Kashmir — a practical manifestation of Hindutva
The writer is pursuing her degree in International Relations from National Defence University, Islamabad and is currently associated with Islamabad Policy Research Institute. She can be reached at aroojsaghir.ndu@gmail.com
Kashmir is an incessantly burning question and a saga of miseries over the past 75 years. The occupied territory has recently observed its 75th Black Day but the world pretends to be least aware of the Indian draconian laws making the valley a prison. Historically, Jammu and Kashmir was a princely state whose fate was to be decided by its Maharaja. Despite having a Muslim majority, Raja Hari Singh signed the instrument of accession with India on October 26, 1947. This ignited a stream of emotions on both sides, and resultantly, Indian troops illegally invaded Kashmir. Since then, India has reinforced its military presence in valley, and continued with its coercive means to silence the Kashmiris.
The miseries of Kashmiris in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK) have further intensified with the unilateral, unlawful abrogation of Articles 370 and 35-A. The question is why a democratic and secular India will employ illegal and coercive tools to suppress the right of self-determination of Kashmiris. The answer lies in BJP’s election manifesto of 2019 and in projection of Hindutva. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) perceives that the projection of Hindutva political construct will be achieved with popular consent.
However, the ground facts where Indian troops are deployed in occupied territory and where 678 unarmed Kashmiris have been murdered since the scrapping of IIOJK special status speaks of the fascist mindset. The black laws that India has constructed for IIOJK are inhumane acts. Most of these laws are related to the justification of detention including the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2002, Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act 1987, and the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act 1978. All these laws governing IIOJK are in contrast with Internatioanl Covenant on Civil and Political Rights-ICCPR (Articles 6,7, 9, 19, 21 and 22). ‘Armed Forces Special Power Act’ and ‘Jammu and Kashmir Disturbed Areas Act-1990’ allows Indian forces to suppress political activities and openly do extra-judicial killings. IIOJK has, thus, become Hindutva’s new laboratory as evident from the release of Kashmir Files which is said to be a movie promoted by the ruling party. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) parcharaks are forcing cinemas to display the movie — ultimately clarifying that its purpose is not the catharsis of Kashmiri pandits expelled from Srinagar by Islamist militants but Hindutva propaganda to raise Islamophobic sentiments.
Such a choreographed depiction of the past is igniting religious polarisation where the unlettered Hindu people are manipulated to believe that the current flee of Kashmiri pandits is similar to the 1990s Islamist insurgency. That jihad is alleged in the movie to kill around 4,000 pandits while the actual number never rose above 650 yet the silence of Kashmiri Muslims killed and abused on a daily basis remains at the back doors. The movie is blaming a community that is itself suffering while the political elite remains the major beneficiaries and is using this fallacious delineation of facts as a tool to stay in power. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in favour of this movie has raised the debate of freedom of expression that he himself has curtailed when it comes to IIOJK.
History tends to be shown as history rather than a narrative. History should be revisited rather than rewritten! Education is also being employed as a tool for instigating the Hindutva discourse in IIOJK. The ‘Badalta J&K debate’ where Muslim students are forced to sing bhajan. The prevailing ruling elite at the centre has only burst the Kashmir issue into flames.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 2nd, 2022.
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