Mohammad Jamil
KASHMIRIS on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC) and across the world will be observing India’s Republic Day as a Black Day tomorrow to remind the world that India continues with its illegal occupation, and is in denial to self-determination – the inalienable right bestowed on Kashmiris by the United Nations Security Council. This year Kashmiris are observing the Indian Republic Day as Black Day at the time when the hardliner PM Modi-led Indian government scrapped special status of the internationally-acknowledged disputed status of the Jammu Kashmir revoking articles 370 and 35-A of Indian Constitution on August 5, 2019 and through fresh deployment of military and paramilitary troops in India-occupied Kashmir. On the call of All Parties Hurriyet Conference, a complete strike will be observed in the IoK, and anti-India demonstrations and rallies will be staged in the world capitals.
Hundreds of youths have been arrested by Indian police from across the Valley ahead of India’s Republic Day celebrations. A large number of Indian troops and police personnel have been deployed in Srinagar and other towns. In a protest program issued by Hurriyat Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Hurriyat chief Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and JKLF chief Yasin Malik have called for observing a ‘Black Day’ on Indian Republic Day. In Mirpur, a protest rally, to be followed by a big procession of people belonging to all segments of the civil society, to observe the Indian Republic Day as Black Day, will be held at Shaheed Chowk. “The city elders representing all segments of the civil society will highlight the importance of early peaceful settlement of the Kashmir problem besides expressing severe hatred against India for its continued forcible and illegal occupation of Kashmir for past over seven decades.
The World Sikh Parliament (WSP) has announced to back anti-India protest being organised by the Tehreek-e-Kashmir (TeK) UK Chapter on the occasion of India’s Republic Day on January 26, outside the Indian High Commission in London. The TeK has also announced to observe the Republic Day as ‘Black Day’ across the world to condemn the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government’s illegal act of abrogating occupied Jammu and Kashmir autonomous status on August 5 last year. Ranjeet Singh, WSP spokesperson, along with Sikh leaders announced the decision on Monday, in a joint news conference with TeK President Raja Fahim Kayani in Birmingham, UK. Indian hatred and animosity against the Kashmiri Muslims is deep-seated and its reflection can clearly be seen through Indian repressive tactics including torture, extra-judicial killings, rape and fake encounters by Indian security forces in IoK that continue unabated.
The aim is to deter Kashmiris from demanding their right of self-determination. The repression, oppression and atrocities committed by Indian forces have turned Kashmir into a hell that would stretch Dante’s imagination reflected in his famous poem Divine Comedy. However, these acts could not break the will of Kashmiris. The heroic struggle waged by the people of Kashmir is unparalleled in the history; they are committed to continuing their struggle till their objective is achieved. They had faced repression even before the partition when the British had sold Kashmir to Gulab Singh, a former Governor of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh for 7.5 million rupees. Once again in 1947, the plan of annexing Kashmir was contrived and implemented by Lord Mountbatten and Nehru, and Raja Hari Singh was coerced into signing the controversial document, as he was hesitant to go against the wishes of Kashmiris.
Since then Kashmiris are suffering; and no other nation has perhaps gone through such a long ordeal in history, and their unending nightmare continues. Human Rights Watch and other right groups every year issue reports of Indian forces’ brutalities. International human rights groups have in the past called for a probe into whether the unmarked graves held bodies of civilians who disappeared when Indian security forces tried to crush the freedom movement. Since Narendra Modi has assumed the office of prime minister of India, there have been violations by Indian military on the LoC and Working Boundary, and Pakistan had to respond per force. In August 2019, following a deployment of tens of thousands of additional troops and paramilitary forces to the region, the Indian government moved to revoke Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, removing the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. Since then India-occupied Kashmir remains under lockdown.
Since vociferous protests are being held in many Indian States, Indian government is trying to divert the attention of international community by raising a heightened threat of terrorist activity by Pakistan-based militant groups before Indian Republic Day – 26 January 2020. It appears that India is planning another false flag operation in Pakistan, which is why story of terror attack is circulating in Indian social media. However, Pakistan has expressed its determination to respond to any misadventure by India. Meanwhile, Indian leadership got a jolt last week when UN Security Council members held rare talks on the disputed region of Kashmir amid ongoing concerns over the flashpoint between the nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan. After the meeting, senior Russian diplomat Dmitry Polyanskiy said the 15-nation body had discussed the contentious Indian-administered region, whereby New Delhi has been accused of abuses mostly against its Muslim population.
—The writer is a senior journalist based in Lahore.
