Modi’s Kashmir visit
Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control protested in large numbers as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his first visit to Occupied Kashmir since he illegally ended the region’s special status under the Constitution of India almost three years ago. Unsurprisingly, Modi was still afraid to visit the more populous parts of the region under Indian control, instead sticking to a village in a Hindu-majority part of Jammu.
Also unsurprising was the fact the event became a celebration of the blow that the removal of special status dealt to the independence movement — the change overruled India’s previous acceptance of Kashmir’s status as a disputed region and amounted to annexation, with independence movements now essentially acts of secession, which carry more stringent punishments, even for non-violent activists. There is also some irony that, officially, the event was celebrating grassroots democracy, even though Modi sacked the regional government in 2018 in favour of direct rule from Delhi. Modi is so afraid of giving Kashmiris the right to self-determination that he jailed all top Kashmiri leaders — even those that are pro-India or otherwise anti-Pakistan. For the Indian PM, the only acceptable Kashmiri is pro-Modi.
Unfortunately, while Modi continues waging war on his own people, the response from world powers has been, at best, muted. The silence is a slap in the face of democracy and also makes little sense in terms of geo-economic policy, especially in light of recent events. While the western powers rushed to impose crippling sanctions on Russia over the brutal invasion of Ukraine, even to their own detriment as Russia is a major energy and mineral exporter, there has been zero interest in punishing New Delhi for its long history of rights abuses and flouting international law, even though India is nowhere near as important to the world economy.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 26th, 2022.
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