'We Are Living in Fear': Kashmir Migrant Workers Speak on Targeted Killings

Targeted killing of migrant workers in Kashmir is triggering fear and anxiety across the valley, with hundreds now fleeing the region. Since 1 October, a total of eleven people have been the victim of targeted killings. After a spate of attacks in the region between 5-10 October, where at least seven civilians were killed, four more civilians-all of them migrant workers-were gunned down by militants between 16-17 October. Arbind Kumar Shah from Bihar’s Banka village and Sageer Ahmad from Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh were gunned down in Srinagar and Pulwama respectively on 16 October. And just a day later, Raja Reshi Dev and Joginder Reshi Dev lost their lives after gunmen barged inside their rented rooms and opened fire at them in the Wanpoh area of Kulgam. Along with Raja and Joginder, the militants reportedly also shot and injured Chun Chun Reshi. All three belonged to Bihar and had moved to Kashmir for work. A terror outfit which calls itself the United Liberation Front has claimed responsibility for the attacks in Wanpoh while another outfit, The Resistance Front claimed that attacks in Srinagar last week. Kashmir has been a source of employment for lakhs of migrant workers for years, with close to 3-4 lakh labourers reportedly travelling to the Valley every year for work due to lack of employment in their state. From Arbind Kumar to Joginder Reshi Dev to Sageer Ahmad, all of them were the sole breadwinners for their families. In an earlier episode, we took a deep dive into why these killings are happening and the larger agenda behind them. You can find a link to that episode in our show notes. In today’s episode, we bring you voices of the migrant workers in Kashmir and family members of the migrant workers killed in the attacks. We also speak with Shakir Mir, a freelance Srinagar based journalist to understand the ground reality of Srinagar. Host and Producer: Himmat Shaligram Guest: Shakir Mir, a freelance Srinagar based journalist Editor: Shelly Walia Music: Big Bang Fuzz Also check out: What is the Intent of Terror Groups Behind Recent Civilian Killings in J&K? Listen to The Big Story podcast on: Apple: https://apple.co/2AYdLIl Saavn: http://bit.ly/2oix78C Google Podcasts: http://bit.ly/2ntMV7S Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IyLAUQ Deezer: http://bit.ly/2Vrf5Ng Castbox: http://bit.ly/2VqZ9ur Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices