First Anniversary of
Revocation of Jammu and Kashmir's Special Status
Oppose Indian Government's Brutal Suppression of the Kashmiri People! Long Live Their Struggle for Freedom, Justice and Democracy!
- Meera Kaur -
Demonstration, August 2019, in Lahore, Pakistan against India's brutal
occupation of Kashmir.
August 5, 2020, marked the first anniversary of
the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status under Article 370
of the Indian constitution. After abruptly changing the semi-autonomous
nature of India-controlled Kashmir, the Indian government imposed a
media lock-down and curfew and started brutally arresting, imprisoning
and killing Kashmiris from all walks of life. The Indian government
used the Armed Forces Special Powers Act it adopted
in 1990, giving itself license to arrest, search and destroy property,
and kill with impunity.
The Kashmiri people resisted this latest crime
against their homeland and their people and have continued fighting
back courageously for the past year, uncowed by the brutal attacks
against them. The crimes against the people of Kashmir have been met
with the solidarity of the people of neighbouring Punjab who too have
long experience of the impunity of the Indian armed forces. India's
actions have come up against widespread condemnation from peoples all
over the world.
In Kashmir, prior to the first anniversary,
authorities imposed a curfew on the city of Srinagar on August 3 with
immediate effect until the anniversary itself, marked as a "Black Day"
by the people.
Demonstration held at the British Parliament marking the first
anniversary of the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status.
Projected on the side of the building is
"Kashmiri Lives Matter."
On August 5, to oppose the Indian government's
suppression and lock-down which amount to a siege of Jammu and Kashmir,
demonstrations were held in India, Britain and other places. In Britain
a mass action was held outside the Indian High Commission in London,
and the Council House in Birmingham, a city where 150,000 Kashmiris
live. Hundreds of Kashmiris participated in these two significant
actions.
 The Kashmiri people themselves
have been asserting their right to self-determination for many decades,
dating back to the partition of India in 1947, in which the British
state played a nefarious role to perpetuate its colonial rule over the
sub-continent using forms of government based on preserving
Anglo-American values and representatives. An important demand in the
present situation is that the people of Jammu and Kashmir must be
allowed to settle the Kashmir issue through a fair, transparent and
democratic referendum under the auspices of the United Nations, as
required by UN resolutions.
Large numbers of Indian troops have been used to
suppress the movement of the people of Kashmir for independence. The
leadership of the movement has been incarcerated, and new psychological
methods of disorientation and oppression are being applied. There have
been a massive number of arrests in Kashmir, along with the violence of
the Indian military against the people. The Sino-Indian confrontation
has also added to the already fraught situation in Kashmir.
Further, thousands of Indian workers are being
brought to Jammu and Kashmir for work and settlement by the Indian
government, demonstrating Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's hurry
to obliterate the identity and heritage of Kashmir. It is reported they
brought with them many of the more than 19,000 cases of COVID-19
recorded in Kashmir.
The peace- and justice-loving people of Canada
stand with the people of Kashmir in their struggle for
self-determination. May their march for freedom, justice and democracy
win victory!
This article was published in
Volume 50 Number 29 - August 8, 2020
Article Link:
First Anniversary of
Revocation of Jammu and Kashmir's Special Status: Oppose Indian Government's Brutal Suppression of the Kashmiri People! Long Live Their Struggle for Freedom, Justice and Democracy! - Meera Kaur
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
|
