Kashmir Solidarity Day

February 5th reminds us that Kashmiris are still awaiting justice and fair-play. It comes as a day of introspection for the international community which has not been able to live up to the expectations of a subjugated nation; and, likewise, the resolutions of the United Nations promising the right to self-determination are in limbo. This is so because of the clout of India, and its hoodwinking tactics in diplomacy, as major powers prefer to opt for appeasement rather than taking a high moral ground.

It is a ground-reality that more than 10 million Kashmiris are subjected to repression and human rights violations, and are a victim of state-centric discriminatory demographic alterations. The state of affairs have gone worse since August 5, 2019, when New Delhi unilaterally abrogated the special status of the occupied state, and the Supreme Court validated it in contravention of international conventions.

The day of solidarity on February 5 also reminds us of the sacrifices of martyrs of the Kashmiri freedom struggle, and the undeniable fact that world’s largest democracy is systematically busy in exterminating and annihilating a nation. As the world laments the atrocities of Israel against the Palestinians, it is incumbent upon them to flag the excesses against Kashmiris, and campaign for their right to life and liberty.

The incarceration of thousands of Kashmiris merely because they are demanding their fundamental rights, and they are being abducted, raped and maimed in the socio-political sense is no less than a holocaust. It is pity that the Indian judiciary has always cemented military occupation in Kashmir, and the assumption that Kashmiris should not be treated with leniency when it comes to retribution, is a crime against humanity.

The need of the hour is to take up the Kashmir struggle in the lawfare domain, and compel India to abide by the relevant UN resolutions. The ICJ’s reprimanding of Israel on genocide counts must serve as a precedent to put India in the dock, and to realise the rights of Kashmiris. Time to get real and practical on Kashmir.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, February 5^th, 2024.

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