India And Kashmir: The Litmus Test For India’s Democracy Is Kashmir
By Rameez Bhat
20 May, 2016
Countercurrents.org
India is considered as the world’s largest democratic country.In a democratic country, you have every right to express your own feelings, but when it comes to, Kashmir it is usually brushed off. In a democratic country it is a given to have protection of the human rights, but what about Kashmir? In Kashmir we are witnessing the human rights violation from every corner.Since the independence of India, we (Kashmiris) felt thwarted, come out on roads, hurled stones on Indian troopers, we took injured ones for remediation, washed the blood of our beloved ones, gave psychological support to the families who lost their bread and butter, for right to self-determination but still we are on the same spot. Kashmir has been misunderstood by the world’s largest democratic country, a place forgotten by the world, a place where the leaders of the united nation have no time to take-heed of our woeful voices. It is a place where brutal killing of innocents has been the routine of Indian troopers.
Despite these deplorable things take place in our oppressed Kashmir, still the people of world consider India as a democratic country; indeed this may be true because the great Indian freedom fighter leaders whether, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru or someone else are respected because they made India a democratic country. But it is generally considered that neither democracy nor justice stirred in Kashmir since the freedom of India. From 1947 till now we have witnessed the loss of around one lakh people. Lakhs of people are languishing in the jails for many years, thousands of people have disappeared, thousands of my sisters and mothers were raped by troopers of so called largest democratic country, and thousands of people are implicated in various fake cases. Besides human lives we have also lost more than 20000 commercial establishments and more than 9000 houses were set ablaze in our oppressed Kashmir. I have gone through so many books, surfed so many sites related to Kashmir conflict. Indeed in every site & in every book, I read the barbarousness of Indian troopers on the Kashmiri’s.
My heart bleeds when I cogitate about various incidents whether it is, Gawkadal-massacre,Kunan-Poshpora incident, Asiya and Neelofar case, Wamiq Rasools faux killing and many more incidents. Even since years they don’t get justice by the world’s largest democratic country. If they don’t want give justice to them, then I have every right to call world’s largest democracy that you don’t actually are worth to be called so. You are just trying to be world’s largest democratic country but you are failing in it.
Since the last 68 years, we (Kashmiris) want our right to self-determination, but I don’t know why you (India) don’t find any pragmatic way to solve this conflict, besides the indo-pak talk, we have witnessed almost both (India & Pakistan) made around 150 talk shows to solve the world’s largest conflict issue, but nothing materializes which would lead Kashmiri people to live in a peaceful way.
Dear India, you always try to make hue and cry in the name of Kashmir. Don’t you know you are world’s largest democratic country, but still you are lacking the sense of hearing and speaking the truth, which makes you an intolerant country! Since decades we are tortured, killed, trodden ruthlessly by your troopers. You put a most draconian law “AFSPA” on us, through this act your army men can come to our houses without any warrant. They can beat us, they can offend us, and they can terminate our houses, they can gather us for repressive actions, even they can do everything with us what they want to do, and still you call yourself world’s largest democratic country. You not put only AFSPA, you put various draconian laws on us like PSA (Public Safety Act) via this act you can detain a person without trail for many years, even via this law the detained person can’t inform their relatives. Another one is DAA (Disturbed Areas Act), via this act you can declare whole area of Kashmir disturbed and this act gives the extraordinary powers of arrest and detention. The other one is TADA (Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act), via this act your security forces and armed forces can enjoy their whole powers on wretched Kashmiri masses. Other dreadful act is POTA (Prevention of Terrorism Act), this law was first rejected by the upper-house, but it was passed at the joint session of Indian parliament, it is hardly used outside the Kashmir. Main focus of this act is to legalize it only on the Kashmiris. The NSA (National Security Act) is another one via this act a person can be detained without charge. Besides these acts there are various acts which are only made for Kashmiri masses. Dear world’s largest democratic country being a Kashmiri I am ashamed of your double standard. I still wonder why you want to try the wretched Kashmiri to stay with you & live in your hands, when they want to get rid from you. You tried out all your experiments but still you failed to become a victorious, neither will you win our hearts nor can we be obedient to your brutal rules.
Post script: - Remember that before 506 years ago-we were free. By some means, we were occupied illegally by you. Your ancestors promised with us, that we will give you, your rights but neither have we got our rights nor did you do justice with us. Does it mean you are not democratic country, come on India solve the long pending issue and tell everyone you are democratic country; more ever tell also people of Kashmir that you are world’s largest democratic country with a big heart.
Author is a student of University of Kashmir. Email: [email protected]