Shopian killings

Indian forces once again went on a killing rampage in Kashmir over the weekend, shooting dead at least 10 people in the southern part of the occupied territory. Among those killed was a college professor and a teenage boy. To protest against the killings, Kashmiris observed a strike on Sunday. As if the killings weren’t bad enough, Indian security forces used tear gas and rubber bullets against those who were protesting the killings. Phone and internet services in the area were also shut down. This pattern keeps repeating itself. The occupying force ruthlessly kills those who it sees as rebels, and then further punishes the entire civilian population of Kashmir. The clear aim is to make life so miserable for Kashmiris that they accept their fate and allow unchecked occupied rule. It speaks volumes of the dedication of resistance that not only is it still continuing but actually expanding. The daily brutalities committed by Indian forces seem to have only strengthened the indigenous struggle in Kashmir. The fact is that as much as India tries to claim that the liberation movement is made up only of terrorists, the breadth of the opposition to its occupation tells a different story.

Still, the long-term success of resistance to Indian occupation depends on a measure of international support. The only way a country as powerful as India will ever end its occupation is if the tide of international opinion decisively turns against it. That doesn’t seem to have happened so far. The UN has had nothing to say about last weekend’s killings and has had little other than generic statements of concern to offer since the latest phase of the resistance began in the summer of 2016. Even though the UN resolution calling for a plebiscite in Kashmir still stands, the international body has done nothing to enforce it. This is mainly because India can rely on the support of the US and other major powers. For them, India’s avatar is that of a major market and trading power, not an occupying force. Indian propaganda about Kashmiri freedom fighters being terroristic agents of Pakistan has been unfortunately successful. All genuine liberations, however, have initially been met with skepticism, be it the fight against apartheid in South Africa or the Palestinian struggle for their homeland. The sheer moral weight of the Kashmiri drive against occupation too will eventually.