Pakistan says that the Kashmir issue should be resolved according to the United Nation (UN) Resolutions. The resolutions give the Kashmiris the right to self-determination. It is for the Kashmiris to decide if they want to be part of Pakistan or form an independent state. On the other hand, India claims Kashmir to be its integral part. Both the countries are signatories of the UN resolutions on Kashmir. Therefore, when Pakistan raises the voice that Kashmir banega (will be) Pakistan, it negates its stance on the UN resolution. When India draws claim at Kashmir unilaterally, it too backtracks on its commitment to the UN resolution of granting the Kashmiris the right to self-determination. The only domain where Pakistan can raise voice about India’s atrocities on Kashmiris is in galvanising the international community towards the issue.
It is this faceless protest by both Pakistan and India that has emboldened the new and young leadership to realign the Kashmir cause. The pattern in which the separatist movement is going forward it could be the creation of a ‘Greater Kashmir’ with Gilgit-Baltistan and the Pakistani part of Kashmir as a part of it.
The willingness of Kashmiris to face state aggression in the aftermath of Burhan Wani’s killing is a reminder that India’s occupation of Kashmir is unacceptable to most of its inhabitants. Putting huge forces with an arbitrary power to quash nationalist-cum-separatist sentiments has only fuelled aggression against Indian policies on Kashmir. The seed of hatred against Indian persecution of Kashmiris has its saplings sprouted all over India. In the new awakening marking Indian political landscape, there is a strong suggestion of finding a political solution to the Kashmir issue. In some leading Indian cities, protests were held to persuade India to disembark from its headstrong attitude towards Kashmir where human rights are being violated without restraint.
Every pellet that blinds a Kashmiri sharpens his/her vision to get Kashmir back from the clutches of its artificial rulers. It is flawed to think that a movement can be suppressed by rendering the fighters incapacitated. It would only invigorate the sentiment for freedom. India needs to understand that today’s Kashmir is not being dictated by cross-border interventions. It is not terrorism per se of which it is trying to find a solution from the Pakistan government. With violation of human rights, including rape, killing, abduction, mass killing and extended curfews, India is only painting itself as a shame to democracy.
The role of international community in identifying the rights of Kashmiris has been pitiable. In a travesty of truth, the international community dominated by the west has always turned a blind eye to violations that do not carry benefit to its interests. Gaza has borne Israel’s worst hatred in the midst of west’s criminal silent. Why should it take Pakistan to present dossier after dossier to the UN to expose India’s treatment of Kashmiris? It is surprising that a single incident of discrimination against any minority or perhaps a woman in Pakistan would attract the attention of international NGOs, but pellet bullets and indiscriminate harassment of Kashmiris do not create the kind of noise that would make India squirm out of its shallow self.
Is it difficult to find a solution to Kashmir’s growing unrest? The valley can be calmed down if the rights of Kashmiris are restored, first, by removing the heavy military contingent, and then by restoring the political legitimacy of the real heirs of Kashmir politics. The first insurgency that began in 1987 was the result of the brazen rigging that deprived the Hizb-ul-Mujahedin of its political role.
India needs to come out of the ‘terrorism’ syndrome. Having become a household word after 9/11, India has used terrorism as a veil to camouflage the struggle of Kashmiris. The portrayal of Kashmir situation as an act of terrorism instigated by Pakistan has plunged Kashmir deeper into an abyss of human rights violations. Such optics will only breed militancy, which would be impossible for India to curtail in a few years. And eventually, Kashmir’s unrest could come handy for western powers to encircle China.
Any mishap and the reason to bring UN-sponsored boots to the state could become plausible. The success of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor also depends on how the situation in Kashmir is handled. The changing dynamic of the region with economic collaborations and media blitz taking the lead in forming public opinion, it would be difficult to suppress Kashmiris with violent state policies. India’s claim on Kashmir is a veneer that would not last longer.
The writer is a journalist. She can be reached at [email protected]