By: Hadia Naseer
For the past 75 years, the people of Jammu and Kashmir have been defying Indian occupation. They are engaged in a liberation struggle and face the worst forms of Indian state terrorism. They have bravely endured Indian subjugation and atrocities, and New Delhi has failed to intimidate them into submission. The suffering of the Kashmiri people began on October 27, 1947, with the landing of the Indian Army in Jammu and Kashmir. As a result, the day is observed as a black day throughout the world, wherever Kashmiris live.
Kashmir has long been a source of contention between Pakistan and India, going all the way back to 1947, when the people of Jammu and Kashmir state were denied the right to self-determination.
When India and Pakistan gained independence in August 1947, it was widely assumed that Kashmir, as a contiguous state with a Muslim majority, would join Pakistan. Its ruler, however, acceded to India on October 27, 1947, through an improper and illegal Instrument of Accession, despite losing the support of people who had established an independent state (Azad Jammu & Kashmir). On the same day, India airlifted troops to Srinagar and took control of the valley.
“As a result, Kashmiris and freedom-loving people all over the world observe October 27th as Black Day”.
It is true that India sent troops to Jammu and Kashmir in defiance of the 1947 Independence Act and Partition Plan, which stated that the Indian British Colony would be divided into two sovereign states. India occupied the princely states of Hyderabad, Junagarh, and Jammu and Kashmir, the first two of which had Hindu majority states with Muslim rulers, while the Valley had a Muslim majority but was ruled by a Hindu. The Indian government and Maharaja Hari Singh claimed to have an Instrument of Accession, but many world historians disagree, arguing that if such a document existed, the Indian government would have made it public, either officially or in any international forum. This never occurred.
Unfortunately, the Boundary Commission, led by British Barrister Cyril Radcliff, also aided India in its occupation of the Kashmir Valley. He divided Gurdaspur, a Muslim-majority area, and handed it over to India, creating a demarcation that allowed access to Jammu and Kashmir by land.
Following the arrival of Indian forces, a massacre of Muslims occurred in order to change the Valley’s demographic status. In 1947, the people of Kashmir refused to accept the illegal occupation and launched a freedom struggle supported by a public uprising. Meanwhile, on January 1, 1948, the Indian government requested assistance from the UN Security Council in resolving the Kashmir dispute. The Security Council approved two resolutions authorizing a ceasefire, demarcation of the ceasefire line, and state demilitarization.
The deterioration of the situation has resulted in the barbaric killings of thousands of people in the valley, including women and children, by Indian armed forces. From January 1989 to today, Indian troops have martyred 96,148 Kashmiris, widowed 22,950 women, Civilian arrested 165,400, Structures Arsoned/Destroyed 110,498, orphaned 107,880 children, and molested or gang-raped 11,256 Kashmiri women, used rape as a weapon of war to intimidate Kashmiris into submission. Over 9,000 innocent youths have gone missing in custody, and their whereabouts are unknown. Many of those are thought to be buried in thousands of unmarked graves discovered throughout the territory after being killed by Indian troops in bogus encounters. Over 340 children have lost one or both eyes as a result of pellet injuries.
Since August 5, 2019, India has transformed IIOJK into the world’s largest human cage, in violation of all existing human rights treaties and bindings. A massive genocide and demographic change are taking place. The IIOJK’s political leadership is imprisoned or under house arrest, and they are forced to resign.
As Pakistan continues to support Kashmiris in their fight for self-determination, October 27 will be remembered as the day when Kashmiris stood up for their rights in 1947 and pledged that they would never surrender to India’s unjust and brutal regime. As global players continue to ignore the dispute’s resolution, it has escalated into a humanitarian crisis in the region.
The matter is still being litigated on a global scale. However, due to its weak case regarding the disputed valley, India refers to it as a bilateral dispute and avoids internationalizing the issue. In a report on held Kashmir, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein stated:
“The political dimensions of the dispute between India and Pakistan have long been center stage, but this is not a conflict frozen in time.” “It is a conflict that has robbed millions of people of their basic human rights and continues to inflict untold suffering,”.
As a result, any resolution to the political situation in Kashmir must include a commitment to end the cycles of violence, hold all parties accountable for past and current violations and abuses, and provide redress to victims.” India has exhausted all of its resources, but it has failed to suppress the Kashmiri people’s desire for independence. Is any world power paying attention?
Writer is An IR student and Research Associate at YFK International Kashmir Group.