Geographical Displacement and Medical Negligence: The Plight of Kashmiris Detained under the Public Safety Act

Naseer Ahmed’s wife and three children have been eagerly waiting for his release from Uttar Pradesh’s Agra Central Jail in India. Photo Sajad Hameed Nazia Jan, 39, briskly readied her children despite the desolation that cloaks their home. This was no ordinary day: her husband, incarcerated in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra Central Jail, is seeing his family via video call. Since 5 August 2019, after the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, several Indian jails housing Kashmiri inmates have introduced weekly video calls that serve as the only connection for those detained, many of whom were arrested in the aftermath of the revocation of Article 370 and 35A. According to a document issued by the Jammu and Kashmir Home Department in August 2023, 408 individuals detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA) are currently held in jails outside Jammu and Kashmir. The PSA grants authorities the power to detain any…


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