KASHMIR CONFLICT: CURRENT SITUATION IN INDIAN ILLEGALLY OCCUPIED JAMMU & KASHMIR
By Mian Mohammed Zakria:
Before the partition of the Indian subcontinent into India Pakistan, Jammu and Kashmir was one of the Princely states under British rule in United India. It was ruled by a Hindu Maharaja. Since Jammu and Kashmir was overwhelmingly a Muslim majority state, its population did not like the rule of the Hindu Maharaja and there were many events of confrontation between the Kashmiris and the Maharaja’s forces.
In1947, on the partition of India, it was decided by the outgoing British Rulers that the princely states would decide which country they wanted to join. Since Jammu and Kashmir was predominantly a Muslim majority state, the Kashmiris wanted to become part of the newly created Pakistan. However, this was not approved by the Hindu Maharaja and against the will of Kashmiris, he acceded to India.
Asa result, a public uprising triggered against the Maharaj, and a part of Kashmir joined Pakistan which is now called Azad (free) Jammu and Kashmir.
As the public pressure mounted, Maharaja fled, and the Indian army entered the state, unilaterally declaring that the Maharaja had announced to join India (without any tangible proof), and illegally occupied Kashmir. Both Kashmiris and Pakistan rejected this claim and an armed conflict started. India took the matter to UNO, where it was decided that the fate of Jammu and Kashmir will be determined by the Kashmiris through a UN-administered plebiscite. Since then, India has denied the plebiscite and brutally suppressed the Kashmiris who have been demanding their right to self-determination.
Current Political Situation
In violation of UN Security Council Resolutions, India is changing the outlook of occupied Kashmir and trying to merge the State with its mainland. To suppress the masses, Indian occupation forces have intensified cordons, door-to-door search operations, harassing and terrorizing the innocent Kashmiris.
On August 5, India took a unilateral decision and revoked Article 370 of its constitution to change the status of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Since August 05. 2019, the self-proclaimed secular democratic India, has made the following illegal changes/actions in Occupied Kashmir:
- Extended 890 Central (Indian) Laws, repealed 205 State Laws, while 129 State Acts have been modified for Union Territories.
- Over 6 million domiciles have been issued including 0.5 million to outsiders to bring demographic changes in the disputed state which is a gross violation of international law.
- Indian Army has been empowered to grab land by declaring it as Strategic Area. 39,000 Kanals of land earmarked for outsider investors.
- Outsiders are being encouraged to buy land in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) so far, close to 50 outsiders from the other States of India bought properties in Kashmir which is a forcible land grab just like Israel has been doing in Palestine.
- IIOJK administration decide fake anti-national news. Over 60 Journalists have not been allowed to travel out of IIOJK nor permitted to interact with international media.
- 500 years old ruins of 50,000 temples are being re-located and people fear aggression like Babri Mosque (a historic mosque that was forcibly demolished and turned into a Hindu Temple in 1992). Assets Of all religious Dargahs and Imam Bargas are being taken/controlled by the centre.
- ‘The Kashmir Files’, a movie being promoted worldwide to distort history and generate hatred towards Kashmiri Muslims. Kashmiri leaders have been killed/hanged and are being imprisoned (The latest example is Yaseen Malik’s life imprisonment).
- Media gags; Newspapers are under strict scrutiny, coverage of CASOs is not allowed, (9 journalists arrested /harassed) & social media is strictly monitored (23 arrested for anti-India posts): social media activists are termed as white-collar terrorists.
- Shrinking space for political activities; Hurriyat leadership incarcerated and surge in arrests of innocent youth under UAPA.
- To curb the domestic voices of civil society/people, India has started banning Associations/Unions of all institutions, especially educational institutions.
- Over 80 petitions against abrogation of Article 370/35A have been filed since 5th Aug 2019 in the Indian Supreme Court.
- Recently, India threatened Kashmiri students via public notice for not recognizing their degrees/education obtained from Pakistani Institutions, thus pushing educated youth to the corner/dark future.
ATROCITIES COMMITTED BY INDIAN OCCUPATION FORCES IN IIOJK
Kashmiri youth are being tortured and killed every day. Following is the data of atrocities committed, compiled by various Kashmiri organizations:
From January 1989 till 20 May 2022
i. Total Killings-96,032 ii. Custodial/Fake encounter Killings-7,233 iii. Civilian Arrested-164,759 iv. Structures/houses destroyed/damaged-110,476
v. Women widowed-22,944 vi. Children orphaned-107,860
vii. Women gang-raped/Molested-11,255
From 5th August 2019 to 20 May 2022
i. Total Killings-596 ii. Custodial Killings/fake encounter-109
iii. Tortured/Critically Injured-2,247 iv. Arrested-17,812
v. Structures/houses destroyed/damaged-1,082 vi. Womenwidowed-36
vii. Children orphaned-85 viii. Women gang-raped/Molested-125
ix. CordonandSearchOperations-14,287
Hence, the Kashmir conflict is one of the protracted conflicts in the world and is known as a time-bomb for South Asia. It is high time to realize the importance of this critical issue and the resolution of this conflict. It is widely recognized that the peace and prosperity of South Asia is mostly depending on the future of this conflict. Therefore, India must revert its unilateral and illegal actions taken on August 05, 2019. International and UN fact-finding teams should be allowed to visit IIOJK to assess the ground realities/ongoing HRVs. India must stop human rights violations including the killing of youth and the harassment of innocent Kashmiri masses. The Kashmiris should be given the right to self-determination and a Plebiscite should be held as promised in UN Resolutions
All those who believe in Justice and Humanity are requested to raise their voices against India’s unlawful acts and atrocities in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
Please support the cause of justice–Please help the Beleaguered Kashmiris.
