Daily Times

The people of Kashmir and Palestine have responded to the war waged by India and Israel with stones and protests against the occupying forces.

Kashmir is an unfinished agenda item of the British plan to create two separate states — Pakistan and India. The princely states were given right to decide their accession with the newly independent countries.

Kashmir was at that time under the Dogra rule. Against the popular will of the people of Kashmir, the Maharaja of Kashmir deprived Kashmiris of their right to self-determination and declared its accession to India. The dispute of Kashmir was brought to the United Nations. It passed resolutions to allow the citizens to exercise their right of self-determination. The delay in implementation of the resolutions is a still question mark on the performance of the United Nations.

The founder and first prime minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru promised to implement the resolution passed by the United Nations. However, after some time, India refused to keep her promise.

Kashmiris launched their struggle against India, which deployed approximately 700,000 security personnel in the valley. They are equipped with modern arms and ammunition and have a licence to kill. On the other side, the people of Kashmir are unarmed. Their only weapon is perhaps stones. There is no match and balance in this fight for freedom — a fight that the Kashmiris have not waged for the disintegration of India, but only for their right to self-determination.

There is no comparison between armed and unarmed persons. Spirit and aim are the two main things that have encouraged Kashmiris and Palestinians to face the sophisticated guns of their enemies

The “Intifada” of Kashmir have got success to such an extent that Indian security personnel use Kashmiris as human shields. This is the success of the Kashmiris that armed security personnel use unarmed persons in their defence.

The land of Palestine is also a witness of the struggle between armed personnel and unarmed persons. The allied powers of World War I promised the Jews that they would create an independent state for them on the land of Palestine. The Palestinians had to face two cruel actions of these powers. Firstly, a Jewish state, Israel was created on their land in 1948. Secondly, they were not given a separate and independent state. The Palestinians rose against this cruel action and injustice. Israel was allowed to persecute the Palestinians who fought for their state and against the injustice of the international community.

The Palestinians expressed their desire for peace subject to the condition of their separate homeland. The head of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, Yasser Arafat, once said on the floor of the UN General Assembly that an olive branch must not be allowed to fall from their hands.

Israel has adopted a three-pronged policy to deal with the Palestinians. Firstly, it has deployed its forces to terminate the freedom struggle of the Palestinians. Secondly, the Jewish settlements are being built on Palestinian land. Thirdly, it is influencing world powers for support.

In 1989, the world was perplexed when Palestinians launched the Intifada movement. They began facing the Israeli armed forces with stones. The Palestinians heralded stones, and in response received bullets. The Israeli soldiers are equipped with the latest armoury but have failed to achieve any tangible results. They are involved in the killing of Palestinian children. But the struggle of the Palestinians is gaining momentum day by day.

The United States is also siding with Israel against the Palestinians. US President Donald Trump announced that his country’s embassy would shift to Jerusalem. The UNGA adopted a resolution condemning the move, but the US did not pay any attention to the wish of the international body and shifted its embassy to Jerusalem. This action is proof of the US’ unconditional support for Israel.

The invading forces are committing violations of human rights in Kashmir and Palestine every day. The upholders of the standard of human rights are silent. They view the acts of a violation through the lens of religious discrimination and their interests.

There is no comparison between armed and unarmed persons. Spirit and aim are two main things that have encouraged Kashmiris and Palestinians to face the sophisticated guns of their enemies.

Guns have bitterly failed to defeat the courage of these freedom fighters.

Injustice breads contempt, which leads to fighting. In the modern world, the concept of a fight without arms is out of the question. But the people of occupied Kashmir and Palestine have proved that war may be waged without arms. The world must support and help the Kashmiris and Palestinians reclaim their states and their lives.

The writer is an author and has a doctorate in Political Science

Published in Daily Times, July 6^th 2018.