Sham elections

THAT the first phase of staggered elections in the Occupied Kashmir, which commenced on Monday, witnessed a relatively higher turnout in the Hindu-dominated constituencies, comes as no surprise. Coercive methods employed by the security forces did the trick to send Kashmiri Muslims to the polling stations in some areas. But generally the pressure tactics failed to increase the turnout. People fought with security forces deployed in large numbers to prevent anti-polling protests. Television images and newspaper pictures show how brutal the occupation forces could turn out to be to make the sham elections a success. Not only did they lob teargas shells but they also beat the demonstrators mercilessly, as a result of which many of them, including some women, sustained serious injuries.