Nazia Nazar
THIS day reminds us of 21 Kashmiris martyred outside Central Jail on 13 July 1931 by Dogra police where people had gathered to express solidarity with one Kashmiri youth Abdul Qadeer who was indicted for sedition against Dogra Raj. At the time of Zohar prayer, one youth started call to prayer, who was shot dead by Dogra police. The other one started azan from where the first one had ended, but he was also shot dead. Like this 21 Kashmiris fell one by one, but they completed azan for Zohar prayer. This incident gave birth to the movement against Dogra Raj, and it was, indeed, due to this movement that British government had appointed Glancy Commission to investigate into the atrocities committed by the Maharaja. It was also result of this sad episode that Kashmiri leadership realised the need to build up an organization, and Muslim Conference was formed. In 1934, State’s first elections were held and the Muslim Conference won 16 out of 21 seats. After two years in 1936, it succeeded in getting 19 out of 21 seats. Anyhow, after illegal occupation of Kashmir by India, Kashmiris have passed through the longest ordeal, and faced repression, death and destruction. Since 1947, Indian atrocities have turned the paradise on earth into hell. When it became unbearable for them, valiant Kashmiris started armed struggle in 1989 and since then more than 100000 Kashmiris have laid down their lives and as many injured. Yet they are determined to take their struggle to the logical conclusion.
However, in its report the Amnesty International had called upon India to revoke especially draconian law, Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), which provides immunity to the personnel of armed forces involved in human rights violations in occupied Kashmir. “By not addressing human rights violations committed by security force personnel in the name of national security, India has not only failed to uphold its international obligations, but has also failed its own Constitution,” said Minar Pimple, the Senior Director of Global Operations at Amnesty International. The report called for an independent and impartial inquiry into cases of abuse, as not a single trooper was tried in a civilian court for violating human rights in Kashmir. But Indian leadership always turned a blind eye to such reports. In July 2010, Amnesty International (AI) in a statement issued in London had said that Indian authorities should avoid excessive use of force while dealing with demonstrators in occupied Kashmir. It was in reference to killings of 11 persons, at least eight of them teenagers in shootings by the Indian paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel stationed across the Kashmir valley. When protestors held demonstrations in Srinagar, Sopore and other towns, the towns were put under curfew. The Amnesty International had said that harassment, humiliation, acts of cold-blooded murder, mass rapes, arson, and endless human rights violations perpetrated upon the hapless Kashmiri people by Indian security forces including army, BSF, CRPF and police continue, but to no avail.
In fact, it was India that took the matter to the United Nations, which approved demilitarisation of the state accepted both by India and Pakistan. On 5th January 1949, United Nations gave the right to the Kashmiris to join either Pakistan or India in the plebiscite to be held under the aegis of the United Nations. On June 26, 1952, then Indian prime minister Jawahar Lal Nehru had told on the floor of Lok Sabha (Indian Parliament) “if the Kashmiri people decided to join Pakistan they might do so”. But India backtracked on all promises made with United Nations and the commitments made in front of international community allowing Kashmir the right to self-determination. But in later years, India amended its constitution to make Kashmir its integral part; which was beginning of the grave human rights violations of the people of Indian Held Kashmir. In 2016, while Kashmiris were preparing to observe Kashmir Martyrs’ Day, Hurriyet commander Burhan Muzaffar Wani, aged 21, was killed in an encounter in Kokernag in South Kashmir. The valley was under curfew, whereas complete strike had been observed for at least one week. There were demonstrations against his extrajudicial killing throughout Kashmir, and many Kashmiris were martyred by the police and military to quell the unrest.
In 2018, two weeks before the Kashmir Martyrs Day was to be observed, Burhan Wani’s successor Sabzar Bhat was martyred by Indian forces, which once again sparked fierce protests and agitation against the occupying Indian forces across the IoK. But the repression and killings have not been able to break the will of the Kashmiris, and they are determined to get the right of self-determination given to them through UN resolutions. Yet, long nightmare of Kashmiris continues, as India has granted thousands of domicile certificates to Indian nationals in Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir, characterizing it as an attempt to change the demographic structure of the disputed region. Navin Kumar Choudhary, a senior IAS officer from Bihar, has become the first bureaucrat to get domicile rights in Indian Held Kashmir. Tehsildar of Bahu area, Jammu, Rohit Sharma issued him the domicile certificate on June 24. Over 30,000 people have till now received domicile certificates online after Indian government changed laws to grant residency to different categories of non-residents in IHK since New Delhi introduced a controversial law in May 2020. Those who have lived in IHK for 15 years, or studied for seven years and appeared in class 10th or 12th examinations in a local school, can apply for the certificate under the new law.
—The writer is freelance columnist, based in Finland.
