Politics
As Indian authorities use pellet guns again, Kashmiri survivors still await justice
In India, debates over the use of pellet guns on protesters have opened space for Kashmiris who have endured wounds from them since 2010.
Scroll India wrote that Kashmiri survivors of pellet gun violence are still awaiting compensation from the state even a decade later, and the current debate “gives them a chance to voice their grievances after a prolonged silence.”
Many survivors say the current debate over the use of pellet guns in Delhi protests gives them a chance to voice their grievances after a prolonged silence, @safwatzgr reports https://t.co/iwonZK0YvI
— Rokibuz Zaman (@ZamanRokibuz_) August 6, 2026
Scroll wrote that efforts by pellet gun victims to mobilise themselves and demand compensation died out in 2019, when the Modi government scrapped the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and turned it into a Union territory.
Now that pellet gun use has been in the news, this is a chance for them to make their voices heard again.
India — Pellet guns used in Delhi
On July 20, India’s Rapid Action Force (RAF) used tear gas, lathi charge, and firearms against protesters at Jantar Mantar who were demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged irregularities in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) examination. The Bihar youth movement was even fired at with an AK-47.
The “cockroach” label has become shorthand for the movement, embodied by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). Cockroach was a slur from an Indian official that young protestors reclaimed as their own.
This was the first time pellet guns were used in the capital, though they have been used in Kashmir since 2010 and were used during the farmer protests on the Punjab-Haryana border in 2024.
Maktoob Media — one of the independent platforms — counted up to five victims in Delhi.
“I could not feel my arm for a couple of hours and felt like my heart would stop beating”
Delhi artist Prashant Kumar Singh recounts being hit by a pellet gun during Jantar Mantar protest, becoming fifth reported case of pellet injuries amid NEET accountability demonstrations.… pic.twitter.com/AgGT7Mw1KW
— Maktoob (@MaktoobMedia) July 27, 2026
Prashant Kumar Singh, who suffered injuries from pellet guns on his arm, neck, and chest, told Maktoob:
But we never fathomed that the police would be so inhumane and would use something as lethal as pellet guns. We have seen cases from Kashmir where people have lost their sight and mobility after being hit by pellets.
Kashmir as a “testing lab”
Eph, a Kashmiri researcher and writer who chose to remain anonymous in their interview with Middle East Eye over safety fears, called Kashmir a “testing ground” for tools of repression.
After ‘testing ground’ in Kashmir, pellet guns used on student protesters in India’s capital
Activists say repression is part of India’s Kashmir playbook, as authorities deny using the guns despite hospital records
— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) July 25, 2026
While Delhi is experiencing tactics from the Kashmir playbook, there remains a “huge difference” between the two, she pointed:
No three-year-old kid was killed in Delhi, but that was done in Kashmir. No students sitting in their homes got hit by pellet guns, but in Kashmir that had happened. If a student is detained on Jantar Mantar, they will only face detention and then can get out. But if a Kashmiri student is detained, he will be slapped with the PSA.
Defending the security forces’ response during 2016 summer unrest, Mehbooba had said protesters did not go to security camps to “buy milk and toffee”, a statement that continues to be cited by her political opponents. Her latest comments have also brought renewed focus on the use of pellet shotguns, one of the most contentious aspects of crowd control in Kashmir.
By The Canary
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