Kashmir Crisis
Since Prime Minister Modi revoked Article 370 on August 5, Kashmir came under New Delhi rule, losing all autonomy. It is reported that hundreds of thousands of Indian troops have moved in.
Past Chief Ministers of Jammu and Kashmir are under house arrest. Kashmiri news communications were cut off. The internet has been shut down. There is no mobile phone service. No postal service. Wire barricades block streets every 100 metres in major towns. There is a 24-hour curfew. Shops and schools are shut, and public transport is not operating. The country is virtually cut off from the world.
The hundreds of news and media outlets in India say all is normal in Kashmir. Modi’s Government says all is normal. And much of the world’s media seems to be accepting this spin.
But videos, and non-Indian reports, of what is occurring on top of these restrictions are leaking out and they show a very different story playing out behind this wall of silence: violence, paramilitary troops door-knocking and breaking windows of houses, arrests, gunfire from Indian troops, and beatings.
No doubt to ensure no news escaped, a few days before revoking Article 370, Modi’s Government ordered all tourists to leave the state.
To the rest of the World, Kashmir has all but disappeared, leaving its people to the mercy of the ugly side of Modi’s India.
This is far, far worse than what’s going on in Hong Kong and yet the rest of the world is making only passing comment. It seems to be accepting what India says and that videos of any violence are fake. In Hong Kong, nothing like this level of control and violence is occurring and yet Hong Kong appears on the front page of virtually every major Western newspaper.
The UN Security Council Resolution 49 in 1948 called for a ceasefire and withdrawal of troops from Kashmir, followed by a plebiscite which would allow Kashmiri’s to choose whether the region would become a state of India or Pakistan. This plebiscite was never held. Now, India has simply taken control as the world sits by.
This control is part of a wider trend in Modi’s government, that plays out across many areas of society. He promotes division, fear, and suppresses dissenting opinions. India under Modi appears to be heading towards being a failed democracy, where unity is replaced by exclusion, and violence against minorities is acceptable.
But there is more to come from Modi: Under the Indian Government’s Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, on the 31 October this year, Jammu and Kashmir will officially become a Union Territory; meaning it falls under the direct rule of the Federal Government of India.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan reported that he has approached Prime Minister Modi several times about discussing Kashmir and peace [‘The World Can’t Ignore Kashmir, We Are All in Danger’, NYT, 30 August 2019], requests which have faced nothing but refusal.
Prime Minister Khan, seems to present a wonderful opportunity to secure peace in the region, however, perhaps there is too much water under the bridge there. The three players in this stand-off need outside assistance. International governments and the UN need to stand together as a matter of urgency and demand that India stands back and allows Kashmiri residents to speak; for a plebiscite to occur, so that they may have freedom of choice over how they are ruled. This should not be about what India wants. This should be about what’s best for the people of Kashmir.
To facilitate this, and to protect Kashmir resident’s human rights, transparency is required as a matter of urgency – it is time for the world’s media to present the brutal reality of what is occurring under India’s annexation of Kashmir.
It is in all our interests that unified international dialogue is undertaken to deescalate this situation given that India and Pakistan both possess nuclear weapons.
References and further reading
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/30/opinion/imran-khan-kashmir-pakistan.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share
https://www.eurasiareview.com/19082019-indias-kashmir-move-more-than-meets-the-eye-analysis/
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2019/08/kashmir-india/596314/
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-47418345/kashmir-history-of-the-conflict
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVF77IRxKpk
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_370_of_the_Constitution_of_India
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jammu_and_Kashmir_Reorganisation_Act,_2019