Statement on Kashmir Indian government actions not an internal matter
A month ago, on August 5, 2019 the government of India abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution of India granting the state of Jammu and Kashmir, the part of the princely state that had conditionally acceded to India at the time of the British withdrawal from India in 1947. This came in the wake of an invasion by Pashtun tribals from Pakistan. Accordingly, Jammu and Kashmir got special status with its own constitution and flag. At one stroke in an undemocratic fiat, the government of India also separated a portion of the state, Ladakh, and imposed direct rule by central government1 on it. The remaining portion of Jammu and Kashmir was reduced to a union territory2 with the status of a municipal government. The people of Kashmir had no say in this. On the contrary, anticipating Kashmiri response to this undemocratic action, in the days leading up to the abrogation, the Indian government added tens of thousands to the six hundred thousand military and paramilitary personnel already operating in Kashmir which has a population of seven million. They imprisoned political leaders, as well as thousands of others, imposed strict curfews banning all movement and gatherings, cut off all communications — telephone, cell phone, electronic media — and silenced reportage. People have been prohibited from praying in central mosques. People are terrorized, terrified and cut off even from their neighbours. A humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding with daily tragedies as people are unable to access medical care, mothers are unable to deliver babies with appropriate supports, etc. A group of Indian parliamentarians visiting to assess people’s sentiments was turned away from Srinagar3 airport on arrival. The BBC shot footage of a large demonstration after a Friday prayer, when it was allowed, with the military firing tear gas and pellet guns. The report was officially denied. The government has declared a return to normalcy while maintaining most restrictions and has opened some schools to prove its point. However, classrooms remain empty. The BBC has interviewed villagers who speak of and show visible signs of beating and torture. In response, the army has affirmed its professionalism and claims to have not received any complaints. Reports of people being blinded by pellet guns4 have been met by the governor’s declaration that shots have been fired only below the waist. 1 India has a federal system of government; Indian states have their own governments and legislative assemblies. 2 Union territories in India, unlike states in India are usually federal territories, governed directly by the central government with some exceptions such as Puducherry (Pondicherry) which have elected legislatures. Jammu and Kashmir would be in that model. In such instances ‘public order’ and ‘police’ remain under the control of the central government of India. 3 Largest city and summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir. 4 Pellet guns have been routinely used in Kashmir because India calls them “non-lethal”, despite demands by human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch that they stop being used. They kill, blind and cause The silence of Kashmir speaks for its silenced people. The necessity of military repression speaks of the Indian government’s awareness of its status as an occupying force. By abrogating of Article 370 and dismembering and degrading Kashmir the government of India has fully and openly acknowledged its betrayal of all its promises to the people of Kashmir that they would determine their own future, a promise made before the community of nations and enshrined in Resolution 47 of the United Nations. The military occupation of Kashmir, the virtual imprisonment and silencing of its people, the undoing of a historic international commitment, cannot be accepted as an internal matter of India. We call on the United Nations to speak for the people of Kashmir. We in Canada and the US call on our governments of Canada and the USA to lead the United Nations in averting the humanitarian crisis in Kashmir and enabling the people of Kashmir to move, speak, and communicate freely.
• South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy (SANSAD), Vancouver • South Asia Research and Resource Centre (CERAS), Montreal • International South Asia Forum (INSAF), New York • India Civil Watch (ICW-Canada) • International League of Peoples’ Struggles • Femmes de diverses origins/Women of Diverse Origins • East India Defense Committee (EIDC)’ Vancouver • Democracy, Equality and Secularism in South Asia (DESSA), Winnipeg • Punjabi Literary and Cultural Association, Winnipeg • Movement Against Rape and Incest • South Asian Women’s Community Centre (SAWCC) • Quebec Women’s Federation (FFQ)
multiple injuries. A Government Medical College, Kashmir study reported large scale blindings and psychiatric problem resulting from their use.