Shahidullah Shahid
IF the current world order, impartially and non selectively, pursued international rule of law, instead of covert politics and vested interests, Indians responsible for crimes against humanity would be in the dock in an international tribunal like the Nazi officials were after World War-II. There is a long list of Indian crimes against humanity in occupied Jammu and Kashmir but the most despicable and culpable amongst them are genocide, systemic ethnic cleansing, war crimes against non-combatants and the use of excessive force without respecting the principles of distinction, precaution and proportionality under the false pretext of fighting terrorism. Whatever the Indian government has done to the Kashmiris especially in the past year (and before) is a flagrant violation of international law, the fourth Geneva Convention, international humanitarian law in general and the UN Security Council resolutions on Kashmir in particular. All the “lawless” laws applied in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and actions taken thereby India are modelled on Nazism and fascism. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was not authorized to take these illegal measures because the territory had been declared disputed decades ago by the United Nations Security Council.
For India, Kashmir was and remains an alien territory whose population has never accepted India’s illegal writ. On the other hand, the flame of their aspiration for affinity with Pakistan continued to burn brighter each passing year. The violent extremist BJP-RSS regime felt that the only option left for them was the invasion, occupation, annexation and colonization of the occupied part of the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Around 900,000 Indian troops brazenly invaded the territory and laid siege to it which was buttressed by a punitive security lock down, a communication blockade and a massive use of brutality on the people. The Indian occupiers knew that the population, despite such draconian measures, would not capitulate to foreign occupation of their land. They knew that no matter how many people they killed, Kashmir would remain a nursery for freedom. So they resorted to naked, blatant settler-colonialism.
Since the repeal of Articles 370 and 35-A, India has taken a series of steps to merge Jammu and Kashmir into its federation. She first divided the occupied part of the state into Union territories (federal/federally administered territories) -Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir- which would be ruled directly by Delhi, without the consent of the people. Ladakh, in fact, will have no legislature while occupied J&K will have a puppet assembly of handpicked henchmen. India annexed the occupied territory with the Indian Union (their term for federation) and showed it as its sovereign geographical territory. The fig leaf of the constitutional and juridical pretence was removed. The promises made to Kashmiris, Pakistan and the United Nations were barefacedly broken and the Hindutva zealots gloated over this breach. They did not stop at that. They had the temerity to show Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir as part of India’s geographical boundaries in the fake maps they issued last November.
While the world remains oblivious to the sufferings of the people of India- Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IO&JK), the Indian security forces fell free to kill, terrorize and brutalize them. Since August 5, 2019 tension has been high in Kashmir valley where many businesses were shattered, streets emptied and hopelessness morphed into severe psychological crisis. Likewise, more than 200 Kashmiris have been assassinated by extra judicial killing. A recent report in New York Times dwelled on the state of affairs in the valley in these words: “Kashmir was cast into chaos in August when the Indian government revoked the region’s partial autonomy”. Earlier it reported: “Kashmir under siege and lockdown faces a mental health crisis”.Being the most militarized zone in the world, Kashmir has witnessed killings, enforced disappearances, torture cases, rapes and other brutalities by the Indian armed forces over the decades. As per reports compiled by Amnesty International, more than 100,000 Kashmiris have been martyred since 1989; thousands of women have been raped besides enforced disappearances running into thousands. As per revelations made by the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) more than 8000 families have lost their loved ones to enforced disappearance and are in search of finding a clue to their whereabouts. In the light of foregoing, disappearance of the Kashmiri youth in IO&JK constitute a crime against humanity.
The future of the disputed region is yet to be determined by the people of Jammu and Kashmir in a UN supervised referendum. Although India has tried all the tricks in its repertoire to annex the territory it has failed in its mission because till August 5, 2019, after the passage of 73 years of independence of Pakistan and India, the vales and hills of Kashmir resounded with slogans of Azadi (freedom) and self-determination. Notwithstanding the Indian atrocities inflicted in the valley, the morale of the people of the state and freedom fighters is extremely high and they continue to indomitably resist Indian security forces and their relentless oppression. It is high time to hold India accountable for its outrageous war crimes in Jammu and Kashmir. It is the obligation of the UNSC, ICJ, OIC, Amnesty International and the whole world community to stop this genocide. Whether someone would undertake this Herculean task or turn a blind eye to the status quo as usual. It is a million dollars question.
—The writer is an Assistant Commissioner serving in government of KP.
