Is India emulating Israeli model?
Nazia Nazar
August 25, 2008
The martyrdom of Sheikh Abdul Aziz, a leader of the Hurriyat Conference, and 22 other Kashmiri civilians by Indian security troops in the Indian Held Kashmir is a heart-rending incident that has unleashed spiralling unrest in the entire region, raising some of the biggest protests since an anti-India insurgency erupted in 1989.
Opening fire at the unarmed civilians who, after being denied the basic necessities of life, came out of their homes in sheer frustration and asked for their basic right to live, is perhaps the worst kind of human rights violation anybody could ever commit. This is what happened to Sheikh Abdul Aziz and a number of other Kashmiri people who were raising protest against economic blockade imposed on them by Hindu extremists that has plunged the Kashmir Valley into a big humanitarian crisis.
According to Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security. It is embodied in Article 4 of UNDHR that no one shall be held in slavery or servitude while Article 5 says that no one shall be subjected to torture. Unfortunately, all these rights enshrined in UNDHR are being denied to the Muslim population of Kashmir. The words uttered by Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, a founder member of the moderate faction of Hurriyat Conference, suffice to awaken the conscious of the world. He said, "There is shortage of essentials, including baby milk, in the market but we are being showered with bullets. To those labelling us terrorists, we ask this question: is it a crime to fight for survival?"
Today, the people of Muslim majority areas of Indian Held Kashmir fight the battle of their survival. It seems that the history of Palestine is being repeated in Kashmir. A few months ago, Amarnath land dispute came to the fore according to which the state government decided to give about 100 acres of forest land to Amarnath trust to build shelters for Hindus. The Kashmiris dubbed it conspiracy of the Indian government to change the demography of the Indian Held Kashmir and resorted to violent demonstrations that compelled the Indian government to undo the decision.
However, it provoked Hindu extremists who began blocking the only road link to the Kashmir Valley and burnt hundreds of trucks on the highway leading to Pathankot. According to a BBC report, fruit exports worth millions of dollars perished and the region ran out of food grains, fuel, and other basic commodities of life. This resulted in sparking a fresh wave of protests in Muslim areas and an angry mob of about 100,000 Muslim Kashmiris marched towards Muzaffarabad to reach markets in Pakistan. But those frustrated Kashmiris were punished for their protest and subjected to indiscriminate firing by Indian troops resulting in the death of 22 Kashmiris, including Sheikh Abdul Aziz.
Pakistan took immediate notice of the simmering situation in Kashmir and the parliament unanimously passed a resolution condemning the "excessive and brutal" use of force by Indian security forces against Muslim protestors in the disputed territory. Pakistan has reacted strongly against India´s warning to Pakistan to keep itself out of the Kashmir issue. Pakistan´s General (retd) Mahmud Ali Durrani said that Pakistan would not keep silent on the issue. He rightly said, "The problem of Kashmir is between India and Pakistan. We are three parties. We are Kashmiris, Pakistanis and Indians. This is part of our dialogue. Saying Pakistan should just keep mum and keep quiet is not possible."
According to UN resolution, Kashmir is a disputed territory and not part of India, so how could India dub Kashmir an integral part of its territory? How could Pakistan remain indifferent to the Kashmir issue when Pakistan is one of the parties to the dispute? If one says that the valley no more echoes with pro-Pakistan slogans, then why a majority of Kashmiri people observes 15 August – the day of India´s Independence – as black day and hoists Pakistani flag in the air? What are the seven lakh Indian troops doing in the valley if there is no insurgency, rather a freedom struggle going on in Kashmir?
Why 90,000 Kashmiris have been brutally killed during the last twenty years, which sees no respite? If Indian troops in the disputed territory are not committing human right violations then why human rights organisations are denied access to the occupied valley? Before asking Pakistan to keep itself out of the Kashmir issue, India needs to answer the aforementioned questions.
It goes without saying that Pakistan has every right to express its concern about any aspect of the Kashmir issue, as it is not only a territorial dispute between India and Pakistan but it has also become a humanitarian issue. Not only Pakistan but all humanitarian groups, organisations, and forums should come to the rescue of the suppressed people of Kashmir as the valley of Kashmir has already turned red with the blood of 90,000 Kashmiri Muslims. The discovery of mass graves in the Indian Held Kashmir in recent months bears witness to the fact that genocide of Kashmiri Muslims is being carried out unabatedly.
The recent economic siege of Kashmiris by Hindu extremists in the presence of seven lakh Indian troops has jeopardised the very survival of Kashmiri Muslims. They are subjected to the same kind of atrocities that have become the destiny of the Palestinian people. The Muslims of Kashmir and Palestine are justified in asking the questions that why are they being kept in slavery when the people of East-Timor, Montenegro, Eritrea, and many other countries have been granted freedom? Why are they being deprived of basic and fundamental rights enshrined in the UDHR? Are they not human beings or have they no right to live as humans?
In December, we are going to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) whereas the people of Kashmir and Palestine have been denied basic human rights for the last sixty years. Is it not a travesty of justice by the so-called civilised world?
Opening fire at the unarmed civilians who, after being denied the basic necessities of life, came out of their homes in sheer frustration and asked for their basic right to live, is perhaps the worst kind of human rights violation anybody could ever commit. This is what happened to Sheikh Abdul Aziz and a number of other Kashmiri people who were raising protest against economic blockade imposed on them by Hindu extremists that has plunged the Kashmir Valley into a big humanitarian crisis.
According to Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security. It is embodied in Article 4 of UNDHR that no one shall be held in slavery or servitude while Article 5 says that no one shall be subjected to torture. Unfortunately, all these rights enshrined in UNDHR are being denied to the Muslim population of Kashmir. The words uttered by Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, a founder member of the moderate faction of Hurriyat Conference, suffice to awaken the conscious of the world. He said, "There is shortage of essentials, including baby milk, in the market but we are being showered with bullets. To those labelling us terrorists, we ask this question: is it a crime to fight for survival?"
Today, the people of Muslim majority areas of Indian Held Kashmir fight the battle of their survival. It seems that the history of Palestine is being repeated in Kashmir. A few months ago, Amarnath land dispute came to the fore according to which the state government decided to give about 100 acres of forest land to Amarnath trust to build shelters for Hindus. The Kashmiris dubbed it conspiracy of the Indian government to change the demography of the Indian Held Kashmir and resorted to violent demonstrations that compelled the Indian government to undo the decision.
However, it provoked Hindu extremists who began blocking the only road link to the Kashmir Valley and burnt hundreds of trucks on the highway leading to Pathankot. According to a BBC report, fruit exports worth millions of dollars perished and the region ran out of food grains, fuel, and other basic commodities of life. This resulted in sparking a fresh wave of protests in Muslim areas and an angry mob of about 100,000 Muslim Kashmiris marched towards Muzaffarabad to reach markets in Pakistan. But those frustrated Kashmiris were punished for their protest and subjected to indiscriminate firing by Indian troops resulting in the death of 22 Kashmiris, including Sheikh Abdul Aziz.
Pakistan took immediate notice of the simmering situation in Kashmir and the parliament unanimously passed a resolution condemning the "excessive and brutal" use of force by Indian security forces against Muslim protestors in the disputed territory. Pakistan has reacted strongly against India´s warning to Pakistan to keep itself out of the Kashmir issue. Pakistan´s General (retd) Mahmud Ali Durrani said that Pakistan would not keep silent on the issue. He rightly said, "The problem of Kashmir is between India and Pakistan. We are three parties. We are Kashmiris, Pakistanis and Indians. This is part of our dialogue. Saying Pakistan should just keep mum and keep quiet is not possible."
According to UN resolution, Kashmir is a disputed territory and not part of India, so how could India dub Kashmir an integral part of its territory? How could Pakistan remain indifferent to the Kashmir issue when Pakistan is one of the parties to the dispute? If one says that the valley no more echoes with pro-Pakistan slogans, then why a majority of Kashmiri people observes 15 August – the day of India´s Independence – as black day and hoists Pakistani flag in the air? What are the seven lakh Indian troops doing in the valley if there is no insurgency, rather a freedom struggle going on in Kashmir?
Why 90,000 Kashmiris have been brutally killed during the last twenty years, which sees no respite? If Indian troops in the disputed territory are not committing human right violations then why human rights organisations are denied access to the occupied valley? Before asking Pakistan to keep itself out of the Kashmir issue, India needs to answer the aforementioned questions.
It goes without saying that Pakistan has every right to express its concern about any aspect of the Kashmir issue, as it is not only a territorial dispute between India and Pakistan but it has also become a humanitarian issue. Not only Pakistan but all humanitarian groups, organisations, and forums should come to the rescue of the suppressed people of Kashmir as the valley of Kashmir has already turned red with the blood of 90,000 Kashmiri Muslims. The discovery of mass graves in the Indian Held Kashmir in recent months bears witness to the fact that genocide of Kashmiri Muslims is being carried out unabatedly.
The recent economic siege of Kashmiris by Hindu extremists in the presence of seven lakh Indian troops has jeopardised the very survival of Kashmiri Muslims. They are subjected to the same kind of atrocities that have become the destiny of the Palestinian people. The Muslims of Kashmir and Palestine are justified in asking the questions that why are they being kept in slavery when the people of East-Timor, Montenegro, Eritrea, and many other countries have been granted freedom? Why are they being deprived of basic and fundamental rights enshrined in the UDHR? Are they not human beings or have they no right to live as humans?
In December, we are going to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) whereas the people of Kashmir and Palestine have been denied basic human rights for the last sixty years. Is it not a travesty of justice by the so-called civilised world?
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