Three Kashmiris were martyred by Indian troops in Kulgram district of occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The incident on 17 July 2020 is one of the recent acts of atrocities by Indian troops in valley. The Kashmiris fight for freedom is generations old now. Kashmiris of all ages, including youth, children, women and old people have stood up for their right of self-determination. The developments in valley since last August, post abrogation of articles 370 and 35 A reflect worsening security situation. The illegal attempts to alter the special status of occupied territory and to marginalize the Kashmiris have reinforced resentment from the locals, who want freedom from the illegal occupation. India by abrogating the special status of occupied territory of Jammu and Kashmir has also outrightly violated the UN Security Council resolutions on the issue. The introduction of domicile rights to settle more and more Hindus in valley is yet another move to marginalize the Kashmiri Muslims. All these steps show a systematic way of quashing the Kashmir struggle.
The Kashmiris fight for justice and freedom has entered into a difficult phase, wherein the principles of humanity are no more respected, and the only language is the use of force. The shooting of Bashir Ahmad Khan, a 65 years old resident of Srinagar, in front of his 3 years old grandchild and later the child is made to sit on chest of his dead grandfather is heart wrenching, in fact, it is death to humanity. The child who saw his grandfather dying will always hate Indian army and will be revengeful towards them. Such children when grown up will take up arms and their acts are in response to the unjust practices and sufferings. Who is to be blamed for this? Should they be called as unbalanced individuals? Or it is the Indian army, which has provoked sentiments of hatred? The sufferings carry a psychological impact, which are responsible for an individual’s future actions. For the time being if someone is suppressed does not mean that force can always silence the oppressed. A time comes when the deprived reacts to the unjust practices. The child sitting on his grandfather’s dead body is weak at the moment but when he has strength he will react.
The Indian aggressive pursuits are no more confined to the valley and its people, rather the Citizenship Amendment Act is a proof that India wants to practically exercise hatred against Muslims
The ongoing atrocities in Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir and intensifying opposition by the locals has sent the message that force cannot undo peoples’ power to live. Meanwhile, the draconian practices in the area have exposed the Indian government’s fascist ideology. India has practically proved that force is the only option to settle a dispute. The Kashmiri journalists – Naseer Ganai, Gowhar Geelani and Masrat Zahra have been charged under anti-terror law, which shows that anyone critical of government policies will be dealt with force.
The Hurriyat Leaders, including Ameer Hamza and Muhammad Ashraf Sehari along with activists have been arrested and put in jail. All these acts reflect a fascist mindset. India is a democracy, is home to sizeable non-Hindu population but the policies of hatred espoused against the Muslims of Kashmir shows inborn prejudices. The Indian aggressive pursuits are no more confined to the valley and its people, rather the Citizenship Amendment Act is a proof that India wants to practically exercise hatred against Muslims. This biased policy towards the Muslims by India may reinforce extremist tendencies which will be threatening to region’s peace. Thereby, the situation in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir is a regional concern and it requires a unanimous political effort from the regional quarters. The Kashmiri peoples’ right to live need to be respected. The regional countries need to understand that the draconian laws in the occupied territory of Jammu and Kashmir will stretch out to other areas as well. India’s prejudicial war against Muslims will further widen the Hindu-Muslim divide, will reinforce polarization at the societal and regional levels and will encourage extremism.
The writer is a Researcher at Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI)