grossly ignored, are the same armed groups who are responsible for the biggest incident of ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Hindus, with the horrific goal of “Convert, leave or die” on a native peaceful community, are simply cold blooded terrorists. There can be nothing more inhuman than to legitimize perpetrators of this barbaric act as “armed groups”. On the same lines, the Editorial quite naturally avoids any mention of support to these terrorists & infiltrating from Pakistan, thanks to their policy of state sponsored terror. This is reflected in the same UN report that mentions the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an inter - governmental organization to monitor money laundering and terrorist financing. But Lancet choses to ignore all this. The Govt of India has rightly rejected this UN report, and said “It is a matter of deep concern that this UN report accords legitimacy to terrorism that is in complete variance with UN Security Council positions. The UNSC had, in February 2019, strongly condemned the dastardly Pulwama terror attack and subsequently proscribed Masood Azhar, the self styled leader of terrorist entity Jaish-e-Mohammed. However, in the update, terrorist leaders and organisations sanctioned by the UN are deliberately underplayed as “armed groups”

The next references cited by Lancet include Reports on mental health by MSF of 2016 and repeated again by MedAct group report of March 2019 Both go one step further and interchangeably use Kashmir and Kashmir valley. This difference is crucial to the problem, simply because the violence and unrest is maximum in the five districts comprising Kashmir valley, a strip of land comprising just 130X30km.

However, their stranglehold on the J&K politics is such that there never has been a ruler of J&K in last 70 years from anywhere else in the entire state, thanks to gross bureaucratic and administrative misuse of the Autonomy they had. This is a region with a Sunni Muslim majority, which sympathises with the insurgent terrorists, who committed the gory ethnic cleansing and genocide of the Kashmiri Hindus, and continue to wage an armed war with the state forces in the name of jihad, to pursue a separatist agenda. The practice radical Islam, that has already caused enough acts of terror across the world, including in their own backyard in UK! Interestingly, even other Muslim dominant districts within the very Kashmir province do not endorse this narrative. Isn’t it strange that there is no mention of the thousands of Hindus who were murdered, and lakhs evicted from their home of centuries, in any of these three references cited by the Editorial?

This tweet by An Australian Cleric aptly summarises the stake held by different faiths in the region of Kashmir, as seen by the wide response it has gone. An just Imagine, the Lancet editorial implies India is an aggressor! Any wonder why Indian Doctors are fuming?

The MSF study along with the Dept of Psychiatry IMHANS Srinagar of 2015, has shared details of Mental Health incidents, after a study designed as a case series using data from all 10 districts of Kashmir region. Interestingly, one wonders about any difference in this incidence, within the Districts of Kashmir Valley and in the rest of Kashmir. For this prospective Study, seems strange they never thought of a design using control Group while analysing results, to improve the strength of the conclusions drawn? A control group, with either the 5 districts of Kashmir outside the valley OR districts outside Kashmir but within the state of J&K to which the entire Autonomous status applied, would have only increased the strength of evidence presented by the study. Was this study designed consciously to avoid scientific evidence to a conclusion not in line with some political line? It will be worth for the Indian Psychiatric Society Journal to do a critical review of this Research published in their Journal, including summoning the Original Data, details of Ethical Review.

Some more historical facts need to be cleared. The special status given to the state of J&K in 1954 was arbitrary but temporary, and led to the citizens of J&K being deprived of progress in rest of the country, including laws like CPA, RTI, RTE, benefits for marginalised and many more. Minorities, Dalits and Women were deprived of their rights, which the powers from the valley denied despite successive governments over the decades. This Special status was in effect a perpetuation of the two Nation theory that led to the Partition of India in 1947 and creation of a separate Muslim state of Pakistan. Even though the Ruler of J&K legally acceded to India in 1947, Pakistan took control of a major part of the state by unlawful force, just like in Baluchistan few months later in 1948. Despite this, the UNHCHR report condones the aggressors, and demonises the Indian state by falsely equating both the regions of Kashmir as simply “administered”, just as what the Separatists do. The Editorial has reinforced the same bias by citing it as a reference.

The Indian Army is a highly professional & ethical force, and completely under the authority of a democratic Government. Despite being attacked by protestors, it uses weapons only similar to what their attackers use. The Indian forces have only supported the health, safety and freedom of local Citizens. But to mischievously call them as a matter of concern by the Editorial, is pure motivated bias. Perhaps this story of a Kashmiri girl may give you an alternative perspective, daughter of a security officer who was tortured and killed by the “armed groups” while in Kashmir, but managed to save her life by fleeing the land of her ancestors, to eventually become a Doctor and prosper in Indore. This is unlike other Military forces in the neighbourhood, who have even bombed their own people using military jets following terror attacks, by terrorists they nurtured but went rogue. All this while we have in our neighbourhood a “Military that has it’s own country”, and doesn’t bother twice about invading, and attacking it’s own people: these are the people the Lancet Editorial ends up supporting.

The Editorial mischievously gives only the number of blind victims of pellet injury, while omitting the key fact that these were virtually stone throwers paid by separatists and cross border handlers, to attack the security forces. Once an assertive Federal government allowed the security forces to do their job after 2016, these incidents have dropped significantly, more so in the last few months once the State Assembly was dissolved and Law and Order came directly under the Federal Government. over the decades, development funds were massively siphoned off by the state Government, leaving the needy citizens of J&K in dire straits. Despite this, the good development indicators in J&K, as you have agreed, are only because of rather than despite the Federal Government as you would like to imply. The Indian Government provided almost 10% of the National GDP to the state of J&K, even though the state contributed to barely 1% of the National revenue. Difficult to imagine Lancet did not have access to such basic facts

Revoking the Autonomy of J&K has neutralised those who made money by letting the problem perpetuate, and kept the state in the midst of a armed unrest since decades. They will undoubtedly do everything to ferment trouble, including misinformation warfare to paint a picture of unrest, atrocities and trouble. They have created a false narrative since decades, using illegal funds, at various fora across the world. But they are now getting exposed one by one. Their influence can be gauged from the extent of work done by an ISI funded body Kashmir American Forum(KAC), that almost got registered as aconsultative body with the UN ECOSOC, until the founder Mr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, a US citizen, got arrested by the FBI in 2011. And I am not yet commenting on the integrity of the UN Human Rights Commissioner.

It is unfortunate a Medical Journal carries an Editorial that endorses the same argument that caused the misery to lakhs over the decades. However, firm actions by PM Narendra Modi will ensure the benefits enjoyed by the rest of the Country are enjoyed even by the people of J&K. This will certainly bring lasting peace to the region, and further improve the overall healthcare including Mental health. This is despite the best efforts of Apologists with Narratives that aim to support, sympathize and glorify the terrorists, and punish the victims. The Indian Nation will stand by the position conveyed by it’s UN representative Mr.Syed Akbaruddin, that any dispute with Pakistan will be solved only by dialogue, and this dialogue will happen only after Pakistan stops cross border support to terror.

Effectively Lancet Editorial seems to justify the State Sponsored Terrorist outfits in Kashmir while demeaning the Union of India, the world’s largest and vibrant democracy, as a perpetrator of terror. Indians believe in tolerance and mutual respect, letting their minorities thrive, thanks to which Minorities in India have become even risen to become Chief Justice of Supreme Court, Military Chiefs and even the President of the Country over the years. On the other hand, minorities in Pakistan are abused, and have dwindled since independence and continue to be oppressed by the Islamic State. It has happened before in 1971 and Baluchistan province of Pakistan is increasingly resorting to violent protest, to throw away the Pakistan government who invaded them in 1948 and have kept them subjugated since then. Until Lancet team does a rethink on the Editorial, I suggest they consider another Editorial on the severe crisis in the Pakistan Economy, OR unrest in Hong Kong, and the Healthcare implications of the same, especially if the internal unrest spirals into a civil war with potential disintegration of the Nation and a refugee crisis! Even a report on Healthcare challenges in "English occupied Northern Ireland" after the suspended assembly of Stormont!

I am deeply concerned about the credibility of the Editorial team that approved this write up, to used distorted Medical data, geopolitical issues and socio demographics, to justify a biased political narrative and covertly support terrorists with a track record of ethnic cleansing of peaceful minority. All this at the risk of credibility damage to a scientific forum and subsequent loss to Medical Literature & Fraternity from. We can understand political leaders taking such a risk, to make the majority voters happy in swing constituencies. But a private enterprise that runs a scientific Journal, not having any such compulsion, leaves readers with only one reason for the bias.

Coming back to the Title of the Editorial, is The Lancet concerned about future of those who stand for terror, insurgency, ethnic cleansing and Genocide? Is the divisive opinion of about 28Lakh residents of the Kashmir valley, that quietly endorsed ethnic cleansing & genocide, more important than the sentiments of rest of the 130Crore Indians, who are known as an inclusive progressive civilisation that practices harmony & mutual respect? The Editorial team is evidently compromised, and has clearly misused a scientific platform of Medical Literature to endorse Terrorism. What Lancet stands for is now clear!

Hence the serious concern, "Does the Lancet Medical Journal Legitimize Terrorism?"

Dr. Satish Bhat

REFERENCES:

1. http://hubs.ly/H0kj2f80

Fear and Uncertainty around Kashmir's Future; TheLancet, VOLUME 394, ISSUE 10198, P542, AUGUST 17, 2019
7. http://www.indiandefencereview.com/news/jk-is-much-more-than-the-valley/

2. https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/IN/KashmirUpdateReport_8July2019.pdf

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Update of the Situation of Human Rights in Indian-Administered Kashmir and Pakistan-Administered Kashmir from May 2018 to April 2019

3. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/india-slams-un-rights-office-report-on-jk-as-continuation-of-false-narrative/articleshow/70127923.cms?from=mdr

4. https://www.msfindia.in/msf-scientific-survey-45-kashmiri-population-experiencing-mental-distress/

MSF scientific survey: 45% of Kashmiri population experiencing mental distress

5. https://www.medact.org/2019/blogs/war-violence-and-the-mental-health-crisis-in-kashmir/

War, violence and the mental health crisis in Kashmir

6. http://www.merinews.com/article/the-state-of-jammu--kashmir-and-its-five-disturbed-districts/15919412.shtml

The state of Jammu & Kashmir and its five disturbed districts

J&K is much more than the Valley

8. https://twitter.com/Imamofpeace/status/1160568511397109760?s=20

Tweet by Imam Tawhidi dated Aug 12, 2019

9. https://www.facebook.com/unfoldingindore/photos/a.111831186826333/118890279453757/

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