OPINION by Ibrahim Vawda

Palestinians are being killed by the militarized terrorist of Zionist Israel as well as the illegal Egyptian government terrorists in their hundreds. Palestinian properties and land worth billions of dollars are confiscated for future illegal settlement construction. On the other hand, India just kills Kashmiris as part of its sadistic strategy to silence them for seeking a sovereign, independent state. Kashmir was invaded and annexed by India in 1947. Over 1 million Kashmiris have been killed by the paid Indian Occupation forces, whose thirst for Kashmiri blood remains unquenched.

China is the third nuclear power that has occupied part of Kashmir. Having veto power in the UN Security Council and having done very little to secure peace in the region, makes China complicit in the human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan, having given partial sovereignty to Azzad Kashmir, insists on a plebiscite (referendum), as promised by India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, to determine the future of Jammu and Kashmir.

India insists that Kashmir is part of India and its constitution. Kashmir was never part of India. It was an independent nation-state for 5000 years. India uses “terrorism” as a pretext to terrorize the local communities. In fact much of the cross fires across the Line of Control (LoC) is used solely for this purpose.

India refuses to say that Kashmir was invaded and annexed with the help of the then Hindu ruler of Kashmir. Acknowledging a problem is the first step to solve a problem, many Indians would say.

India, in her efforts to change the demographics of the region, continues on its genocidal path of simply killing the natives of the region, by calling them “terrorists” and “insurgents”. Recently several secret mass- graves have been uncovered in Kashmir. Obviously these were the remains of Kashmiris who protested India’s human rights violations. Like Israel on Palestine freedom issue, New Delhi has taken it for granted that Kashmir matter should not be resolved and keep it an unsettled problem. In fact, India would like to project the image that the Kashmiris are happy with being occupied by Indian forces and there is no final settlement to be made.

India does not want to discuss the Kashmir question with a third party or intermediary. She will only talk to Pakistan provided Pakistan admits to harboring terrorists and the infiltration of insurgents into Kashmir from Pakistan.

India is happy to live in perpetual denial and enjoy the status of “terror victim”, like Israel does. India is happy to join the west and Israel with fascist intent.

Virtuous talk of unity in diversity and secularism has been replaced by a barefaced Hindu nationalism. The state, colonized by an ideological movement, is emerging triumphant over the civilian population. It has assumed amazing powers of control — telling people what they should eat at home and how they should behave in public, and whom to lynch.

Will this Independence Day Celebration mark the collapse of India’s lofty ideas about herself? It does confirm that the world as we have known it, molded by the heirs of both Western imperialism and anti-imperialist nationalism, is crumbling. Hopefully, countries believing in true democracy would take the lead in releasing the colonised nations from foreign occupation.

Ibrahim Vawda is an educator and spent the last 14 years in education as headmaster. He is a keen internationalist, passionate about human rights issues. Ibrahim has no respect for politicians.