Azadi: Kashmirs rallying cry
By Shireen M Mazari | Published: November 3, 2010
Kashmir brings out the worst in the Indian state and its mainstream media; but it is also bringing out the best on some Indian human rights groups, courageous individuals and other subjugated minorities. Of course, Arundhati Roy is, perhaps, the most visible symbol of an individual speaking the language of truth in support of the right of the Kashmiri people to self-determination and of suffering as a consequence. It is a shame that our human rights activists are so silent on the Indian states abuse of human rights in Occupied Kashmir. Lessons on conviction can certainly be learned from Roy!
Her family and home were targeted on Sunday (October 31) morning by a fanatical mob that broke into her house and threatened to teach her a lesson because of her views on Kashmir. Interestingly, the media was all in place to cover this mob terror simply because Roy had stated that Kashmir was never a part of India and the Indian government had recognised it as a disputed territory taking it to the UN under Chapter VI of the Charter. According to Roy, part of the campaign of terror against her was simply to divert attention away from the debate on Hindu terror that was centres-tage because a senior RSS activist Indresh Kumar had been named in connection with the Ajmer Sharif bomb blast.
Clearly, Roy has touched a raw nerve within mainstream India and exposed the myth of Indian tolerance and democracy on which it harps ad nauseam. Obama may seek to avoid using the K word on his trip to India which has a massive propagandist agenda beginning with the Taj meeting and statement and Pakistan may continue to sustain a confused official stance on Kashmir, but the Kashmiris themselves with their valiant struggle are beginning to awaken the Indian conscience on their inalienable right to self-determination. In this process, Pakistan will get sidelined by default as Indian citizens, especially other dispossessed minorities and human rights activists, move their state to fulfil the promises made to the Kashmiris by Nehru and the UNSC resolutions.
In fact, if developments continue in this fashion and Pakistan refuses to play its due role in supporting the Kashmiris right to self-determination, it will become irrelevant in the Kashmir equation, as the Kashmiris struggle for self-determination is centred on the call for Azadi. A reflection of this was the convention on Kashmir that was held in New Delhi, on October 21, with the straightforward title: Kashmir - Azadi the Only Way. It was organised by the Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners (CRPP). It was not just the participants, who were interesting, but the manner in which the issue was discussed with the underlying premise being that the Kashmiris must be given their right of self-determination. The repression and duplicity of the Indian state not just towards the Kashmiris, but also towards its other minorities. The Final Report is an amazing document a testament to people committed to truth and justice. For instance, Najib Mubarki, Assistant Editor of the Economic Times, talked about how the Indian media misrepresented the Kashmiri popular movement by claiming that the protests were only by Muslims demanding a theocratic state. He pointed out that even though the majority of Kashmiris were Muslims, the peoples struggle was for their inalienable and legitimate political rights.
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