Idrees Jan Mir, a 38-year-old government teacher was terminated from his services under an order issued by the Lieutenant-General of Kashmir on 30th April 2021.
The news of my termination came as a shock, as I have not done any crime’, says Mr. Jan.
Jan was an adopted son of Ali Mohammad Mir, a Jamat’e Islami activist who was a victim of enforced disappearance by the Indian forces in 1993. Ali Mohammad was a government teacher himself, and Idrees was later appointed in his place. His biological father was also killed later during a dispute with a neighbor.
On the same day of his termination, the whole village of Dardpora was cordoned off by the forces and they have been inquiring about Mr. Jan.
I was also arrested under Public Safety Act, in 2016 during the mass uprising and kept in Kot Balwal jail for five months, after which my detention was declared illegal by the High Court of Kashmir – he adds
Public Safety Act has been declared as a ‘lawless law’ by Amnesty International. “I teach what I am supposed to teach my students and if that is anti-national, then I do not know what to say”, Jan says. Idrees is the father of three children as well.
