Youm e Istehsal and a blood stained Kashmir

Are some people more equal than others in the world of human rights?
By: Fayyaz Baqir
August 5 is named as Youm e Istehsal by the people of Kashmir to depict the forced annexation of Kashmir into Indian Union by the present government. It reminds us of a long trail of tyranny and bloodshed that unfolded in Kashmir due to the problematic transfer of power from the British Raj to the people of the Indian sub-continent. When the British left India they agreed on a three-way division of India, areas where the Muslim league gained the majority of provincial assemblies seats went to Pakistan, areas where the Congress gained the majority of provincial assembly seats went to India and 500 princely were given the freedom to remain independent or accede to India or Pakistan. This mutually agreed principle was violated in Punjab. The Punjab Assembly was divided into Muslim and non-Muslim chambers and each chamber was asked to vote separately. Even then the majority of Punjabi members of the assembly voted for Pakistan. But then, contrary to any prior agreement it was decided that Punjab will be divided, and the majority of Muslim districts would go to Pakistan and the majority of non-Muslim districts would go to India. Even this principle was violated in marking the boundaries of the newly independent countries of India and Pakistan. The district of Gurdaspur which was a majority Muslim district was handed over to India, and it provided India a passage to Kashmir-a majority Muslim state- which was an independent princely state at that time.
Accession of Kashmir was an explosive issue. While the majority of the population of Kashmir was Muslim, the ruler of Kashmir was a Hindu. The raja of Kashmir decided to accede to India after the partition. An armed conflict followed this unjust decision in Kashmir. To resolve the conflict the matter was taken to the United Nations by the government of Pakistan and the UN Security Council passed a resolution asking for a plebiscite to decide the status of Kashmir based on the Kashmiri’s right to self-determination. Indian government continued denying this democratic right to the people of Kashmir. Due to popular resistance against accession to India, the Indian government gave an internal autonomy status to the government of Kashmir. This was not acceptable to the people of Kashmir and led to militant resistance to end the Indian occupation.
5 August 2022 marks the third year of the revocation of the special status of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K). This is in continuation of a direct assault on Kashmiri culture and identity, the rapid expropriation of land, heightened economic marginalization, and the accelerated forces of settler-colonialism. Pakistan has always expressed solidarity with the people of occupied Kashmir and upheld their right to self-determination in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council. These resolutions of 1948 and 1949 call for the holding of a free and impartial plebiscite for the determination of the future of the state by the people of Jammu and Kashmir and make it mandatory for India to safeguard and maintain the historical, ethnic, cultural, and demographic status of Jammu and Kashmir in its Constitution. Actions taken by the government of India on 5th August 2019, in Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir have led to huge demographic changes as the Indian government is systematically paving the way for settler colonialism in Kashmir. Kashmiri youth resisting settler encroachments are being killed and Indian forces are snatching agricultural land from the local farmers.
Pakistan has always desired to involve the Kashmiri people in the diplomatic process to decide their status. Pakistan has proposed a trilateral arrangement to bring the Kashmiri people to the negotiating table along with India and Pakistan. Kashmiris call upon the world to condemn India’s illegal settlement and colonization of IIOJK and insist upon compliance with India’s international legal obligations. At present approximately, 900,000 Indian troops have besieged the defenseless Kashmiris and thousands of people in IIOJK have been killed by Indian forces in custody and subjected to extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearances. India has committed these human rights violations with absolute impunity. Kashmiris wonder why the world community is a silent spectator on this long brutal act of colonization. Are some people more equal than others in seeking their human rights?