Erecting mountains of lies in held Kashmir

Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh recently declared that the Modi Sarkar was working towards a “permanent solution” to the Kashmir issue. However, at the same time, he added that the solution may take “some time”. But he did not elaborate on the time needed by the BJP government to sort out the issue.  “I have said this with utmost responsibility after much thinking and deliberations. We have some plans and are working in this direction and will find a solid solution in the future. It may take some time,” Singh said when asked what he meant by a permanent solution to the Kashmir issue.

Well, Mr Singh is worried. More so as the figure of Indian armed forces’ casualties continues to rise non-stop. On the other hand, he is not worried that at least 120 people have been killed in the Valley, more than 12,000 injured, more than 1,000 have lost their vision in one eye after being hit by pellets and many have been totally blinded. Tens of thousands of youth have also been arrested since July 2016 when Burhan Wani, a young man who protested against the Indian hegemony, was brutally gunned down by the Indian forces. Serious elements in the Modi Sarkar, and there are only a few of them, admit that the model New Delhi used to control and run the held Valley for seven decades is no longer working.

Yashwantr Sinha, s senior BJP leader, has already admitted: “There is a near complete lack of faith in anything that the government of India says or promises because of a history of broken commitments. Even among those who say that they see a future with India, there is anger that India has not done enough to keep the Kashmiris with it.”

On the other hand, the Indian government is making attempts to change the demography of the valley by bringing in non Muslim retired army men. This is being carried out in violation of laws that prohibit naturalization of non-indigenous settlers. Also, the legal protection to the Indian troops in the guise of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) continues. This brutal law has allowed the Indian forces to deal with the Kashmiris as they please with little fear of prosecution.

The wishful declarations made by Sinha are only declarations albeit false and misleading. The only permanent solution of the Kashmir issue is through talks with Pakistan. There is simply no other way out.