Violence breeds more violence in Kashmir

As the militarisation of Kashmir has grown, so have victimisation and radicalisation.

Under the Indian rule, having patiently clamoured for the UN-mandated self-determination for decades since 1947 and suffering erosions to the autonomy thrust upon them through the dubious instrument of accession, the Kashmiris are increasingly losing faith in the tools of justice and liberty that this world has to offer. 



On February 14, 2019, a four-wheel drive loaded with 200kg of explosives rammed into a convoy of Indian armed forces in the Pulwama district of Indian-administered Kashmir. More than 40 soldiers were killed in the blast and many were injured.....

..... The Indian government, politicians of all leanings, the masses, film celebrities, and media are united in denouncing Pakistan and Kashmiris. Many are clamouring to "avenge" the attack, using that specific word to express the response they want from the government....

.....Slogans that rent the air in Jammu, the predominantly Hindu province of Indian-administered Kashmir, include "shoot the traitor Kashmiris". Mobs in the area attacked Muslim neighbourhoods and set their cars on fire. Reports of similar violence against Muslim Kashmiris, including students and businesspeople, are on the rise across Indian cities as well. The clamour for revenge for the attack is high; the drums of war are beating....

....  The last four years have been staggeringly brutal for Kashmiris and manifest what Modi called the "India of new convention and policy".

The Indian strategy in Kashmir has always been about managing Kashmiri resistance to integration with India. While human rights abuses by the Indian forces have been persistent, starting in 2014 when Modi was elected, they have intensified in brutality and frequency....

..... The Indian government has repeatedly suppressed peaceful means of protest. The Kashmiris' demand for the right to self-determination has been met with indiscriminate military force and incessant curfews. That year, more than 75 people were killed and over 11,000 were wounded.

The use of pellet guns for crowd control has also intensified, which led to what is now known as the world's first case of mass blinding. Among the wounded and blinded Kashmiris have been women and young children....

... The Indian government does not seem to consider the human rights violations it commits in Kashmir as falling within the purview of international humanitarian law or international criminal law. It has failed to respond to repeated criticism by human rights organisations.....

.... In June 2018, the UN Human Rights Office released a report taking account of the situation in the region of Kashmir on both sides of the Line of Control, but especially focusing on Indian brutality in Kashmir..... India denounced the report as fallacious, tendentious, and motived - effectively shutting down any public discussion or accountability for the report.... From 2000 to 2008 there had been a major shift in the nature of Kashmiri resistance from arms to civil disobedience, yet the Indian government never changed its lethal response to Kashmiri resistance....

At this juncture, condemnations of the attack are pouring in from the international community and India is basking in righteous posturing, conveniently and in plain sight hiding its brutal military occupation of Kashmir.....

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