Azadi: Kashmirs rallying cry

Kashmir brings out the worst in the Indian state and its mainstream media; but it is also bringing out the best on some Indian human rights groups, courageous individuals and other subjugated minorities. Of course, Arundhati Roy is, perhaps, the most visible symbol of an individual speaking the language of truth in support of the right of the Kashmiri people to self-determination and of suffering as a consequence. It is a shame that our human rights activists are so silent on the Indian states abuse of human rights in Occupied Kashmir. Lessons on conviction can certainly be learned from Roy Her family and home were targeted on Sunday (October 31) morning by a fanatical mob that broke into her house and threatened to teach her a lesson because of her views on Kashmir. Interestingly, the media was all in place to cover this mob terror simply because Roy had stated that Kashmir was never a part of India and the Indian government had recognised it as a disputed territory taking it to the UN under Chapter VI of the Charter. According to Roy, part of the campaign of terror against her was simply to divert attention away from the debate on Hindu terror that was centres-tage because a senior RSS activist Indresh Kumar had been named in connection with the Ajmer Sharif bomb blast. Clearly, Roy has touched a raw nerve within mainstream India and exposed the myth of Indian tolerance and democracy on which it harps ad nauseam. Obama may seek to avoid using the K word on his trip to India which has a massive propagandist agenda beginning with the Taj meeting and statement and Pakistan may continue to sustain a confused official stance on Kashmir, but the Kashmiris themselves with their valiant struggle are beginning to awaken the Indian conscience on their inalienable right to self-determination. In this process, Pakistan will get sidelined by default as Indian citizens, especially other dispossessed minorities and human rights activists, move their state to fulfil the promises made to the Kashmiris by Nehru and the UNSC resolutions. In fact, if developments continue in this fashion and Pakistan refuses to play its due role in supporting the Kashmiris right to self-determination, it will become irrelevant in the Kashmir equation, as the Kashmiris struggle for self-determination is centred on the call for Azadi. A reflection of this was the convention on Kashmir that was held in New Delhi, on October 21, with the straightforward title: Kashmir - Azadi the Only Way. It was organised by the Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners (CRPP). It was not just the participants, who were interesting, but the manner in which the issue was discussed with the underlying premise being that the Kashmiris must be given their right of self-determination. The repression and duplicity of the Indian state not just towards the Kashmiris, but also towards its other minorities. The Final Report is an amazing document a testament to people committed to truth and justice. For instance, Najib Mubarki, Assistant Editor of the Economic Times, talked about how the Indian media misrepresented the Kashmiri popular movement by claiming that the protests were only by Muslims demanding a theocratic state. He pointed out that even though the majority of Kashmiris were Muslims, the peoples struggle was for their inalienable and legitimate political rights. Speaker after speaker referred to the present struggle as having opened up some space for a better understanding by Indians of what the Kashmiri struggle is all about. And in that struggle the central slogan is all about Azadi the powerful rallying cry of the Kashmiri youth leading the present intifada. The speakers reflected a broad ethnic spectrum from Sujato Bhadra, a prominent human rights activist from Bengal, to Varavara Rao, a revolutionary poet who pointed out that Kashmir was taken to the UNSC by the Indian rulers themselves and even Gandhi had declared that if people wanted to stay separately they could. He equated the Kashmiri struggle with other anti-imperialist struggles and pointed out that wherever people were struggling against oppression by the Indian state, they were also supportive of the Kashmiri struggle. Dr N. Venuh, Secretary General of the Naga Peoples Movement for Human Rights (NPMHR), pointed out how Nagas had been in talks with the Indian government for the last 13 years and with more than 76 rounds of talks, the Indian state had not moved an inch towards fulfilling any of its commitments. Har Charanjit Singh, President of Dal Khalsa, opened his remarks by saying they stood for an Azad Sikh state and expressed solidarity with the Kashmir resistance. The speakers list ran the gamut of different oppressed people struggling against Indian imperialism and the repression that that symbolised. Arundhati Roy once again showed her fearless commitment to the rights of the oppressed and began her speech by saying that those who wanted to throw shoes at her should do so now. She repeated her position on Kashmir and pointed out how militarised the Occupied State had become. Roy reminded the audience that the British colonialists had also considered Indians unfit for self-rule or Azadi at one time and now India was using the same arguments to deny Azadi to the Kashmiri people. Academics like Amit Bhattacharya, a professor of History, narrated his own experience of harassment and detention in Occupied Kashmir when he visited there in 2007. The chief guest at the Convention was Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who also raised the cry of Azadi as he narrated the oppression and abuse of the Kashmiris men women and children at the hands of the Indian state forces. He referred to the Five-Point Charter put forward in August which could be the basis for a dialogue with the Indian state, but first the status of Kashmir as an international dispute had to be accepted. The resolution adopted by the convention recognised the right of the Kashmiris to self-determination and Azadi, and highlighted the oppression by the Indian government, which had militarily Occupied the State. It called on the Indian state to:  Formally admit that Kashmir is an internationally recognised dispute.  Immediately take steps toward complete demilitarisation of the region.  Release all political prisoners in Kashmiri and Indian jails.  Removal of draconian laws like AFSPA, Disturbed Areas Act, etc. It was interesting to note that despite disturbances by intelligence agencies and their paid lackeys, the participants patiently continued to deliberate and speak their minds. That this convention took place in the heart of the Indian capital is also not without significance and equally important, Pakistan was not mentioned at all by any of the speakers, including Syed Ali Geelani. It is apparent that the Kashmiris have taken the lead now in their struggle for freedom from Indian Occupation and for Pakistan that is a warning signal that if it continues to remain confused or ambivalent on Kashmir, it will find itself sidelined from the main stakeholders. Is this by default or a deliberate policy of the present government? Either way, the Kashmiris are moving their struggle ahead on multiple tracks and the Indian state will have to begin accepting the reality of the Azadi cry. Where will Pakistan be in this speeded up Kashmir dynamic: right beside the Kashmiri people or lost in the webs of its self-created confusion?