The Kashmiri people have struggled for seven decades, since
the day the British decided to end their 200-year rule on the Indian
subcontinent and divide it into two separate nations: Muslim-majority Pakistan
and Hindu-majority India. The process of partition in question was not simple
because in addition to the British-controlled territories, the subcontinent also
consisted of about 550 sovereign princely states ruled by local monarchs and
other territories under French, Portuguese or Omani rule. Today, Kashmir is the
sole unfinished agenda of partition and the only region of British India that
has not become a part of one of the two countries or gained independence.
Kashmiris, who have resisted Indian occupation and brutality for years, have
poured into the streets many times for mass protests and lost many lives. Indian
forces have targeted young Kashmiris between the ages of 12 to 30. On August 5,
2019 India revoked the special status granted to Jammu and Kashmir under Article
370 of the Indian Constitution – an illegal, immoral and unilateral undertaking.
This article, along with Article 35A, established special status for the
disputed territory and defined a separate set of laws for the Kashmiri people in
the IOJK, including those related to limited citizenship, ownership of property
and fundamental rights of the current residents of Jammu and Kashmir, which are
critical for a plebiscite under U.N. auspices.
Today, there is no access to the region for any observer or third party, despite
the situation being repeatedly highlighted by international media. Communication
channels for the residents of Jammu and Kashmir are blocked – there is no
internet, phone or mobile connectivity. A presidential decree issued on August 5
revoked Article 370 of India's constitution that guaranteed special rights to
the Muslim-majority state, including the right to its own constitution and
autonomy to make laws on all matters except defence, communications and foreign
affairs. In the lead-up to the move, India sent thousands of additional troops
to the disputed region, imposed a crippling curfew, shut down telecommunications
and internet, and arrested political leaders.
In a letter dated September 11 and tagged in a tweet, Congresswoman
PramilaJayapal in the House of Representatives and Congressman James P McGovern
have asked US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to press the Indian government to
immediately end the communications blackout in Kashmir. The BJP government
carried out its long-standing pledge, which it had reiterated in its campaign of
April-May 2019 General Elections. It was because of this promise that Modi
Government dealt the opposition, which could be seen from the simple majority it
got this time as compared to its previous coalition government. The BJP
government wanted a strong united India according to its “racist ideology.”
BJP’s extremist ideology was explained by the US Commission for International
Religious Freedom’s (USCIRF) report which highlighted that the members of BJP
have affiliations with the extremist groups. Report also stated that they
instigated violence in the Indian Held Kashmir.
The letter says international media and independent human rights observers must
be allowed into Jammu and Kashmir "to investigate reports of abuse". The
legislators also expressed concern over the surge in "attacks against religious
minorities throughout India" in the letter.since August 05, 2019, IOJK has been
under a complete lockdown. It is almost a year that the people of IOJK have no
communication with the outside world whatsoever. There is a complete media
blackout and no internet in the state. Local economy has been reduced to
nothing, leaving the people of IOJK with no means to earn a living.
Matters have gotten worse since the spread of novel Corona virus (COVID19)
globally. Under the garb of lockdown due to COVID19, the IOF are carrying out
blatant human rights violations in IOJK. People of IOJK are sitting ducks for
the IOF who have mercilessly killed scores of Kashmiri youth in fake encounters
since August 05, 2019. Today, almost a million of IOF are deployed in IOJK. As
per Indian claims, only a few hundreds of militants are left in IOJK. If this is
true, then what is the logic behind such a large deployment of forces in the
region? The soldier to civilian ratio is 9:1 in IOJK. What is the Indian state
afraid of that it needs such a large force, armed to the teeth to control a
small population of IOJK?
Atrocities of the Indian state in IOJK have been reported by local and
international journalists and observers alike. Organizations like Amnesty
International and Human Rights Watch have called out India over its human rights
violations repeatedly. International organizations such as the Organization of
Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the UN have also raised their concerns about
Indian brutalities in IOJK. To make matters worse, the international community
is also maintaining a deafening silence over the situation in IOJK where
recently an innocent bystander, late Bashir Ahmad Khan of Sopore was shot dead
in front of his three-year-old grandson in cold blood. The incident was reported
extensively in media outlets around the world but no substantive action was
taken to hold India accountable. The world needs to realize that the Kashmir
dispute is no longer a political and a legal matter rather it is a humanitarian
crisis now. The IOF are committing war-crimes in IOJK. The revocation has
achieved the erasure of the extraordinary choice that the then only
Muslim-majority state had made while acceding to the Indian dominion when the
terms of the partition may, more naturally, have induced them to a contrary
resolve. The silence of the international community in the face of Indian
atrocities in IOJK is criminal. The struggle of the people of IOJK against the
illegal occupation and oppression by the Indian state will continue until the
dispute is resolved according to the wishes of the people of Kashmir.
Just like every year, a complete strike will be observed throughout IOJK on July
8 and 13. Prayer meetings will be held Mazar-i-Shuhada along with observance of
“Day with Martyr’s Family” in localities all across IOJK.