By The South Asia Times

SRINAGAR - Twenty years have passed since bullets rained down on a cricket ground in the Doodipora area of Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, but for the families of those killed, the wait for justice continues -- a silence they say speaks louder than any verdict.

On February 22, 2006, what began as an ordinary day of sport in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir village of Doodipora in Jammu and Kashmir ended in tragedy. Indian occupying forces opened indiscriminate fire on innocent youths playing cricket, killing four and injuring several others.

The blood-soaked pitch became a symbol of what Kashmiris describe as decades of brutal occupation.

Witnesses recall young men collapsing on the field as bullets tore through the afternoon calm. The cricket ground, once a place of joy and community, was transformed into a scene of horror.

"The boys were just playing cricket. They had no weapons, no political affiliation, they were children of the soil, playing the game they loved," said a resident who witnessed the attack but requested anonymity for safety.

"The occupying forces didn't ask questions. They just fired."

In response to what Kashmiris describe as a humanitarian tragedy, local residents took to the streets to protest against the Indian army's acts of terror. Those protests were met with further force, deepening the cycle of violence and grief.

The Doodipora massacre represents just one chapter in a much longer history of suffering. According to human rights organizations and Kashmiri political leaders, more than 100,000 Kashmiris have lost their lives since 1992 in their renewed struggle for freedom and self-determination.

The conflict traces back to 1947–48, when the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir was partitioned, leaving the region divided between India and Pakistan by a de facto border known as the Line of Control. India administers the Kashmir Valley and Jammu regions, while Pakistan administers Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Since then, Kashmiris in Indian occupied territory have witnessed curfews and lockdowns, paralyzing daily life, disappearances of thousands of young men, Mass graves discovered in regions like Rajouri, Collective punishment and torture and custodial deaths documented by human rights groups.

The UN Commission on India and Pakistan (UNCIP) passed resolutions in 1948 and 1949 calling for a plebiscite to determine the will of the Kashmiri people -- resolutions that remain unimplemented to this day.

Two decades after Doodipora, no Indian official has been held accountable. No inquiry report has been made public. No compensation has brought closure to grieving families, said a local resident in Srinagar.

"The families of the Doodipora martyrs are still awaiting justice," he said. "Meanwhile, the silence of Indian and international organizations over this incident is shameful".

Human rights watchdogs have repeatedly documented abuses by Indian security forces in Kashmir, including extrajudicial killings, torture, and enforced disappearances. Yet international bodies have largely refrained from naming and shaming one of the world's most militarized conflict zones.

"Kashmir remains one of the most militarized regions on earth, with hundreds of thousands of Indian troops stationed in the valley," said a human rights researcher who has documented abuses in the region. "Yet the international community has largely looked the other way."

Most local residents, officials, and human rights activists requested anonymity while speaking to the media, saying that anyone who is publicly identified risks being picked up from their home by Indian forces and subjected to torture.

The South Asia Times has withheld their names to protect them from possible reprisals.

- UN Resolutions and international law

The Kashmir dispute remains on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council. Resolutions adopted in 1948 and 1949 affirmed that the final disposition of the state of Jammu and Kashmir should be made in accordance with the will of the people, expressed through a democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite.

India has historically maintained that the 1972 Simla Agreement, which established a bilateral mechanism to resolve disputes, supersedes the UN resolutions. Pakistan and Kashmiri political leaders reject this interpretation, insisting that the right to self-determination cannot be extinguished by bilateral agreements.

"The people of Kashmir have never accepted Indian sovereignty," said a Kashmiri political leader who spoke on condition of anonymity. "Our struggle is not terrorism, it is resistance against occupation. International law recognizes the right of people under colonial or alien domination to fight for their freedom."

As the 20th anniversary of Doodipora passes, the situation in Kashmir remains volatile. While a 2021 ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan along the Line of Control has largely held, human rights groups say abuses within the valley continue.

The families of the Doodipora martyrs grow older, their grief undiminished by time. The cricket ground where four young men fell has become a pilgrimage site for those who remember, and a symbol for those who refuse to forget.

"We will continue to raise our voice," said a family member of one victim. "We want the world to know what happened in Doodipora. We want justice. We want our freedom."

For now, the blood stains on that cricket pitch remain, invisible to the eye but etched into the memory of a people who have waited 78 years for the promise of self-determination to be fulfilled.