The horrific experience of Kashmir’s pellet gun survivors 

Sitting in the centre of her uncluttered room with a rucksack full of books hanging on the wall, 15-year-old Insha Mushtaq is wearing dark glasses. As her fingers run against the raised dots on the pages of the book in front of her, one can understand that she is struggling to make sense of the same. It is never easy for someone who could read and write naturally to get used to Braille.

Insha, a tenth-grade student, had multiple fragments of pellets pierce through the retinae of her eyes last year. Today, she is completely blind .

As a sea of protesters hit the streets across the Kashmir Valley following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8, 2016, three days later, clashes between some youth and the police broke out near Insha’s house in Sedow, a small and quaint village in Shopian district. She recounts how she peeped through her window and the horrific experience of being hit in the face and eyes by a plethora of pellet shreds.

“Ever since, a strange darkness has fallen over my eyes. As I can hardly see anything, I have to face a whole lot of issues in leading my daily life,” says Insha.

Insha Mushtaq was shifted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, and then to Mumbai where she was operated upon by prominent eye surgeon Dr S Natrajan. But all of these have come to nought.

Now staying indoors most of the time, Insha used to be a regular student at a local private school and had the lofty ambition of becoming a doctor.

“I have never ever seen her missing a single day of school . She would always score good grades and wanted to become a doctor but now….,” Mushtaq Ahmad Lone, a driver by profession and Insha’s father, mumbles before breaking down.

Muzaffar Ahmad, a special teacher for the visually impaired, imparts training to Insha on going about her daily chores without the help of others. He also teaches her how to read Braille.

“Since she was not congenitally blind, I thought she would take much time in learning these new techniques. But just after the first few lectures, I cottoned on to it that me that she was a rather quick learner,” says Ahmad.

Ahmad also tries his best to instill confidence in her, to make her believe that she can still pursue her dreams like any other normal child of her age.

Insha Mushtaq’s fate is not an isolated one. According to Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), around 50 people were rendered completely blind by pellets last summer (2016) while about 300 to 500 went partially blind. More than 1,200 people sustained injuries in their eyes.

Arshad Ahmad Dar (22), a resident of Keegam, Shopian, was hit by pellets in both eyes on July 29, 2016, during a protest rally. He has been able to regain only 25 per cent vision after undergoing a string of intricate surgeries at LV Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad.

With hardly any help from the government, the treatment drained every penny his family had saved for the education and marriage of his younger siblings.

“My father is a farmer and we are living off the land. All the money we had somehow been able to save from our paltry income for the education and marriage of my younger brother and sister went into my treatment,” says Dar, who used to work as a cook before the shrapnels pierced his eyes.

Imtiyaz Ahad, 17 years old, hails from the militancy-affected district of Pulwama. He scurries away at the sight of a police vehicle ever since he was hit by pellets.

On the fateful day of August 24, 2016, Ahad was strolling down the street with his friends after evening prayers when a police Rakhshak vehicle screeched to a halt and a cop fired pellets at them. While his friends escaped unhurt, Ahad received dozens of shreds in his face, including the eyes. Bleeding from multiple cuts with eyes ruptured, he was shifted to Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital (SMHS), Srinagar, where he failed to see anything for months altogether.

“I underwent four surgeries before I was able to see a bit,” says a frail Ahad, his eyes hidden behind black shades.

Ahad, who pursues graduation at a local college, finds it rather difficult to continue his studies. His vision, still, is extremely blurred.

The Ministry of Home Affairs on July 26, 2016, constituted an expert committee to find a substitute for pellet guns. The committee, which submitted its report on August 29, 2016, came up with the idea of using “chili-filled grenades” and “stun lac shells” as alternatives to pellet guns. It, however, did not suggest a blanket ban on the use of pellet guns, which as per committee recommendations, could be used in the rarest of rare cases.

For Kashmiris, the “rarest of rare” is a frequent occurrence. As forces go trigger happy on their pellet guns, curtains come down on more number of eyes.