Hussaina Bano, a mother activist of the Association of the Parents of the Disappeared Persons (APDP) passed away on 4th October 2013. Hussaina’s son Syed Ayub left for work one morning in 2002 and never returned. Witnesses claimed he was picked up by Indian troops and whisked off to an unknown location. Syed Ayub became a victim of a tacit policy of enforced disappearance that has been in effect since 1989. Hussaina moved from pillar to post in search of her son but found no clue. The enforced disappearances in Kashmir are reminiscent of state-enforced disappearances in Argentina, Chile, Guatemala, the Philippines, and also Punjab, in India. Approximately 8,000 to 10,000 Kashmiri men, including combatants and non-combatants, have been disappeared by the Indian state forces so far. Almost 2500 of those disappeared were married. Since the armed insurgency started the Indian state apparatus has imposed counterinsurgency laws like the Disturbed Area Act, and the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, which grant immunity to the armed forces against being held accountable for any act of impunity in Kashmir. Apparently, with Hussaina’s passing a ceaseless 11-year-old struggle against injustice and occupation has come to an end, but her legacy will endure.
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