Taking notice of the plight of Kashmiris, the Sikh community in America assured that it supports Kashmir’s cause and vowed to support the struggle for freedom. The brutalities and unrest in the region has claimed many lives. The use of pellet guns against unarmed civilians and the death of Burhan Wani has given way to simmering anger. Hospitals and paramedics remain helpless in a curfew bound state. According to “The Frontier Post”, Sikh community observed black day on Indian Independence day. Taking part in independence celebrations of Pakistan, the head of Sikh community in USA announced total boycott of Indian celebrations of Independence Day. He further said that if Pakistan helps Sikhs get Khalistan, a separate homeland for Sikhs, the Sikh community is willing to help Kashmiris get their long awaited freedom.

At the time of Partition, Kashmir exercised its right to stay independent. However, almost more than half a century later, Kashmir is still a disputed territory. British rule in India ended years ago and with that ended the British paramountcy over 562 princely states. The princely states were given the freedom to join one of the succeeding states (India or Pakistan) or to stay independent.  Jammu and Kashmir, which happened to be the largest princely state under the British rule decided against ceding its dominion to India or Pakistan. Maharaja Hari Singh, the ruler of Jammu and Kashmir argued that if the state joined India, it will get Muslims hot and bothered (since Jammu and Kashmir was predominantly a Muslim state), and if the state joined Pakistan, the Sikh population will suffer. Faced with indecision, he decided that the state will stay independent.

But it looks like Kashmir is still light years from independence.

The biggest hurdle in Kashmir’s independence is Article 370 of Indian constitution. Apparently, it is the biggest obstacle in the way of plebiscite. Not only is the article constitutionally hard to amend, its amendment will also face resistance from Kashmiri leaders.  According to the Chief Minister of Kashmir, even the Parliament of India is not authorized to amend the article.

The way Article 370 has been etched into the Indian constitution, there are no easy exits. At the time of independence, when all states were invited to have their say in the formulation of Indian constitution, Kashmir requested that only those provisions of Indian constitution be applied to Kashmir that were congruent with the original instrument of succession. This gave birth to Article 370 of Indian constitution. The article stipulated that the powers of Central government of India will only apply to Kashmir in so much as they concur with Kashmir’s constituent assembly. This provision was meant to be temporary. It was meant to last only until the formulation of Kashmir’s own constitution as a sovereign state.  However, when the constituent assembly of Kashmir was dissolved, it dissolved without repealing or amending Article 370. The article then became a permanent feature of Indian constitution.

It is clear that Kashmiris want independence. They do not care what Article 370 says. The opinion poll commissioned by Outlook in 1995 indicated that 72% Kashmiris wanted independence.

However, in order to effectuate plebiscite in Kashmir, Article 370 will need to be struck off or amended. Since Kashmir’s constituent assembly did not get the article repealed by the president of India before the constituency dissolved, scraping the article will be fraught with complexity.

The struggle for freedom has claimed a lot of valuable lives. The freedom of princely states set in motion Partition violence that is unprecedented in history. At the time of independence, one plan called for armed insurgency against the Sikh government whereas the other called for massacre of Muslims to reduce them to minorities.

Kashmiris are still paying a heavy price for political rifts. The widespread massacre has claimed countless lives. According to Edolphus Town, 90,000 Kashmiris have been killed so far by the Indian government. According to the Human Rights Watch, Indian security forces are not the only target of militants; civilians are targeted too.  

Kashmir is a land of potential. It is an amazing tourist spot. Kashmiri youth wants peace and the grown-ups want to be able to work in a fear-free environment.

The world needs to take stock of harrowing stories of atrocities in Kashmir. The world needs to remember that freedom is an inalienable right of every individual.