73 years on, Kashmiris pay for UN’s criminal silence

Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control and the world over are observing Black Day today, to convey that India has occupied their motherland illegally and against their aspirations.

Today marks 73 years since the people of Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K) have been facing illegal occupation of India.

Surprisingly, the international community, including the United Nations, has not taken any stern action to resolve the Kashmir issue and has turned a blind eye to it. Let’s take an in-depth review of the Kashmir dispute and illegal occupation of India.

The Black Day

On October 27, 1947, the sufferings of Kashmiri people started with the landing of Indian Army in Jammu and Kashmir. The day is, therefore, observed as a black day throughout the world wherever Kashmiris reside.

India forcibly occupied the princely states of Hyderabad, Junagarh and Jammu and Kashmir, the first two being Hindu majority states with Muslim rulers while the Valley had majority Muslim population but was run by a Hindu ruler.

The Indian government and the Maharaja Hari Singh claimed to have an Instrument of Accession but many world historians reject the existence of any such document. The Boundary Commission, headed by British Barrister Cyril Radcliff, also helped India in occupying Kashmir Valley.

British Barrister Cyril Radcliff split Gurdaspur, a Muslim majority area, and handed it over to India, thus making a demarcation that allowed a land route to Jammu and Kashmir.

India annexed IoJ&K

On August 5, 2019, India took further illegal and unilateral steps to change the internationally recognized disputed status of the illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir and alter its demographic structure.

Fascist Narendra Modi’s presidential decree has revoked article 370 of Indian constitution which guaranteed some autonomy to the state. This revocation means Indians can now buy territory and settle in Indian-Occupied Kashmir (IOK).

On this day, India converted Illegally Occupied Kashmir into the largest human cage of the world, violating of all existing HR treaties and bindings. Political leadership of IIOJK is in detention or house arrest and is being forcibly sidelined.

Indian atrocities

The prevailing situation has led to barbaric killings of thousands of people in the valley, including women and children, by the Indian armed forces.

According to a report by the Foreign Office, since January 1989 till today 2020, Indian troops have martyred 95,686 Kashmiris, and molested or gang-raped 11,219 Kashmiri women.

Over 8,000 innocent youth have been subjected to disappearance in custody and their whereabouts remain untraced. Many of those are feared to be buried in thousands of unmarked graves discovered in the territory after being killed.

More than 340 youths have lost their one or both eyes to pellet injuries while over 1,020 are on the verge of losing their eyesight.

However, despite unabated Indian atrocities New Delhi is unable to break the will of the brave people of Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, who are struggling for their right to self-determination.

Criminal silence of International Community

The international community has turned a blind eye to the consistent violations of human rights of Kashmiris at the hands of Indian security forces. The civilised world has put its head in the sand, like an ostrich, as if doing so will exonerate it from the crime of silence that it has maintained over the brutalities of Indian troops in IoK.

Every year, despite making tall and lofty claims of ensuring the supremacy of human rights of all people, the promises prove empty. The world community’s lack of concern over Indian oppression in Kashmir shows that it does not believe in saving future generations from the scourge of wars.

India needs to know that armed resistance of Kashmiris does not constitute terrorism under international law. It is about time that the international community breaks its criminal silence over Kashmir.