Bilal A. Jan’s 2012 documentary Ocean of Tears, produced in Kashmiri by Rajiv Mehrotra under the auspices of the Public Service Broadcasting Trust of India (PSBT), comprehensively documents the harrowing human rights atrocities committed against Kashmiri women. The documentary covers the mass rapes of Kunan Poshpora and Shopian, among others. The filmmaker has compiled newspaper headlines and official documentation of these crimes.
Featuring raw testimonies from victims, families, and experts, alongside archival reports, the documentary is a courageous indictment of systemic violence. Yet, its screenings have often been banned by RSS members, reflecting the ongoing struggle to confront uncomfortable truths. Authorities at the University of Kashmir and Aligarh Muslim University have stopped its screening on their respective campuses since its release.
The documentary opens with a quote from Jalaluddin Rumi: “Woman is a ray of God, not a mere mistress. The creator’s self, as it were, not a mere creature.” Many visuals symbolic of the Kashmir valley recur in the film, including sirens, towers, electric fences, barbed wires, Chinar trees, and hilly boulders.
In the documentary, Dr. Nyla Ali Khan highlights how women in Kashmir have been extremely oppressed, with rape used both as a sexual and psychological weapon of war for decades. The Kunan-Poshpora gang rape case of 1991 is the most high-profile case from two decades of armed conflict. It occurred in the villages of Kunan Poshpora in the frontier district of Kupwara.
The incident happened on the night of 23rd and 24th February 1991. According to villagers’ statements and newspaper reports, over 32 women were gang-raped in Kunan Poshpora. The memory of the tragedy remains fresh in their minds, and they continue to suffer mentally and physically. The victims believe that nothing can restore their dignity. The director, while discussing the challenges of creating the documentary, admitted that the women were hesitant to give testimonies at first but agreed after deliberation. Initially, only the men were willing to provide testimonies.
In the film, testimonies for the Shopian, Sopore, and Ashmal cases were given by family members, as the victims in these cases were killed. In the Shopian double murder and rape case, the brother of one victim and the husband of another gave testimonies. In Ashmal’s case, the victim’s daughter and son shared their experiences. The film also addresses the enforced disappearances of men, leaving women and children behind to fend for themselves. These women, often called “half-widows,” remain uncertain whether their husbands are alive or dead.
The camera captures the voices of distressed husbands recounting their experiences. They describe how they were dragged out of their homes just before midnight while their wives and children remained inside. Only the women were left behind. Many believed that dying would have been better than what had happened to them. Soldiers tortured every single person in the village, sparing no one. The men were not permitted to see the women throughout the night. In the morning, villagers from nearby areas took the women to the hospital for medical treatment. Some victims couldn’t disclose the rapes, even to their husbands, due to social stigma. Unmarried victims, fearing societal repercussions, never came forward. As a result, their children face mockery at school and are often unable to attend institutions outside their village.
Victims were given ₹2 lakh in compensation but demanded an independent investigation. The men demanded justice and the prosecution of the perpetrators involved.
The brother of Asiya and the husband of Neelofar narrated the tragedy that befell both women. They went out and never returned. Their bodies were discovered near a stream. The family demands justice from the government. A spokesperson of Shopian Majlis elaborates that while a Special Investigation Team was investigating the murders, the CBI eventually intervened.
The film also documents the pain of Ashmal’s daughter, who describes how her mother was raped and murdered. She recounts being a child accompanying her mother to the fields when soldiers began a cordon operation. Since the incident, she cannot stand loud noises and now suffers from heart disease. Her mother died of cardiac arrest en route to the hospital. Ashmal’s son explained that nobody helped them because they were children, and police were unwilling to file an FIR based on a child’s statement. This case remains pending before the State Human Rights Commission.
Several Kunan Poshpora victims speak out in the documentary, including Begum Sara, Zoona, Sara, Bakhti, and Mugli. They claim that around 150 army personnel barged in, tortured, and raped them. Many cry as they recount the horrors of those nights. One woman shows a scar caused by a gun barrel injury. She bled heavily and was only allowed treatment after protests. Four of the victims have since died, while many continue to undergo medical treatment years later.
The film agonizingly captures the voices of these women. One victim, Zareefa, died from excessive bleeding, leaving behind five daughters. Three women had to undergo surgery to remove their uterus and still bear the physical consequences of the assault. They spend over ₹8,000 monthly on treatment. A government school denied admission to their children due to social stigma. The victims continue to await justice, claiming that although their plight has been documented, the government remains indifferent to their suffering.
Two scholars, Dr. Nusrat Andrabi and Prof. Bashir Ahmad Dabla, share their perspectives in the documentary. SHRC representative Tariq Ahmad Bandey and police inspector SM Sahai also offer differing views on these cases.
The documentary highlights contradictions between the reports from complainants/victims and government officials. The SHRC recommended reopening the case and taking action against the person who had previously closed it. Government involvement made little difference in bringing justice. SM Sahai states that he cannot comment on Kunan Poshpora without having the “facts” and will wait for the SHRC report, despite existing medical reports and other evidence confirming the rapes. He claims that the investigation will continue based on the available evidence. Regarding the Shopian case, he notes that it was handed over to the CBI, which concluded that the women died by “drowning.” He denies the rape allegations, stating that the younger girl’s “hymen was intact,” a narrow interpretation of what constitutes sexual assault.
The film reveals how the government attempted to erase this tragedy from history by tampering with official records. The Indian state dismissed the allegations as “baseless,” and the perpetrators were never prosecuted. The Press Council of India labeled the charges against the army as a “well-concocted bundle of fabricated lies” and a “massive hoax orchestrated by militant groups and their sympathizers in Kashmir.” Yet, Kunan Poshpora is not an isolated incident. Militarized sexual violence in Kashmir peaked after 1990, though many cases remain unreported. Sexual violence is used as a weapon of war and a means to subjugate marginalized communities, breaking their resistance.
February 23, the day of the Kunan Poshpora mass rape, is commemorated as Kashmiri Women’s Resistance Day. Numerous crimes against Kashmiri Muslim women have been committed, though only a few have received attention. Some cases attracted media outrage, while others faded into obscurity. The documentary emphasizes that a victim’s identity never justifies their suffering. It calls on human rights and women’s rights advocates to acknowledge the pain endured by Kashmiris, especially Kashmiri women.
Amna Mannan is an independent journalist based in New Delhi, India, interested in literature, film, culture, politics and human rights.
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