Asad Ali
The Indian Illegal Occupied Kashmir (IIOJK) is heaven on the earth with the Muslim community being dominant in the valley’s overall population.
However, a few non-Muslim groups at the behest of certain quarters (sitting in New Delhi) have been trying to harm the Muslim population by creating unrest and attacking Muslim shops and their houses in the valley.
These certain quarters have also been trying to change the demography of the valley by implementing pro-New Delhi laws, aimed at suppressing Muslims.
The stakeholders in the Indian government are trying to change the status quo in the valley by facilitating Hindus and Kashmiri pundits in the valley.
Likewise, the Indian government led by the fascist regime of BJP and its Prime Minister Modi is making unilateral amendments to Indian constitutions in order to bring Hindu-centric legislation regarding IIOJK.
It has also bulldozed the entire constitutional system of India especially to praise its ultranationalist Hindu fraternity and to accomplish the so-called dream of Akhand Bharat.
The Hindu monks in the Indian establishment are going all out to suppress minorities and working to make India a pure Hindu Rashtra.
It is pertinent to mention here that the unilateral and unconstitutional changes in the Indian constitution are making the lives of non-Hindu communities miserable.
These moves are also creating panic, unrest, and destabilization, especially in IIOJK. Unfortunately, the Modi government has turned its eyes and proceeding further to accomplish its perpetual Hindutva-driven interests.
The BJP’s government, at the same time, is peddling the mantra of normalcy in IIOJK with its unconstitutional moves. Meanwhile, all of its claims are contrary to the grounds realities, which have been verified by international communities.
Despite the brutal and cruel policies of the Indian government, the brave Kashmiri people have challenged New Delhi’s unconstitutional acts. They are bravely resisting Indian forces.
Moreover, the real situation in IIOJK is altogether different. The killing spree and the pervasive fear among civilians, minorities, and other soft targets give a lie to the claims of the Indian government that they are successful in Kashmir.
India is relying increasingly on its army and illegal laws to suppress the voice of the people of IlOJK. Currently, Kashmir is the most illegally militarized area of the world where New Delhi maintains almost 1 million troops in Kashmir.
Furthermore, the Indian troops are committing war crimes in the valley by targeting innocent and defenseless civilians.
Recently, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released two reports in 2018 and 2019 in which it had accused incumbent Indian rulers of gross human rights violations in IIOJK and called for the formation of a commission of inquiry into the allegations.
Similarly, as per the report of Global Human Rights Watch, the Indian government, through Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act, has given security forces wide powers to arrest, kill and destroy property in counterinsurgency operations, which has led to grave violations of Human Rights Violations.
This is the second time in less than two months that the US has directly expressed uneasiness about a rising trend in human rights violations in India US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, released the report at the State Department’s headquarters on 2 June 2021, asserting that Washington will continue to defend religious freedom around the world, said the number of attacks on religious figures and places of worship in India has increased.
All this demonstrated that it will remain India’s distinct dream to suppress the Kashmiri voices as much they will suppress Kashmiri voices would raise more and more.
Likewise, in the aftermath of 5th August 2019, the fascist Modi regime launched a massive and multi-front political, social and cultural onslaught on Kashmiris.
Erasing Kashmiris’ political identity, disempowering the Muslim majority community to reduce them to second-class citizens, turning them into a political minority, and minimizing their role in the political decision-making process are the most vivid signs and processes of genocide that should serve as an eye-opener for the world community.
After unleashing a reign of terror in IIOJK, the racist Indian regime is now shamelessly playing the religious card to get its communal agenda implemented in the occupied territory.
A certain section of the Kashmiri Pandit community under a nefarious agenda is ready to become pawns in the BJP’s chessboard of power and politics in India.
However, a silent majority of Pandits within and outside the Kashmir Valley know fully well how the right-wing forces were using them as pawns.
The Kashmiris have been killed, maimed, blinded, tortured, and forcibly disappeared by the Indian forces over the past 74 years. The Indian government has held Kashmiris hostage by the dint of force.
Modi is using colonial-era tactics to suppress the Kashmiri’s legitimate struggle. The Indian troops deployed in the territory, have been operating under black laws.
The recent verdict against Yasin Malik is a politically motivated agenda to silence the dissenting voices in the occupied territory.
The international community particularly the United Nations must take effective notice of the impending genocide of Muslims in IIOJK. The world must press the Modi government to restart political activities in the valley, holding of assembly elections at the earliest, and release all political prisoners.
*The writer is an Islamabad-based expert in strategic affairs.
**The Diplomatic Insight does not take any position on issues. The views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Diplomatic Insight and its staff
