Landmines in Kashmir: A Threatening Reality for Kashmiri Citizens
The Lasting Threat to Civilians
At first, these landmines (deployed along the ceasefire line) and other areas of military operation) were legitimized as a deterrent against infiltration. But by their very nature, they were an enduring hazard to civilians. Humanitarian organizations and local reports say the unexploded ordnance kills or maims dozens of civilians, including farmers, shepherds, and children, each year in accidental encounters.
Underneath soil, snow, or vegetation layers, these mines are hazardous because they tend to remain alive for decades. Demining efforts remain limited and inconsistent, so in many cases, residents are unaware of their presence. In addition to heavy rainfall, landslides, and shifting terrain, displacement of landmines is standard from these events, resulting in inadvertent detonation of explosives in areas previously considered safe. Hence, the most mundane chores, including tending crops, grazing livestock, or walking familiar paths, can prove fatal.
Restricting Land Access and Economic Hardships
Traditionally, agriculture has been Kashmir’s primary economic activity and a large segment of the population functions as farmers and pastoralists. Still, large areas of fertile land became unusable due to the presence of landmines. Thousands of acres of farmland are out of reach in border villages and conflict-prone regions because there’s too much risk of hidden explosives. This puts people at risk of food insecurity and weakens the local economy, resulting in many families leaving agriculture to line up for precarious jobs elsewhere.
The risks for those who keep on farming are also complicated. Severe cases of farmers stepping on mines while plowing their fields or helping tend their livestock are commonplace. Losing hoofs, or the limbs and lives translates into more economic misfortune: the affected don’t work, and the family gets hit with expensive medical bills. Furthermore, an absence of adequate healthcare facilities in these remote areas makes the condition worse for victims, who will either have to die or live with disabilities for the rest of their lives without proper medical support.
Frequent Casualties and Lack of Remediation Efforts
For years, human rights organizations have been making repeated appeals for demining in Kashmir, and they remain insufficient. The contested nature of Kashmir has left it in the realm of a conflict zone where little has been done to clear the land of mines by international bodies. In addition, India and Pakistan still consider the clearance of mine another “military issue” rather than a humanitarian one, and they often give higher priority to saving strategic security rather than saving civilian safety.
Indeed, most of the victims of landmine explosions in Kashmir are civilians. Many of them are children who unintentionally find these devices when they play outdoors. The injuries, including severed limbs, blindness, and permanent disfigurement, are also physical and psychological trauma for entire communities. This is yet compensation, and rehabilitation is still relatively meager for victims. Victim assistance programs are lacking in many ways, and many survivors are left to themselves, poverty and neglect.
Casualties from 1999 to 2009 and 2001 to 2015
The Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor recorded 3,191 victims of mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and explosive remnants of war (ERW) in India between 1999 and 2015. The Jammu and Kashmir region is one of the most vulnerable in terms of a substantial number of these casualties. Between 1999 and 2009 close to 3,000 people die due to landmine explosions and over 2,000 people were injured. The existence of these figures during this period also demonstrates the threat that is still posed by landmines.
Tosa Maidan Tragedies
In 1965 Tosa Maidan in the Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir was given on lease to the Indian Army for artillery drills and military exercises. Over nearly five decades, it had become a perilous place for local inhabitants from unexploded ordnance laying around. Data collected under the Right to Information Act said at least 68 people were killed and 43 disabled in Tosa Maidan in the years, the greatest number of deaths being reported by the Shungli Pora village. In 2014, long after much public protests, the lease wasn’t renewed and the area freed of landmines. Even after these attempts, sporadic incidents were occurring and raised demands for a thorough job of demining and compensation of affected families.
Landmine incidents have always remained a reminder of the challenges in the region. In October 2024, one of the army personnel was injured in a landmine blast near the ceasefire line in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara district during a patrol at the Googaldara area. On October 25 later that month, a 40 year old civilian, Haneef was injured when he stepped on a landmine in Shahpur area of Poonch district. This only serves to demonstrate how landmines remain deadly hazards throughout the region, endangering both military individuals and civilians.
Displacement and Demographic Shifts
Landmines are not only a real physical danger of the immediate present but also a weapon of displacement by force. The fear of landmines has contributed in large measures to the departure of thousands of Kashmiri families from their ancestral homes, mainly in rural and border areas. However, this displacement fits within a more considerable demographic change of vacated lands and depopulated villages to facilitate easier and different military occupation and settlement.
According to reports, landmines have been used deliberately to make a place uninhabitable. That puts the boots of the mine on civilian homes, roads, and agricultural fields, coercing the people to move out. This adds to the more significant human demography engineering in Kashmir where some places are depopulated and others are resettled with different communities to alter the demographic balance here.
A Humanitarian and Legal Perspective
It is a direct flagrant violation of international humanitarian law to use landmines in Kashmir still. The name of the 1997 Ottawa Treaty, formally known as the Mine Ban Treaty, is the ban on the use, stockpiling, production, and transfer of anti-personnel mines. While India and Pakistan are not parties to this treaty, nearly the entire international community is of the view that landmines in general — and internationally irresponsible practices in their use —target civilians over soldiers more than proportionately and, therefore, should be banned.
International bodies such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and several human rights watchers have repeatedly called for urgent demining efforts in Kashmir. However, such progress depends on the political will and cooperation between India and Pakistan. They have, therefore, tried to raise awareness and help victims, although poor resources and ongoing security restrictions hamper civil society organizations based in Kashmir.
Policy Recommendations and the Way Forward
There is no one way to address this crisis. First, there needs to be a resolve to clear all the landmines from civilian areas. Generally, this is a three-way cooperation between India, Pakistan, and international demining agencies. It should focus on establishing humanitarian corridors and no-mine zones in residential and agricultural areas to avoid loss of life and livelihood.
Furthermore, thorough victim assistance programs should be put in place. Such insurance includes medical treatment, prosthetic support, psychological counseling, and compensation. Attention must be given to children and young survivors who will have lifelong challenges resulting from their injuries.
Further, more transparency and accountability are required regarding the use of landmines. Victims of civilian zones should be allowed access to independent monitoring bodies to ascertain the scale of the problem and ensure that mines are not being planted in civilian zones. Mitigating the humanitarian impact of landmines in Kashmir would be essential if it is encouraged that India and Pakistan sign the Mine Ban Treaty or at least adhere to its principles.
Finally, exclusion preventing forced displacement has to be addressed in the context of more general issues in forced displacement and demography. Measures must be made to ensure the safe return of displaced families and reconnect them with the land. Returnees must be assisted through financial incentives and legal support to counter the demographic shifts resulting from landmines and forced migration.
Conclusion
The silent yet devastating weapon of war that has still not disappeared from Kashmir is the landmines. Deployed as a security measure initially, they went beyond military strategy to harm ordinary Kashmiris. The absence of emergency and coordinated efforts to clear these explosives, to assist those who need assistance, and to prevent further displacement will mean that the crisis will remain and deepen the region’s humanitarian woes.
As this is a problem that is critical not only for Kashmir but for the region and the world, both regional and international actors must acknowledge the urgency of the situation and come together to make Kashmir landmine-free. The affected communities’ voices must be heard and have the right to safety, stability, and dignity. The longer these ‘silent killers’ decay in Kashmir’s soil, the deeper the scars will line on the ground of conflict.
