Hostages called Kashmiris

The people of held Jammu and Kashmir are hostages in the Indian hands. They are captives of a tyrant state with no voice of their own. The world is being told by the Indian government it is Pakistan that is fomenting trouble in the held Valley. The Indians are being told that the annexation of Kashmir was a requirement for Indian security. The Kashmiris are being told that a new era of development will begin with the Article 370 gone.

But the strict lockdown with Indian security personnel conducting cordon-and-search operations throughout the Valley continues. Local people are being killed in the name of being terrorists. Most Kashmiri politicians, business leaders and young boys, booked under the draconian black law PSA, remain confined to their jail cells. Thousands of them have been shifted to jails in India’s UP and Haryana states. With schools and offices still abandoned by the local people, life is far from normal. The fear of Pakistan is in the heart of BJP leaders with Indian Defence Minister again and again threatening Pakistan. The extraordinary outrage and protests all around the world at the Indian action have not died down; they still continue.

Mr CR Abrar, a Bangladeshi professor of international relations, declares in a candid report that fact-finding missions (FFM) to the valley “found that instead of resorting to violence, Kashmiris are resisting the arbitrary move of the Centre through satyagraha or non-violent civil disobedience. Since the entire leadership is in jail—from mainstream parties to the separatist parties—this satyagraha is being carried out by the people themselves. There is some societal coercion, but by and large, this is entirely voluntary. This is not happening on the direction of militants, contrary to the advertisements now being run by government.”

With coherent insight into the issue, he further says: “The FFM observed that even those who were earlier with the Indian government are now completely alienated. The report noted that the Centre’s promise to integrate the state with the rest of India does not resonate at all with the people of J&K, (e)specially given that this promise has come with a communication blockade, heavy military presence, severe repression, and the denial of fundamental rights which are in theory available to every Indian citizen.”

Mr Abrar, who is devastatingly candid, further notes in his honest appraisal: “While the decision to revoke the provisions of the constitution is perceived as a betrayal of the accession accord by almost all Kashmiris, including those who are deemed to be pro-Indian, a sense of euphoria gripped India. It is undeniable that Hindutva supporters under the current prime minister have been successful in garnering popular support in favour of the move that, according to commentator Neera Chandhoke, violated “every code, every principle, every constitutional sanction protecting federalism.”

His next observation is also highly accurate and earnestly describes the evolving situation: “The Hindu nationalist agenda appears to have swallowed up all—the media, professional groups and political parties. As Kashmiris remain confined in what can be compared to a giant open prison, the mainstream media, instead of highlighting the manipulation of the constitution and its safeguards, glorified the military occupation and large-scale internment of the people. Pro-establishment constitutional lawyers were busy conjuring convoluted arguments in defence of the act, and intellectuals offered self-serving explanations that the abrogation would ensure Kashmir’s development and was, thus, for the own good of the Kashmiri people.”

Mr Abrar’s sense of honour and justice and eminently sensible observations are perhaps too independent for Modi Sarkar’s liking, which exercises political opportunism at every stage. The Kashmir issue and with the country sliding into the abyss of Hindutva has created doubts in the minds of the world at large about Indian attempts to project itself as a regional superpower.