Purgatory in Kashmir: Violation of Juveline Justice in the Indian Jammu and Kashmir

Kashmir is on a boil. Civilian protests in the form of 'stonepelting' have become part of the valley's daily life. These protests have been characterized by an unprecedented participation of boys and girls. Indeed for an outsider the conflict is increasingly identified with images and stories of children throwing stones at the Indian Security forces. Purgatory in Kashmir documents how the state's criminal justice system has been utterly inadequate in addressing the alienation of Kashmir's youth while failing to respect the commitments of juvenile rights. Focusing on the institutions of the state and courts it shows how the former has consistently failed to meet the mandate of its own laws on juvenile justice either by not institutionally implementing them or violating them in practice. As a result Kashmir's children are caught in a cycle of incarceration and despondency through illegal punitive and arbitrary procedures. What emerges out of this politicojudicial mess is a tragic picture of militarisation surveillance and alienation by the state of Kashmir's children.