Ashraf Sehrai is one of the many names who fearlessly spoke up for Indian-Occupied Kashmir for as long as he lived. Yesterday, his third death anniversary was observed. His death in Indian captivity is one grain in the desert of oppression Occupied Kashmir has witnessed. Looking closer, the projection of ‘all is well’ turns out to be a masquerade only. The ruling BJP in India is perhaps well aware of what it has brought on Kashmir since Article 370 and hence the special status of the valley was revoked. And that is exactly why there is no single candidate of the BJP contesting elections from Kashmir.
Kashmir’s indigenous All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) under the chairmanship of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq survives as one key unified symbol of the Kashmiri freedom struggle. India, after banning various factions of Hurriyat one after the other in recent months, will soon come for the remaining political leaders and parties that represent the actual will of the native Kashmiris. After all, oppressors behave alike, be it Gaza or Kashmir.
The similarities in India and Israel are striking when it comes to their years of history as perpetual oppressors. Tied otherwise in an unbreakable defence partnership, both countries converge on these morally indefensible tactics. It should not surprise us that India uses similar oppressive tactics in Kashmir as Israel does in Palestine and especially Gaza these days, right? Mass graves in Kashmir and excessive use of rape to inflict moral damage are well-documented crimes India has committed in Kashmir. Not to mention the tying of civilians to military cars as human shields.
While Omar Farooq reiterates the cause, it reminds each one of us that Kashmir is far from settled. The difficult thing to remember and to keep reminding the world is that the dispute is not resolved yet. India’s one-sided forced action does not settle it for the Kashmiris who have opened their eyes dreaming of nothing but freedom. This stance must be repeated at all times on all fora so that the world knows that this political issue requires a political settlement.
