Annexation of Jammu Kashmir – Provocative & Devious!

5th August 2019 will be remembered as the day the BJP/RSS government in clear defiance of international law annexed regions of Kashmir under the erroneous rule of ‘might is right’. The so - called largest democracy in the world, illegally annexed the entire Indian occupied part of Jammu Kashmir with a stroke of a pen, “simultaneously usurping the heritage, the identity, hard fought fundamental rights, and centuries old ethnic, cultural and religious harmony and tolerance amongst the sons and daughters of the soil”, says the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF)

The Indian government sent thousands of additional troops to the disputed region, imposing a crippling curfew, shutting down telecommunications and internet, and arresting political leaders in clear contravention of all democratic procedure. It has unilaterally expunged Article 370 of the Constitution, which had enabled Kashmir to craft and implement policies independently, with the exception of key spheres such as foreign affairs and defence. Article 35A, a separate constitutional clause also expunged, strengthened Kashmir’s autonomous status by providing special rights and privileges to its permanent residents. The article forbids Indians outside the state from permanently settling, buying land, holding local government jobs and securing education scholarships in the region. India is unilaterally altering the territorial status of a highly disputed territory that is, per square mile, the most militarized place in the world.

There is an urgent need to address past and ongoing human rights violations and abuses and deliver justice for all people in Kashmir who for seven decades have suffered a conflict that has claimed or ruined numerous lives with no real consequences for the perpetrators. It is the duty of the international community to hold India accountable for its doings and insist that a plebiscite in Kashmir remains a moral imperative and a democratic necessity.