NOVANEWS
By Sajjad Shaukat
Although 27th of October is celebrated every year as the “Black Day” by the Pakistanis and the
Kashmiris all over the world as a protest against Indian illegal occupation of Kashmir on October
27, 1947, yet the issue is still alive due to continued struggle of the Kashmiri people.
During the partition of the Sub-continent, the people of the state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K)
which comprised Muslim majority decided to join Pakistan according to the British-led formula.
But, Dogra Raja, Sir Hari Singh, a Hindu who was ruling over the J&K, in connivance with the
Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Governor General Lord Mountbatten joined India.
The design to forcibly wrest Kashmir began to unfold on August 16, 1947, with the
announcement of the Radcliffe Boundary Award. It gave the Gurdaspur District—a majority
Muslim area to India to provide a land route to the Indian armed forces to move into Kashmir.
There was a rebellion in the state forces, which revolted against the Maharaja and were joined by
Pathan tribesmen. Lord Mountbatten ordered armed forces to land in Srinagar.
When Pakistan responded militarily against the Indian aggression, on December 31, 1947, India
made an appeal to the UN Security Council to intervene and a ceasefire ultimately came into
effect on January 01, 1949, following UN resolutions calling for a plebiscite in Kashmir to
enable the people of Jammu and Kashmir to determine whether they wish to join Pakistan or
India. On February 5, 1964, India backed out of its promise of holding plebiscite. Instead, in
March 1965, the Indian Parliament passed a bill, declaring Kashmir a province of India-an
integral part of the Indian union.
The very tragedy of Kashmiris had started after 1947 when they were denied their genuine right
of self-determination. They organized themselves against the injustices of India and launched a
war of liberation which New Delhi tried to crush through various forms of brutalities.
It is notable that since 1947, in order to maintain its illegal control, India has continued its
repressive regime in the Occupied Kashmir through various machinations.
Nevertheless, various forms of state terrorism have been part of a deliberate campaign by the
Indian army and paramilitary forces against Muslim Kashmiris, especially since 1989. It has
been manifested in brutal tactics like crackdowns, curfews, illegal detentions, massacre, targeted
killings, sieges, burning the houses, torture, disappearances, rape, breaking the legs, molestation
of Muslim women and killing of persons through fake encounter.
According to a report on human rights violations in the Indian Occupied Kashmir, since 1989,
there have been deaths of 1,00000 innocent Kashmiris, 7,023 custodial killings, 1,22,771 arrests,
1,05,996 destruction of houses or buildings, 22,776 women widowed, 1,07,466 children
orphaned and 10,086 women gang-raped/molested. Indian brutal securities forces have continue
In fact, Indian forces have employed various draconian laws like the Jammu and Kashmir
Disturbed Areas Act, and the Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act and
Public Safety Act in killing the Kashmiri people, and for the arbitrarily arrest of any individual
for an indefinite period.
Besides Human Rights Watch, in its various reports, Amnesty International has also pointed out
grave human rights violations in the Indian controlled Kashmir, indicating, “The Muslim
majority population in the Kashmir Valley suffers from the repressive tactics of the security
In its report on July 2, 2015, the Amnesty International has highlighted extrajudicial killings of
the innocent persons at the hands of Indian security forces in the Indian Held Kashmir. The
report points out, “Tens of thousands of security forces are deployed in Indian-administered
Kashmir…the Armed Forces Special Powers Act allows troops to shoot to kill suspected
militants or arrest them without a warrant…not a single member of the armed forces has been
tried in a civilian court for violating human rights in Kashmir…this lack of accountability has in
turn facilitated other serious abuses…India has martyred one 100,000 people. More than 8,000
disappeared (while) in the custody of army and state police.”
In this respect, European Union has passed a resolution about human rights abuses committed by
Indian forces in the Indian held Kashmir.
It is of particular attention that in 2008, a rights group reported unmarked graves in 55 villages
across the northern regions of the Indian-held Kashmir. Then researchers and other groups
reported finding thousands of mass graves without markers. In this respect, in August, 2011,
Indian Jammu and Kashmir State Human Rights Commission officially acknowledged in its
report that innocent civilians killed in the two-decade conflict have been buried in unmarked
Notably, foreign sources and human rights organisations have revealed that unnamed graves
include those innocent persons, killed by the Indian military and paramilitary troops in the fake
encounters including those who were tortured to death by the Indian secret agency RAW.
Indian authorities are not willing to talk with Kashmiri people on political grounds. New Delhi
reached to a conclusion that only bullet is the right way of dealing with Kashmiris, demanding
their right of self-determination. Surprisingly, Indian successive governments are trying to ignore
the dynamics of the freedom movement of Kashmiris for the sake of their alien rule.
But, New Delhi is still showing its intransigence in order to resolve Kashmir dispute with
Pakistan by neglecting the fact that Kashmir remains a nuclear flashpoint between both the
neighbouring countries.
In this context, Egbert Jahn in his book, “Kashmir: Flashpoint for a Nuclear War or Even a Third
World War?” has pointed out, “The Kashmir conflict is embedded in the wider conflict over the
incomplete creation of nations and states on the Indian subcontinent, which during the east-west
conflict even threatened at times to escalate into a nuclear world war between Pakistan and the
USA on the one side and India and the USSR on the other. Until now, there have been three wars
between India and Pakistan over the Jammu and Kashmir: in 1947–49, 1965 and 1999… finally,
the Indo-Chinese border war of 1962…after these wars…and could unexpectedly again lead to a
regional and under certain circumstances…even a major nuclear war or a Third World War.”
Meanwhile, like the previous year, Pakistan’s recent serious and sincere effort at the annual
session of the United Nations—the recent speech of Pakistan’s prime minister and his meeting
with the American president, highlighting the Kashmir dispute and demanding its solution has
infused a new spirit among the Kashmiri people.
Nonetheless, Kashmiris, living both sides of the LoC observe “Black Day” on October 27 to
protest against the Indian illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir. On this very day, Pakistanis
and Kashmiris across the globe express solidarity with the freedom fighters of Kashmir,
demanding their legitimate right of self-determination from India which continues various forms
of state terrorism in order to suppress their popular movement.
Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants,
Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations
