Daily Times

Kashmiri Muslims have been globally observing October 27 as Black Day for several years. They are also joined by many non-Muslim supporters in their genuine cause.

It was on this day that India sent its troops to subjugate Kashmiris. The Indian forces managed to illegally occupy a part of Jammu and Kashmir against the wishes of its Muslim majority but they failed to occupy the whole of Kashmir Valley at that time. Kashmiri Muslims strongly fought against the Indian forces. Even the unjustified pretext of “accession to India by the Dogra or Hindu Maharaja/ruler of Kashmir,” used to annex Kashmir, soon proved to be nothing but a pack of lies.

It is a well-established fact that arbitrary military misadventures of Indian authorities have turned the Indo-Pak subcontinent into a hotspot, widely known as a nuclear flashpoint. Both countries are in the possession of nukes. Several conventional wars and skirmishes have already been fought in the wake of a series of ceasefire violations and other acts of violence perpetrated by Indian troops, over quite a lengthy period. Although at times, there have been gaps in ceasefire violations, the acts of aggression against innocent, unarmed Kashmiris have never come to a halt.

Coming to the ‘”accession story,” it emanated from Hindu leaders’ bias against the Muslim majority whose love for their brethren in the faith (the Muslims of the subcontinent) was deemed intolerable. With this mentality, the Hindu leadership of India started pressuring the Hindu ruler of Kashmir to accede to it (India).

Arbitrary military misadventures of Indian authorities have turned the Indo-Pak subcontinent into a hotspot

Sensing the Raja-India networking and conspiracy to subjugate them, the people of Jammu and Kashmir rose against the Hindu Raja; forcing him to flee from Srinagar to Delhi. Immediately thereafter, the people of Kashmir formed their government on 24 October 1947. This further infuriated the imperialist Indian leadership that quickly stage-managed the signing of an illegal and controversial document (Instrument of Accession) between the Indian government and the Maharaja of Kashmir. This Instrument of Accession was signed on October 26, 1947.

And as it was already pre-planned, the Maharaja of Kashmir sought India’s military help against Muslims who had already announced their independence following the “Indo-Pak Partition” paper which allowed the Kashmiris to decide their fate.

The next day (the day following the signing of the illegal accession document), the Government of India sent forces to subdue

Kashmiris on October 27, 1947, which illegally occupied a large part of Jammu and Kashmir.

Since that day, India has brazenly pursued its policy of consolidation of illegal occupation on different pretexts including August 5, 2019, move of the abolition of the special status of Kashmir through the repeal of Articles 370 and 35-A of the Indian constitution. All these acts smack of sheer defiance of laws of natural justice and international covenants and conventions. It is a well-known historical fact that although it was an eyewash, former Indian Premier Jawahar Lal Nehru and his buddy, Lord Mountbatten, solemnly declared that the final status of Jammu and Kashmir would be decided by the people of the State. This same declaration was reiterated by India at the UN Security Council when the dispute was taken up by the UN, under chapter 6 of the UN Charter relating to peaceful settlement of disputes.

About the present state of affairs, the Kashmir issue remains unresolved while 17 resolutions were adopted by UN Security Council and by other components of the United Nations over the Kashmir issue, from 1948 till 1971, starting from Resolution number 38 and ending up at Resolution number 307 that was adopted by the Security Council.

As gathered from the UN resolutions, the Security Council, explicitly and by implications, rejected India’s claim that Kashmir was legally an Indian territory.

These resolutions also established self-determination as the governing

principle for the settlement of the Kashmir dispute and endorsed a binding agreement between India and Pakistan reached through the mediation of UNCIP, that a plebiscite would be held, under agreed and specified conditions.

Nothing has been done so far in this direction. India has never ever shunned rigidity although some sane voices in the international community have expressed their concern over the volatile Pak-India situation. But much more is needed to be done in the spheres of diplomacy and international law. The Kashmir case should be fought legally and diplomatically not only once or twice a year through mere speeches at the international forums. Pakistan’s diplomatic corps ought to work throughout the year, working incessantly for mustering support for this genuine, human cause. At the same time, international law experts ought to work out legal options in the light of UNSC resolutions and other laws about the forcible, illegal occupation.

The writer is a senior journalist and TV analyst.