By Sajjad Shaukat
On the one side, every year, 26the of January,
is being celebrated by India as the Republic Day while, on the other side, the
day is being observed by the Kahmiris on both side of the Line of Control (LoC)
and all over the world, including their Pakistani brethren commemorate as the
Black Day in protest against Indian illegal occupation of Kashmir.
This time, the very day has come at time when
the people of Kashmir have accelerated their legitimate struggle in the
aftermath of the martyrdom of the young Kashmir leader Burhan Wani by the
Indian security forces in the Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) in wake of
continued sieges and prolonged curfews. Since July 8, 2016, Indian forces have
martyred more than 150 innocent persons who have been protesting against the
martyrdom of Burhan Wani and for liberation of their land.
By manipulating the false flag terror attacks at
a military base in Uri and Baramulla, the BJP-led Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi has also intensified war-hysteria against Pakistan. After
deployment of heavy arms and weapons at the Line of Control (LoC), Indian
forces have increased troops and continue shelling in Pakistani side of Azad
Kashmir. And Pakistani troops are giving matching response to Indian unprovoked
firing across the LoC and are well-prepared for Indian another surgical
strikes, as threatened by Indian new army Chief Army Chief Gen. Dalbir Singh
Suhaag. New Delhi’s main aim is to deflect the attention of the international
community from the new phase of Kashmiri Intifada, while pressure has been
mounting on the Modi government both domestically and internationally to
resolve the issue of Kashmir with Pakistan.
However, on January 26, 1930, the Indian
National Congress proclaimed the declaration of Independence. Hence this very
day was selected as the Republic Day. Although Indian constitution declares India
to be a secular and democratic state, yet its subsequent regimes have broken
all the records by continuing undemocratic injustices in relation to the
Kashmiris.
During the partition of the Sub-continent, the
people of the state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) which comprised Muslim
majority decided to join Pakistan according to the British-led formula. But,
Dogra Raja, Sir Hari Singh, a Hindu who was ruling over the State of Jammu and
Kashmir (J&K), in connivance with the Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru
and Governor General Lord Mountbatten joined India.
The design to forcibly wrest Kashmir began to
unfold on August 16, 1947, with the announcement of the Radcliffe Boundary
Award. It gave the Gurdaspur District—a majority Muslim area to India to provide
a land route to the Indian armed forces to move into Kashmir. There was a
rebellion in the state forces, which revolted against the Maharaja and were
joined by Pathan tribesmen. Lord Mountbatten ordered armed forces to land in
Srinagar.
When Pakistan responded militarily against the
Indian aggression, on December 31, 1947, India made an appeal to the UN
Security Council to intervene and a ceasefire ultimately came into effect on
January 01, 1949, following UN resolutions calling for a plebiscite in Kashmir
to enable the people of Jammu and Kashmir to determine whether they wish to
join Pakistan or India. On February 5, 1964, India backed out of its promise of
holding plebiscite. Instead, in March 1965, the Indian Parliament passed a
bill, declaring Kashmir a province of India-an integral part of the Indian
union.
The very tragedy of Kashmiris had started after
1947 when they were denied their genuine right of self-determination. They
organized themselves against the injustices of India and launched a war of
liberation which New Delhi tried to crush through various forms of brutalities.
It is notable that since 1947, in order to
maintain its illegal control, India has continued its repressive regime in the
Occupied Kashmir through various machinations.
Nevertheless, various forms of state terrorism
have been part of a deliberate campaign by the Indian army and paramilitary
forces against Muslim Kashmiris, especially since 1989. It has been manifested
in brutal tactics like crackdowns, curfews, illegal detentions, massacre,
targeted killings, sieges, burning the houses, torture, disappearances, rape,
breaking the legs, molestation of Muslim women and killing of persons through
fake encounter.
According to a report on human rights violations
in the Indian Occupied Kashmir, since 1989, there have been deaths of 1,00000
innocent Kashmiris, 7,023 custodial killings, 1,22,771 arrests, 1,05,996
destruction of houses or buildings, 22,776 women widowed, 1,07,466 children
orphaned and 10,086 women gang-raped/molested. Indian brutal securities forces
have continue these atrocities.
In fact, Indian forces have employed various
draconian laws like the Jammu and Kashmir Disturbed Areas Act, and the Armed
Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act and Public Safety Act in killing
the Kashmiri people, and for the arbitrarily arrest of any individual for an
indefinite period.
Besides Human Rights Watch, in its various
reports, Amnesty International has also pointed out grave human rights
violations in the Indian controlled Kashmir, indicating, “The Muslim majority
population in the Kashmir Valley suffers from the repressive tactics of the
security forces.
In its report on July 2, 2015, the Amnesty
International has highlighted extrajudicial killings of the innocent persons at
the hands of Indian security forces in the Indian Held Kashmir. The report
points out, “Tens of thousands of security forces are deployed in
Indian-administered Kashmir…the Armed Forces Special Powers Act allows troops
to shoot to kill suspected militants or arrest them without a warrant…not a
single member of the armed forces has been tried in a civilian court for
violating human rights in Kashmir…this lack of accountability has in turn
facilitated other serious abuses…India has martyred one 100,000 people. More
than 8,000 disappeared (while) in the custody of army and state police.”
In this respect, European Union has passed a
resolution about human rights abuses committed by Indian forces in the Indian
held Kashmir.
It is of particular attention that in 2008, a
rights group reported unmarked graves in 55 villages across the northern
regions of the Indian-held Kashmir. Then researchers and other groups reported
finding thousands of mass graves without markers. In this respect, in August,
2011, Indian Jammu and Kashmir State Human Rights Commission officially
acknowledged in its report that innocent civilians killed in the two-decade
conflict have been buried in unmarked graves.
Notably, foreign sources and human rights
organisations have revealed that unnamed graves include those innocent persons,
killed by the Indian military and paramilitary troops in the fake encounters
including those who were tortured to death by the Indian secret agency RAW.
Indian authorities are not willing to talk with
Kashmiri people on political grounds. New Delhi reached to a conclusion that
only bullet is the right way of dealing with Kashmiris, demanding their right
of self-determination. Surprisingly, Indian successive governments are trying
to ignore the dynamics of the freedom movement of Kashmiris for the sake of
their alien rule.
But, New Delhi is still showing its
intransigence in order to resolve Kashmir dispute with Pakistan by neglecting
the fact that Kashmir remains a nuclear flashpoint between both the
neighbouring countries.
In this context, Egbert Jahn in his book,
“Kashmir: Flashpoint for a Nuclear War or Even a Third World War?” has pointed
out, “The Kashmir conflict is embedded in the wider conflict over the
incomplete creation of nations and states on the Indian subcontinent, which
during the east-west conflict even threatened at times to escalate into a
nuclear world war between Pakistan and the USA on the one side and India and
the USSR on the other. Until now, there have been three wars between India and
Pakistan over the Jammu and Kashmir: in 1947–49, 1965 and 1999… finally, the
Indo-Chinese border war of 1962…after these wars…and could unexpectedly again
lead to a regional and under certain circumstances…even a major nuclear war or
a Third World War.”
Meanwhile, like the previous year, Pakistan’s
recent serious and sincere effort at the annual session of the United
Nations—the speech of Pakistan’s prime minister, highlighting the Indian
atrocities, Kashmir dispute and demanding its solution has infused a new spirit
among the Kashmiri people.
Nonetheless, by exposing the myth of Indian
claim of the largest democracy and double standard of the US-led western
countries which still remain silent over the Indian injustices, Kashmiris,
living both sides of the LoC observe “Black Day” on January 26 to protest
against the Indian illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir. On this very day,
Pakistanis and Kashmiris across the globe express solidarity with the freedom
fighters of Kashmir, demanding their legitimate right of self-determination
from India which continues various forms of state terrorism in order to
suppress their popular movement. The observance of the Black Day keeps the
issue of Kashmir alive.
Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and
is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants, Invisible Balance of Power:
Dangerous Shift in International Relations
Email: sajjad_logic@yahoo.com
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