The world must wake up

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet while addressing the 42nd session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on September 9 expressed her reservations on the human rights situation in Indian-Occupied Kashmir in the strongest possible words by saying “I am deeply concerned about the impact of recent actions by the government of India on the human rights of Kashmiris, including restrictions on internet communications and peaceful assembly, and the detention of local political leaders and activists. I have appealed particularly to India to ease the current lock downs or curfews, to ensure people’s access to basic services, and that all due process and rights are respected for those who have been detained. It is important that the people of Kashmir are consulted and engaged in any decision-making processes that have an impact on their future,”

Her statement amply proved that the violation of human rights is an issue of international concern. Her observations constitute a rude snub to the Indian claims of the situation in Occupied Kashmir being its internal matter. Her reiteration was that it was important that the people of Kashmir were consulted and engaged in any decision-making processes that have an impact on their future. While she did not clearly mention the implementation of the UN resolutions on Kashmir which grant the right of self-determination to the people of Kashmir, it surely was an implied endorsement.

The UN Human Rights Council in a joint statement signed by more than 50 countries from across the globe also called for the protection of fundamental human rights in Occupied Kashmir; immediate lifting of curfew, ending communications shutdown and release of detained people; halting excessive use of power and access of human rights organizations and international media to Occupied Kashmir; implementation of the recommendations of the OHCHR including establishment of a UN commission of Inquiry to probe egregious human rights violations; regular reporting by the UN high commissioner for human rights on Jammu and Kashmir and above all peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute through the implementation of UNSC resolutions.

The foregoing episodes coming in the backdrop of the endorsement of UN resolutions by the UNSC meeting, reports of the human rights and civil society organizations, Amnesty International and the international media which have expressed serious concerns about the humanitarian crisis in Occupied Kashmir as a result of complete lock-down of the valley, represent a roaring success of the diplomatic offensive launched by Pakistan which has rightly laid greater emphasis on the humanitarian aspect of the situation.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in his interaction with the media in Geneva rightly cautioned the world about the likely ‘holocaust’ in Occupied Kashmir as there were credible portents suggesting that possibility and even an armed confrontation between the two nuclear states.

The action by the Modi government on August 5 to scrap articles 370 and 35-A of the Indian constitution, thereby ending the special status of the state and paving the way for changing its demographic features is not only a well-conceived plan to subjugate the people of Kashmir but it is also a part of the bigger scheme to target Muslims all over India for as per the objectives of Hindutva.

Depriving 1.9 million Bengalis – residing in Assam for centuries – of Indian citizenship is irrefutable evidence of the Modi government trying to target Muslims in line with the RSS philosophy of Hindutva. The publisher of 'Dhaka Tribune', K Anis Ahmed, in an article carried by the 'New York Times' on September 11 refers to the situation as: “The process by which the register has been compiled wasn’t just flawed; it was heavily politicized, as well as rife with prejudice. Since the overwhelming majority of the nearly two million people excluded from the registry are thought to be Muslim, the effort looks far more like an ethnic purge than anything like a census. It is the convergence between Assamese nativism against Bengalis and the BJP’s Hindu-nationalist agenda against Muslims.”

Ahmed fears that the move is fraught with great danger of communal riots and the possibility of providing fodder for jihadist propaganda. His conclusion is that despite these dangers “The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will stop at nothing, it seems, to target and repress India’s Muslims. It recently locked down the entire state of Kashmir. It has fomented mob violence throughout the country. And now, in Assam, it is trying to strip Muslims of their citizenship. Military force, popular animus, administrative fiat – no measure is too big or too small when it comes to enacting the BJP’s dangerous prejudices.”

No wonder then that the chairperson of the UN Human Rights Council in her address – in addition to expressing concern on the humanitarian situation in Occupied Kashmir – also expressed reservations on the Indian action in Assam by saying: “The recent National Register of Citizens verification process in the northeast Indian state of Assam has caused great uncertainty and anxiety, with some 1.9 million people excluded from the final list published on 31 August. I appeal to the [Indian] government to ensure due process during the appeals process, prevent deportation or detention, and ensure people are protected from statelessness.”

The Modi government is a follower of the fascist ideology of the RSS which is even more dangerous than the philosophy pursued by Hitler and Mussolini. The world needs to take immediate notice of the burgeoning storm before it unfurls its destructive dimensions. It needs to act and move beyond merely showing concern and giving statements as rightly demanded by Prime Minister Imran Khan and urged by Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN Dr Maleeha Lodhi in her meeting with the UN secretary-general.

The big powers that pride themselves as the flag-bearers of human values and human liberties need to rise above their strategic and commercial interests to prove their humanitarian credentials by not only stopping India from pummeling human rights in Assam and Kashmir but also by making sincere efforts for the implementation of UN resolutions that granted the right of self-determination to the Kashmiris. Kashmir is undoubtedly a nuclear flashpoint and it is in the larger interest of the region and the world that the global community and the UN act decisively without any further delay.

The writer is a freelance contributor.

Email: ashpak10@gmail.com