6 ms·

When I left Kashmir a few months ago, my phone and all its contents were checked by Indian police at the airport. They asked me to unlock and checked photos, Wh

When I left Kashmir a few months ago, my phone and all its contents were checked by Indian police at the airport. They asked me to unlock and checked photos, WhatsApp texts, etc. Random arrests and extra-judicial killings of Kashmiris by the Indian state is a quite regular occurrence. A laughable narrative around how they were "Pakistan sponsored terrorists" is usually spun by the media/police nexus.

radicaldreamer 7y ago
Did they manually browse through the data or download it to a computer for further analysis later?
- arsalanb 7y ago
  No, they just manually browsed it. Both on my computer (which is a practice that's been there for >7-9 years) and mobiles. Because of the media/telecom gag my non-Kashmir friends find it hard to believe absurd laws imposed by the Indian state, like AFSPA, PSA, etc
pjg 7y ago
Is this functionally different from the US immigration authorities asking to inspect a person's social media content on their cellphone/laptop when entering the US ? Not just from "hostile" countries like Iran but occasionally from visitors from Canada ? I know at least one Canadian born citizen (had an Islamic name ) who was asked to reveal their social media profile and had their smartphone searched
- dickjocke 7y ago
  OP is saying he was leaving Kashmir. Generally US authorities ask this stuff when you arrive.
vbezhenar 7y ago
Do you have any idea what would happen if you factory reset your phone just before passing a border?
shripadk 7y ago
> A laughable narrative around how they were "Pakistan sponsored terrorists" is usually spun by the media/police nexus. So who conducted the Pulwama terror attack? Have you seen the video of the terrorist and the filth that he utters against Hindus? It is obvious that Pakistan is involved in sponsoring terror. They are in the grey list in FATF for a reason and have two of the World's most dangerous terrorists: Masood Azhar (who has gone missing! how does a high profile UN designated terrorist go missing?) and Hafiz Saeed (who was roaming free till recently and was only thrown in jail because of FATF pressures). These two individuals, who are Chiefs of their organizations: Hizbul Mujahideen and Lashkar-E-Toiba, respectively are the main conspirators in the 26/11 Mumbai Attack and the attack on the Indian Parliament in 2001. And shall we forget how Pakistan provided Osama Bin Laden a safe haven right next to its own Military HQ? We are not stupid. There have been a stream of terror attacks in Kashmir ever since the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in the 1990s. But since India Abrogated Article 370 on August 5th, there has been actual peace after a long time.
- aniketpant 7y ago
  Let's not push the narrative of Kashmir being peaceful after the abrogation of Article 370 without any meaningful metric for the same.
  - legolas2412 7y ago
    I'm not sure what your argument is. Are you only opposing cutting off internet or are you opposed to kashmir's "occupation"? There are many factors that make the abrogation the right move. We shouldn't be dividing a secular country for another Islamic state. Jammu and Leh should not be held back by religious based separatism. Even if Kashmir turns more violent, not giving into theocratic demands for another Islamic state is the right thing to do. Maybe cutting off internet and house arrest of politicians was not the right moves, but neither was the status quo of perpetual autonomy and jihadi separatists. Disclaimer, as I should add one. I'm no bjp supporter, and i hate the hindutva guys the same as I do the islamist crowd. After all, we call bjp making india a hindu pakistan. The word pakistan is derogatory here.
connectsnk 7y ago
Do you know what Factory Reset means?
hnews_account_1 7y ago
Classic internet comment conflating 2 different issues into one to make an abhorrent point. India is over reaching in Kashmir without question. But to imply that there aren't terrorist actors from Pakistan in the region is completely false. It has been borne out time and again that even if they don't physically cross the border, they train and indoctrinate the youth in the region somehow. This is the problem with everyone opposing this govt. There are egregious violations of privacy happening in Kashmir but the talk revolves around how they're creating a smokescreen with terrorists. This is both true and false. They are creating a smokescreen but no Indian will ever disagree that the ISI is sending over jihadis on the regular to this day and that Imran Khan is a puppet with the strings in the hands of the Pakistani army. If you throw out the latter, you can attack and criticise the govt for its draconian laws. But they'd rather fight using that stupid crutch.
- selimthegrim 7y ago
  Somehow? Are you insane? They can’t have any genuine grievances?

radicaldreamer 7y ago

Did they manually browse through the data or download it to a computer for further analysis later?

arsalanb 7y ago
No, they just manually browsed it. Both on my computer (which is a practice that's been there for >7-9 years) and mobiles. Because of the media/telecom gag my non-Kashmir friends find it hard to believe absurd laws imposed by the Indian state, like AFSPA, PSA, etc

pjg 7y ago

Is this functionally different from the US immigration authorities asking to inspect a person's social media content on their cellphone/laptop when entering the US ? Not just from "hostile" countries like Iran but occasionally from visitors from Canada ? I know at least one Canadian born citizen (had an Islamic name ) who was asked to reveal their social media profile and had their smartphone searched

dickjocke 7y ago
OP is saying he was leaving Kashmir. Generally US authorities ask this stuff when you arrive.

vbezhenar 7y ago

Do you have any idea what would happen if you factory reset your phone just before passing a border?

shripadk 7y ago

> A laughable narrative around how they were "Pakistan sponsored terrorists" is usually spun by the media/police nexus. So who conducted the Pulwama terror attack? Have you seen the video of the terrorist and the filth that he utters against Hindus? It is obvious that Pakistan is involved in sponsoring terror. They are in the grey list in FATF for a reason and have two of the World's most dangerous terrorists: Masood Azhar (who has gone missing! how does a high profile UN designated terrorist go missing?) and Hafiz Saeed (who was roaming free till recently and was only thrown in jail because of FATF pressures). These two individuals, who are Chiefs of their organizations: Hizbul Mujahideen and Lashkar-E-Toiba, respectively are the main conspirators in the 26/11 Mumbai Attack and the attack on the Indian Parliament in 2001. And shall we forget how Pakistan provided Osama Bin Laden a safe haven right next to its own Military HQ? We are not stupid. There have been a stream of terror attacks in Kashmir ever since the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in the 1990s. But since India Abrogated Article 370 on August 5th, there has been actual peace after a long time.

aniketpant 7y ago
Let's not push the narrative of Kashmir being peaceful after the abrogation of Article 370 without any meaningful metric for the same.
- legolas2412 7y ago
  I'm not sure what your argument is. Are you only opposing cutting off internet or are you opposed to kashmir's "occupation"? There are many factors that make the abrogation the right move. We shouldn't be dividing a secular country for another Islamic state. Jammu and Leh should not be held back by religious based separatism. Even if Kashmir turns more violent, not giving into theocratic demands for another Islamic state is the right thing to do. Maybe cutting off internet and house arrest of politicians was not the right moves, but neither was the status quo of perpetual autonomy and jihadi separatists. Disclaimer, as I should add one. I'm no bjp supporter, and i hate the hindutva guys the same as I do the islamist crowd. After all, we call bjp making india a hindu pakistan. The word pakistan is derogatory here.

connectsnk 7y ago

Do you know what Factory Reset means?

hnews_account_1 7y ago

Classic internet comment conflating 2 different issues into one to make an abhorrent point. India is over reaching in Kashmir without question. But to imply that there aren't terrorist actors from Pakistan in the region is completely false. It has been borne out time and again that even if they don't physically cross the border, they train and indoctrinate the youth in the region somehow. This is the problem with everyone opposing this govt. There are egregious violations of privacy happening in Kashmir but the talk revolves around how they're creating a smokescreen with terrorists. This is both true and false. They are creating a smokescreen but no Indian will ever disagree that the ISI is sending over jihadis on the regular to this day and that Imran Khan is a puppet with the strings in the hands of the Pakistani army. If you throw out the latter, you can attack and criticise the govt for its draconian laws. But they'd rather fight using that stupid crutch.

selimthegrim 7y ago
Somehow? Are you insane? They can’t have any genuine grievances?