By S. Rahman
No amount of military might can dampen the spirits of Kashmiri freedom fighters whose struggle for their just cause was rekindled with the martyrdom of Burhan Muzaffar Wani, six years ago, in the month of July.
It is not wishful thinking of a besieged or brutalized and tortured Kashmiri. It is, instead, a proven fact that is fast becoming a nightmare for the champions of Akhand Bharat (Greater India) and Hindutva who know no compassion for fellow human beings. This approach of the Indian self-aggrandizement, as spearheaded by supremacist Hindus in
general and Modi Sarkar in particular, is basically rooted in the Indian caste system whose imprints have not yet disappeared despite amendments in the Indian constitution, moved by Dr. Ambedkar, to declare it a secular constitution and despite tall claims of the Indian leaders that they are secular in form and essence. This phenomenon is, in fact, the root cause of maltreatment of low castes like Dalits and Shudras whose existence has been rendered miserable by the militaristic-minded Hindu supremacists. As a matter of fact, with the rise of Modi-led BJP that enjoys support of self-righteous RSS and Bajrang Dal, hatred for the lowly ones within the Hindu fraternity, has
intensified, what to talk of the plight of minorities including Muslims, Sikhs and Christians. Acts of bestiality against the Indian minorities have become an order of the day as incidents and occurrences of violence have come to the fore, on a good few occasions. And, as regards the Muslims, they are the worst hit. They are the major victims of Hindu supremacist mindset or Hindutva. Lynching of Muslims, demolition of their houses, incarcerations and many other episodes of “institutionalized” injustice, have surfaced during the incumbency of BJP government. When we study the Kashmir case with reference to seven decades of forcible, illegal occupation of the Kashmir Valley by one-million-strong Indian military and paramilitary, arbitrary and unconstitutional scrapping of special status of Kashmir through repeal of Articles 370 and 35 A and a year-long siege of the Valley besides enforced disappearances and killings of Kashmiri Muslim youth who pursue their well-deserving, internationally recognized right of self-determination, the same root cause comes in picture i.e the superiority complex of promoters of Hindutva and Akhand Bharat. Whenever a voice is raised by the Muslim majority- or the youth- of the illegally occupied Kashmir Valley or IIOJK (Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir) for their right to decide their fate through plebiscite in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions, hell is let loose on the Kashmiris dreaming of getting their right to live according to their own aspirations. Kashmir’s is the only unique case in the entire world where forces of occupation and suppression have been deployed in such large numbers besides being given powers of
both the executive and the judiciary through different draconian laws like Armed Forces Special Powers Act etc. They enjoy wide powers to search any home in the Valley, on their whims, without court warrants. The troops deployed there can take anyone in custody and consign the illegal detainees to oblivion. The global watchdogs, though in small numbers, have published reports, on a few occasions, on orphans and half widows of Kashmir. Moreover, mass graves have been found. Molestation of womenfolk and heinous occurrences of rape have also been reported. Those in the know of military tactics of Indian authorities and the supremacists above them, opine that these authorities are of the view that all such inhuman and indecent actions would weaken the resolve of Kashmiris fighting for their cause. The facts are just otherwise since these “desired results” could never be achieved, so far, during the last seven plus decades. Instead, the Kashmiri Muslims, especially the Kashmiri youth Intifada (uprising) has intensified as well as diversified with more and more segments of the society joining this freedom struggle, much to the chagrin of Indian supremacists and their overlords in BJP and Modi Sarkar. Some observers of Kashmir scene say that
they have heard from certain people that even non-Muslim inhabitants of the illegally occupied Valley, denounce Indian troops’ massive deployment and the killings and enforced disappearances of the Kashmiri youth who condemn Indian atrocities and illegalities. This phenomenal rise and diversification of the Kashmiri uprising, as re-ignited with the martyrdom of Burhan Muzaffar Wani, has shaken the foundations of Akhand Bharat whose conceited leaders are living in a fool’s paradise that they would ultimately suppress the freedom struggle through these iron-hand methods and bestialities. No way, said Burhan Muzaffar Wani and thousands of Kashmiri youth who remain steadfast in combating the evil machinations of Modi Sarkar. Of late, Indian government has started settling non-Kashmiris or outsiders, from amongst the non-Muslims, in the Valley to disturb the demographic graph of Muslim majority in IIOJK. The sole purpose of this unconstitutional, illegal exercise, in defiance of UNSC resolutions and international laws, is to counterbalance, rather “neutralize” the ever-expanding freedom struggle of the besieged and brutalized people of the Kashmir Valley but that too is likely to boomerang to New Delhi’s own disadvantage, given the fact that the world has already witnessed the sustained freedom struggles bearing positive fruits, sooner or later.