Kashmir Siege Day

The nation observed ‘Youm-e-Istehsal’ marking one year since Indian revoked the special status of Kashmir and imposed a military siege and communication blockade. The situation has changed since and as the prime minister said India made a strategic blunder.

India annexed Kashmir on the misgiving that there would no retaliation, neither from Pakistan nor from the world. On the contrary, the Kashmir issue has become more globalized and has been discussed in forums around the world. The UN has discussed it thrice with a year, UN human rights chief has voiced concerns, and global human rights watchdogs such as Human Rights Watch have condemned India.

India had the misassumption that it would not face any backlash as the world needed it to counter China as it was a huge market. In fact, India’s relations with China worsened after the Ladakh standoff where it received a humbling, while relations with Nepal and Bangladesh have gone sour. As a result, India remains isolated in the region more than ever.

There are also similarities between the annexation of Kashmir and Palestine. India has been using the tactics employed by Israel when it annexed West Bank and build illegal settlements. In the same way, India revoked Kashmir’s status to alter its demography and settle Hindus. There are still 800,000 Indian troops present in Kashmir and massive atrocities including the disappearance of children continue unabated.

Despite the gross violations and suppression, India has been unable to pressurise the Kashmiris to surrender and now it cannot move forward. India cannot retract and end the lockdown as it would lead to the freedom of the Kashmiris. It is probably ordained that such actions will test the Kashmiris resolve and eventually lead to their liberation.

All Pakistanis are united on the Kashmir issue despite their differences and the enthusiasm is high although war is never the solution and a political struggle is the only option. As one year has passed, Pakistan needs to restart its diplomatic efforts and push India towards a solution.

Modi appears unfazed and laid the foundation of the Ram temple in place of the demolished Babri Mosque in Ayodhya on the same day on the clampdown anniversary. Although he may be emboldened that his fascist policies are succeeding, India nefarious designs will end in failure.