Blatant Panopticon: Enforced Surveillance In Kashmir

Abstract

In the four years following India’s revocation of the special status of the Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi’s most significant action in asserting its authority over this UN-recognised disputed territory has been the heightened deployment of surveillance and predictive technologies to monitor and govern the civilian population of Kashmir. The intensified scrutiny from security and military agencies not only limits the freedom of expression for the people of Kashmir but also pushes them into a perpetual state of conflict.

Kashmiris are subjected to multiple layers of surveillance, aiming to monitor oppressed voices, restrict freedom of expression, and discourage their UN-guaranteed right to self-determination. Surveillance in Kashmir resembles the panopticon– a design of institutional building with an inbuilt system of control proposed by utilitarianism philosopher Jeremy Bentham in the 18th century

Keywords: Survillence,Indian occupied Kashmir, Right of Self determination, Information blackhole,Military seige, Privacy Rights,IHL, IHRL

JEL Classification: K33