A Free Kashmir: Random Thoughts- 82
- Dr. Abdul Ruff Colachal
Jammu Kashmir- A Unique Situation
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The international community as well as UN has failed the people of Jammu and Kashmir and India has always sought to exploit the opportunity provided by the lack of clarity in the goals of US led war on terror to depict all indigenous resistance to its “military occupation” of Kashmir as terrorism. The participants speaking at a seminar ‘Human Rights and Terrorism’ held in Geneva during the 10th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council expressed anti-India views and called upon to restore sovereignty back to Kashmiris. No one seriously involved in international affairs can claim ignorance of this tragic situation. But rather than take necessary action, the States that could play a vital role in resolving this situation and achieving the necessary conditions to carry out the plebiscite hide behind the false analysis that this is a bilateral problem between India and Pakistan.

It is clear that the international community has failed the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Cunningly, India wants talks just for the sake of it only to fool the Kashmiri Muslims. It is worth noting that no logical solution has been proposed so far even after several rounds of talk’s and Indian terror bullets fired on to defenseless Kashmiris. All that is put forward is emotional and devoid of logic. Whenever the problem is debated, the starting point is an attack on the adherents of the other religion. It can only be found in the common interest of the inhabitants of Kashmir. Kashmir has its particular history. The Islamic stage in Kashmir followed after Islam came to Kashmir. Why was Kashmir given a much larger measure of self rule?

The genocides of Muslims in Jammu Kashmir by the occupying Indian state Hindu terrorists are a black blot on the UN and UNSC. The culprit in the sectarian massacres and the violent, blood-stained confrontations was the British colonialism. The partition was a British colonial conspiracy. The UK colonial power did not wish to leave behind such a peaceful region, any mighty nation of great population, vast geographical size and huge potential and the colonialists stoked the fires of strife between the different sects and communities. Before colonialism, those communities had lived peacefully together in the Indian Subcontinent. The colonialist conspiracy caused the situation to escalate to a point where partition, on the basis of religion, became the only solution. The notion of partition itself is a reactionary and colonialist one. Sadly, the clashes between the adherents of various religions, the torching and demolition of houses of prayer continue unabated within India and Pakistan even after the partition. It is not in the interest of the people of the Subcontinent to continue with this fragmentation and the clashes that squander their resources. It is a real shame that they continue killing each other.

India has so far managed to use all international forums to deny sovereignty to Kashmiris. The SCO was used as forum to divert the global attention on Indian agendas in JK, in immoral polls and make the world believe that Indian Hindus are innocent and did not do any thing in Mumbai. The same logic is being derived by the Indian media, strategists and leaders in India on Pune German Backery blast. It is an attempt to mobilize the support of the international community not just against terrorism, but against Kashmiris, Muslims, Pakistanis, among others. Certainly, the freedom fighters or so-called Kashmiri terrorists cannot compose the entire populations of Kashmir. But Kashmiri Muslims of all types are being killed by terror India. At times, the number of people in Kashmir exceeded 1 million people, about 10 per cent have been butchered by Indian forces. And one million people reflect the true nature of the indigenous and peaceful Kashmiri resistance movement and not a movement of terrorism. Nevertheless, a practical and pragmatic solution will impose itself in response to the requirements of the age of globalization.

India thinks once JK is freed, other states would also demand independence, but that is a vague argument. JK was an independent nation till 1947 when India sent its terror forces to occupy and kill Muslims there. The head of government of Jammu Kashmir carry the title of prime minister like the head of the government of India. Jammu Kashmir has its own flag and its own parliament. All this goes to prove that Kashmir is unique and distinct. Its history and circumstances are different from those of the other states. It is counterproductive to argue about the number of the adherents of this or that religion. Religion is the card used by the UK colonial power in its policy of "divide and rule" in order to dismember that giant entity and divide it into several warring countries. India is not a Hindu state. It is a multi-religious country. If India continues with its divisive polices in the neighborhoods, the Subcontinent will be further fragmented. It will never enjoy stability and the solution will continue to elude the world.

Why was the status of the two other states that were considered exceptional cases (Hyderabad and Jonaghad) settled while that of Kashmir was left unsettled? The status of Hyderabad and Jonaghad was determined by popular plebiscite in accordance with the principles of partition that divided the Subcontinent into India and Pakistan. It is unproductive to use the pretext that the independence of Kashmir may give rise to separatist tendencies in other states. This simply cannot happen. The status of all the other states was definitively determined as per India constitution while JK was in accordance with the principles of partition, and in accordance with the subsequent Security Council resolutions which established the principle of popular plebiscite. In view of the existence of these international resolutions and principles, no state governor, or a local parliament can legally make a decision that runs counter to them.

India still enjoys big bossism in the reign and beyond. The expectations of India are total subordination of its neighbors to Indian dictates and pursuance of Indian goals in their respective country, as India is doing for the USA and UK in South Asia. India always believes in secret tracks in democracy and state terrorism. India and Pakistan have agreed for the ninth time to start talking again secretly. Now the Indian midtongued terror premier Singh has been used by extremist strategists to say something “strongly” to Pakistani leaders and fuel the crisis continuously. The resumption of talks to determine how and when to move forward again began as Indian big boss, Manmohan Singh, as usual, warned against a “terrorist” Pakistan, President Asif Zardari, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) moot in Yekaterinburg, Russia, literally snubbing a sovereign nation in public by directing Pakistan to “do more” to contain terrorism. Also, before the two met again during the Non- Aligned Movement summit in Egypt in July, the foreign secretaries did “some homework”, but not enough.

Kashmir is an international issue in which both the will and ability to implement Security Council resolutions are at stake. This process produced out- of- the box- thinking on Kashmir but political instability in Pakistan led to a freeze on it in 2007. Before the Zardari government could get going on the same track, Mumbai happened in 2008. The clock was therefore turned back owing to the re- emergence of the “terrorist factor”. India has since put pre- conditions on restarting the composite dialogue. It said: “first crack down on the Lashkar- e- Tayyeba and Jamaat- ud- Dawa and guarantee that there will not be another Mumbai”.

The USA forces Pakistan to fight against the Taliban as Pakistan’s war for survival. This is a medium to long term terror war compelling the army to focus on the enemy within rather than on the threat from India without. Pakistani regime has advised by Indo-US to terrorize and kill Muslims. The Indian establishment nurtures and endorses the American argument that India should enter Pakistan on some pretext, using it as a corridor to Indo-Afghan terror route and Pakistan’s military needs space to fight the Taliban. If the Taliban, India argues, are not eliminated in Pakistan there could be serious spill over implications for India and the region. This objective can be helped if India reduces troops on the LoC and reopens the peace dialogue with India on its own conditions. Who says India is an innocent nation?

The resolution of Kashmir sovereignty and sharing of resources according to some principles benefiting every Kashmiri, would deny the youth an excuse to pick up the gun. Especially troubling has been the political transformation of national freedom struggles, like Kashmir, in defense of the right of self-determination to the total demise of humanitarian law. India has sought to exploit the opportunity provided by the lack of clarity in the goals of “the war on terror” to depict all indigenous resistance to its “military occupation” of Kashmir as terrorism, and further to claim that all such terrorism emanates from Pakistan or Pakistan-administrated Kashmir. The terror war against Muslims has illegally encroached on fundamental human rights principles such as the right to self-determination in JK and India.

While Indian goal in the composite dialogue is to keep the Kashmir issue at bay for ever by creating terrorisms at the crucial moments to stall the peace process, it is not evidently clear the mindset of Pakistani establishment, though people of Pakistan, like Kashmiris believe Pakistan is pursing Kashmir sovereignty cause with full dedication and sincerity. Is it wrong on the part of occupiers and killers from India, which is supposed to seek peace around the world, to think that way?

[My Hindu friends are confused about false notions being spread by anti-Islamic media in India. Hindus annexed Kashmir and are still drinking the hot blood by cold-bloodedly killing defenseless Kashmiri Muslims, apart from killing Indian Muslims and having frantically destroyed grand Babri Mosque built by Moguls on their own ruled lands. Today, Hindus construct structures any where at will. Hindus spread false notions about a possible temple structure over there and now the Hindus aided by media are insulting Muslims, terrorizing and even killing them at will. This may be part or whole of Indian secularism and democracy. Shameless Hindu Indians! India should produce good human Hindus and not the terror minded ones. They should shed fanaticism and arrogance].

(More to Follow….>)