This is in reference to the indigenous uprising by Kashmiri youths in Indian Occupied Kashmir and the creation of the Burhan Wani phenomenon, who has become an icon like Bhagat Singh. India under Modi has adopted the use of violence by the state and patronised Hindu extremists obsessed with Hindutva philosophy with likes of Shiv Sena, treating Indian Muslims as fourth class citizens who can be killed on mere suspicion of eating beef. Even loyal Indian born Muslims, whose forefathers lived there for centuries, are discriminated against to buy property in Bombay. 

What can India expect other than an uprising, with over 700000 troops stationed in the valley, involved in murder, rape, arson and the kidnapping of Muslims? India needed a leader like Mahatma Gandhi, who could win the hearts of Dalits, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs etc by wooing their youth and treating them as first class citizens, erasing this class distinction which threatens India from within. India faces seven insurgencies in the North East, which is thousands of miles from Pakistan. What else can India expect when they drive Kashmiris to desperation, using these crimes as tools to dishonour and punish them? 

Violence begets violence and armies are raised to fight enemies, not unleash a reign of terror on those which a country claims to be its integral part. I don’t think even the Hurriyat leadership has control over this present uprising by the Kashmiri youth. Desperation and oppression beyond a certain point becomes the fuel which drives this engine, seeking liberation and freedom from occupation. 

In over 200 years of the British Raj, there has never been a sustained uprising like this in spite of the bloodshed let loose by the occupying force. India would be fooling itself if it thinks that the Pakistani state and its military can manage and foment this scale of indigenous uprising in Occupied Kashmir, where the youth, armed with stones, are facing one of the largest armies in the world. 

MALIK TARIQ,  

Lahore, September 28.