The freedom struggle which
started against the Dogra rule before Partition is continuing unabatedly because
of illegal occupation of two-thirds Kashmir by Indian security forces in October
1947. The Kashmiris are fighting for their freedom in a bid to complete the
unfinished work of the Partition of India. Some people call it a battle for the
conception of another Pakistan in the womb of India. The delivery would of
course materialize if the passion to sacrifice and die in the way of cause
remains young; so says the breeze blowing in the Valley, known as paradise on
earth but turned into hell by Indian security forces. The Muslims of Kashmir who
have always been known to be docile, peace loving and inward looking were forced
by circumstances to pick up arms and demand their right of self determination as
laid down in UN Resolutions of 1948 and 1949.
The armed freedom struggle in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) which suddenly
erupted like a volcano in January 1990 is 90% indigenous and the fractional 10%
can be traced back to the natural and wholly unavoidable fraternal involvement
of their kinsfolk in Azad Kashmir. In the last 22 years, well over 100,000
Kashmiris have laid down their lives to attain freedom from the alien rule,
while tens of thousands have been maimed, their houses destroyed and their women
folk raped by the occupation forces. Countless numbers are in illegal detention
centres and quietly suffering worst kinds of torture with none to hear their
shrieks of agony and with no light at the end of the tunnel. Several black laws
are in practice to give a free hand to security forces to arrest suspects
without warrant, or to shoot to kill any person seen as a possible threat.
Taking advantage of her closeness with the sole super power, India has
misrepresented indigenous freedom movement as terrorism backed by Pakistan. The
global anti-terrorism laws framed by Washington after 9/11 are being misused by
India to crush the aspirations of Kashmiris demanding right of self
determination and to project Pakistan as a terror abetting state. She stubbornly
clings to her stance that Kashmir is integral part of India and will not part
with it under any circumstance. India misses no opportunity to harm or badmouth
Pakistan. She has maintained her aggressive and negative stance even after
signing peace treaty with Pakistan in January 2004. She remained on a warpath
after Mumbai episode in November 2008 for over two years. Finally when she
decided to soften up and resume stalled composite dialogue and to promote
two-way trade and Pakistan responded by agreeing to give her Most-Favored-Nation
status, Indian military deployed in Kashmir upped the ante by first heating up
the Line of Control through intrusions and then making a bizarre allegation that
one of the Indian soldiers had been beheaded by Pak military.
The Indians have somehow remained obsessed with the thought that liberation of
Kashmir will set in a chain reaction thereby tearing India into pieces. This
fear in fact has been fed by Indian military which doesn’t want to part with
Kashmir under any circumstance. As a matter of fact, ignoring ground realities
and deceiving the world by obfuscating truth and clinging on to Kashmir which is
not theirs may eventually lead to disintegration of India. Indians must pick up
heart to admit that the feared chain reaction is already in motion in India as
can be gauged from 19 separatist and insurgent movements taking place in several
states of India. Over 1500,000 Indian security forces are deployed to counter
the insurgencies. Among all the movements, Naxalite and Kashmiri movements are
the most dangerous. However, Kashmiri movement being Muslim enthused is the
Achilles Heel of India.
India being an imperialist power is governed by a strong hegemonic impulse. She
wants to become super power of South Asia and a world power. The current
generation of Indian leaders has still not overcome the desire to create
mythical Mahabharata as aspired by earlier Hindu leaders. Illusionary
Mahabharata spans the space between Afghanistan and Indonesia. Mired in dozens
of insurgencies, India considers Pakistan as the lone stumbling block in the way
of her imperialist ambitions. Indigenous freedom movement in IOK has become a
bleeding wound for India and a cause of embarrassment. Despite massive human
rights abuses and horrendous cruelties perpetrated by 750,000 Indian forces
deployed in a small valley since 1990 and given license to kill under specially
enacted brutal laws to stifle the voice of Kashmiris languishing in open prison
under miserable conditions, the movement continues undeterred. Each case of
brutality and injustice further fuel their hatred against India. Holding of
farcical elections every five years under the barrel of the gun and forming
puppet governments through massive rigging in elections has added to their
frustration and resentment.
The Amarnath Shrine Board dispute in occupied Kashmir in the summer of 2008
galvanized the Kashmiri youth, born in 1990s, after a lull of few years. This
time they decided to launch their protests without arms. Their protests became
more menacing in 2009; and in 2010 teenagers with stones clenched in their small
fists came in the forefront and braved the bullets of pitiless marauders.
Thousands of teenagers chanted Azadi slogans with unprecedented fury. Stones
hurled by teenagers were responded by bullets by Indian security forces. They
indiscriminately fired at the teenagers, some of them as young as eight years
old, killing hundreds and wounding as many.
It is indeed most unfortunate that champions of human rights and advocates of
human dignity and honor are mute like the stone effigies. The US-Western-Jewish
media turns a blind eye to gross human rights violations committed against
Kashmiri women, children and elderly persons. This is in spite the fact that
quite many independent NGOs, Human Rights Watch and even notable Indians have
highlighted the reign of terror unleashed by Indian forces upon hapless
Kashmiris.International Peoples’ Tribunal for Human Rights in IOK and
Association of Parent of Disappeared Persons (APDP) released a 355 paged report
in December 2012 uncovering atrocious and viciously barbaric acts of Indian
Army, Border Security Force, Central Reserve Police Forces and elements of other
Security and Police Forces, all violently striking against unarmed Kashmiris.
The report gives precise details of many established and proven cruelties, which
the “largest democracy” on earth (India) did not bother to acknowledge or
investigate. The report also uncovers truth behind Indian allegations that
violence in IOK was caused by Pakistan.
Notwithstanding the biased stance of foreign media, it is distressing to note
that our political leaders and our media deeply immersed in internal political
battle have failed to take note of this report and to condemn India. It is the
moral obligation of every Pakistani to give full moral support to the Kashmiris
in distress and to expose the real face of Indian security forces involved in
raping women, extra judicial killing of innocent people, detaining and torturing
suspects without charges, ransacking their houses and looting their property.
The world needs to be reminded that people of Kashmir have endured immeasurable
pain and anguish and are continuing to suffer unabated miseries. They should be
allowed to exercise their right to live the way they want to. It must not be
viewed as a territorial dispute, but seen as an international issue since it has
been duly recognized as such by the United Nations. The vicious cycle of carnage
must come to an end and the oldest dispute resolved at the earliest.
by Asif Haroon Raja