An Indian delegation, which visited Kashmir recently to assess the gravity of the current Kashmiri-intifada, must now realise that weak foundations cannot support skyscrapers, and flowers of peace and prosperity do not blossom on the shrubs of injustice and atrocity. The sooner New Delhi understands this, the better it will be for the 1.5 billion people in the region.
Indian policymakers, however, have so far managed to neglect historical, geographical, political and cultural facts. They have successfully subjugated millions of Kashmiris and misguided the international community for decades, at the expense of peace and development in the region. Perhaps it is now time to realize that the brutalities of Indian security forces can not deter determined Kashmiri people for long in their fight for their right to freedom.
To assess the reasons for the current episode of intense and inclusive insurgency in Kashmir ( which are very obvious if one is willing to read the "writing on the wall"), an Indian delegation, led by the Home Minister, visited and suffered in the occupied valley, amongst people shouting "We want freedom" and "Go, India go." It is unclear whether Indian politicians and policy makers in Rajya Sabha, Lok Sabha and Rashtrapati Bhavan are too blind to see the horizon, or whether they have decided not to learn from history. One day every subjugating force has to withdraw and honour people with their right to freedom.
Dialogue and negotiations are favourite, well-known Indian tactics for buying time, prolonging problems and diverting attention from the severity of real issues. Thus, Kashmiri leaders initially refused to meet Indian delegates to indulge in talks which would probably go nowhere. However, when the Indian delegation arrived, Kashmiri leaders chose to have an informal meeting and made their wishes perfectly clear.
Syed Ali Geelani, a separatist Kashmiri leader who met the Indian delegation, told a British media outlet that he demanded India accept Kashmir as an international dispute, withdraw special and emergency powers from its security forces, withdraw troops from the region and release all political prisoners.
Completely ignoring history, India declared Kashmir as its integral part, which means that Kashmir is not an international dispute. As it is very evident, Kashmir has been an international dispute since partition in 1947. Pakistan and India would not have waged war three times had Kashmir been an internal problem of the latter. At the United Nations both countries agreed that Kashmir is an international dispute, and that a plebiscite would be held to decide the status of the disputed territory. U.N. resolutions also record that the Kashmir issue must be solved in accordance with the will of the Kashmiri people. Instead of listening to the global conscience and respecting the legitimate rights of the Kashmiri people, India preferred to ignore U.N. resolutions, suppress the Kashmiri's movement with guns, and crush their demands under military boots.
The official stance of the Indian government on Kashmir is completely unfounded, a fact further strengthened by the way Indian security forces treat Kashmiri people. Rather, it suggests that India is occupying the territory with brute-force. Have Indian security forces ever riddled the chests of protesters in New Delhi? Have Indian police shot similar participants through their heads in Mombai? Have Indian forces razed a Hindu temple in Madhya Pardesh? Never! However, Indian security forces have practised all of the above mentioned gruesome atrocities on innocent men and women of occupied Kashmir. While Indian forces do not consider Kashmiri people eligible for the same rights enjoyed by animals in Western countries, and soldiers of the Indian Army consider Kashmiri women as a source to pacify their lust, how can they declare that Kashmir is an integral part of India?
It is not only people who denounce this occupation. The history, religion, geography, natural water ways and culture of Kashmir suggest that Kashmir was not a part of India, and will not be in the future. Thus, one wonders who gave New Delhi the right to declare Kashmir as its integral part, since Kashmiri people, hills, rivers and mountains do not consider India as their homeland?
Kashmir is burning in the fire of Indian subjugation and atrocities. The struggle of the Kashmiri people has entered a decisive phase and is moving towards its logical and pre-ordained conclusion. Today, the struggle of Kashmir is in the hands of 32,000 widows, more than 100,000 orphans, and relatives of thousands of martyrs. What makes this intifada different from Kashmir's own history of struggle is that today Kashmiri women are also in the streets and on the roads, pelting their hate-filled stones at Indian armed forces, and shouting against heartless, Indian subjugation. One wonders, when a mother incites her four year old son to participate in protest, as a way to take revenge for the killing of his older brother, how long can the Indian government manage to maintain its illegitimate occupation?
The United Nations and Western world should hear the voice of Kashmiri people, who are crying for their unalienable right of freedom. It will make their journey a bit easier. In any way, it has become increasingly difficult for India to suppress Kashmir's struggle for freedom, and sooner or later India will have to grant Kashmiris their inalienable right to live freely.
Blog by Qasir M. Chaudhry
