On 5 February, people in Pakistan and Kashmir who have been striving for their independence for more than 70 years mark Kashmir Solidarity Day. Those Kashmiris who perished in the struggle for independence are also remembered on this day. Kashmir’s independence has been a bone of contention between India and Pakistan ever since the subcontinent was split in two. There is more tension between the two nations every year. All around Pakistan, people show their support for the people of Kashmir by celebrating Kashmir Solidarity Day. Pakistan is on the side of Kashmir in its quest for self-determination, which the region has a right to exercise since so many people have died fighting for independence in Kashmir. Pakistan’s then-opposition leader Nawaz Sharif created Kashmir Solidarity Day in 1990. In response to the Indian army’s occupation of sections of Kashmir, Sharif called for a strike throughout Pakistan. He urged the country to pray for the liberation of Kashmir. Many years have passed since Jammu and Kashmir’s special autonomous status was terminated and the region was annexed and placed under federal authority by India. Since then, human rights abuses, demographic shifts and calls for delimitation of the electoral constituencies, have all contributed to the region’s unrest. While India says it is helping Jammu and Kashmir in its economic and democratic growth, the country is nonetheless repeatedly violating international norms. India’s portrayal of the valley as one in which locals have now begun to benefit from peace is a smokescreen for a place where life is everything but normal. This essay will analyse India’s activities over the past few years and suggest that, despite Modi’s efforts to keep the situation in Jammu and Kashmir under wraps, it needs international attention.
Human Rights Forum Jammu and Kashmir claims that human rights breaches in India have persisted over the last two years, documenting this trend in their paper titled “Two Years of Lockdown: Human rights in Jammu and Kashmir.” While India says that the situation in Kashmir has improved, citing a 59% decrease in terrorist occurrences compared to the previous year, the majority of the population in Kashmir has not seen any change. Nearly a thousand individuals, including children and elected lawmakers, are still in prison due to arbitrary detentions, and public assembly is still illegal under section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973. Eighteen government personnel were fired for ‘anti-national acts’ on social media, further undermining freedom of speech in the area, despite the fact that 4G internet connections were restored in February 2021. Additionally, increased safety precautions keep journalists away from counterinsurgency operations, and media outlets are pressured into self-censorship. Reporters said they faced hostility, intimidation, and roadblocks while covering the December 2020 district elections.
The Indian President used his authority under Article 370 to issue an order nullifying the state’s autonomy and rescinding the previous Presidential Order from 1954. In an effort to split the state in two union territories, each of which would be administered by a lieutenant governor and have a single chamber of parliament, the Indian government’s home minister has proposed a Reorganisation Bill in the Indian Parliament. On 5 August 2019, the Rajya Sabha (India’s upper house of Parliament) discussed and ultimately approved the resolution calling for the revocation of the temporary special status under Article 370 and the bill for the reorganisation of the state. Lok Sabha, India’s lower house of parliament, considered and approved the reorganisation bill and the resolution urging the revocation on August 6.
Although, UN has maintained its concern for Jammu and Kashmir, recent global events, such as the Covid epidemic and the peace accord with the Taliban in Afghanistan, have been very beneficial for India by diverting focus from Kashmir dispute. At the conclusion of July 2021, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken travelled to India, where he mostly discussed China and Afghanistan, with Kashmir likely only being mentioned in private conversations. Meanwhile, Indians who are unable to go overseas are visiting the Himalayas in droves and the nation is attempting to show that all is normal by constructing the world’s biggest rail bridge to link the valley to the rest of the country.
As long as India reconsiders its recent actions in Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan has indicated that it is open to dialogue. The measures include rolling back the abrogation of Article 370, stopping its efforts to alter the valley’s demographics and lowering the number of troops stationed there. As India continues to provide guided tours of the valley to naive tourists and foreign dignitaries, it continues to pretend the normalization of the tense militarized situation of the region. Pakistan has made sure that the illegal occupation and annexation of Jammu and Kashmir remains front and centre of its foreign policy towards India – a cause for which it also needs to garner sufficient international community’s support.