The lockdown of Kashmir after the removal of the state’s special constitutional status in August 2019 led to an international outcry. However, the BJP government of India continues to charge forward with its brutalisation of the region. Despite the release of Kashmiri MP and former chief minister Farooq Abdullah and a minor lifting of the communication ban, this remains a half-hearted attempt by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to paint an illusion of progress in the area. AMEER JAY reports.
After a nearly 70-year fight for self-determination, the region has entered its most visceral and violent state of repression yet. For the past eight months Kashmir has suffered from a near total communications lockdown with the internet, mobile phones and landlines cut off by Modi’s government in order to establish control in the area.
Hindu nationalism and British imperialism
At the heart of the occupation of Kashmir is a Hindu nationalist attempt to remove the Muslim-majority state’s demographic status and transform Kashmir into a Hindu majority state. The lockdown began on 5 August 2019, with the revoking of Article 370, which provided a level of autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir, and Article 35A, which empowered the Jammu and Kashmir state legislature to define ‘permanent residents’ of the state and to provide special rights and privileges to them.
Before the lockdown, Kashmir was already one of the most militarised regions in the world, with nearly 700,000 troops on the ground. This has only increased since August, with thousands of soldiers being flown into the region, and limited to no movement now allowed in the Kashmir Valley.
The seeds of the conflict were sown by British imperialism, leaving the area to become a breeding ground for an age of violence. Since the partition of India in 1947, Jammu and Kashmir have been caught between India and Pakistan, with each trying to assert their control. For decades India has violently suppressed the independence movement, while the Pakistan-administered sections of Kashmir have been used as a staging ground for terrorist attacks.
Following the example of Israel
According to a study by the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), since July 2019 there have been 108 killings by the Indian Armed Forces, 14 of them being civilians, including nine children. And with the recent lockdown, the violence only escalates.
The reasons behind Modi’s plans are evident from the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which was passed in December 2019, as well as from his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s involvement with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). RSS is an organisation with fascist roots and the backbone of racism against non-Hindu Indians, as well as being responsible for a number of attacks against students following their resistance to the CAA (See FRFI 274). Modi wishes to absorb the occupied land, allowing and encouraging Indians to buy property in Kashmir. There has been a plan to allot 6,000 acres of land to the RSS. India is clearly following in the footsteps of Israel, creating an almost mirror image of its use of settlers for ethnic cleansing in occupied Palestine.
Economically, Kashmir has suffered greatly from the lockdown, with thousands of jobs lost within days of its implementation, and a loss of $1bn in the first two months. With the ban on the internet, over 5,000 travel agents have lost their jobs and over 50,000 jobs in the carpet industry have been lost.
No independent journalism
Media coverage of Kashmir has been dominated by the Indian press, as journalists outside Kashmir have been obstructed from entering to report on the situation, in an attempt to silence the struggle of the Kashmiri people. With restricted or no internet access, journalism in the region is near impossible, thus allowing the state to completely falsify information with little backlash. Beyond this, journalists have faced harassment and intimidation from the Indian authorities, including being questioned about their alleged involvement in insurgent activities. One journalist, Naseer Ganai, had his phone and laptop confiscated followed by a ruthless four-hour interrogation, while other journalists have experienced beatings from the police.
A common word used in the Indian press is ‘normalcy’, spreading distorted ideas of peace returning to the region. This was reinforced with the release in March 2020 of Kashmiri MP Farooq Abdulla after seven months in detention, although many other politicians remain imprisoned. In October 2019 village council elections in the region went ahead, despite the imprisonment of hundreds of local leaders. Most political parties other than the BJP boycotted the elections.
No return to ‘normalcy’
Since January 2020 mobile phones and 2G internet have been restored; however, again this does not at all signal the beginning of self-determination for the Kashmiri people. The truth of occupation remains, with unarmed protesters, including children, being met with live rounds, tear gas and the widely banned cluster ammunition.
Another measure the Indian military has taken in Srinagar is grenade attacks in densely packed markets, with over a hundred people being injured. There have been over 4,000 people arrested and placed in detention centres across India and Kashmir. The arrests include more than 200 politicians, three former chiefs of state, and more than 100 activists and social leaders from the pro-independence All Parties Hurriyat Conference.
Covid-19 leads to increased repression
The outbreak of Covid-19 has only increased the repression. To date Jammu and Kashmir have 328 confirmed cases and five deaths, with 60,000 people under observation and quarantine. Eighty ‘containment zones’ have been declared, restricting movement to only those with passes; each zone can be renewed for 42 days if a new case of the disease is detected. Drones have been deployed in various cities. The continuing lack of internet, even with the partial restoration in January, makes it impossible even for those with desk jobs to work from home. Political officials attempting to go to work during the crisis have been beaten by the police, even after they had been given curfew passes (The Indian Express, 11 April). This includes an official collecting food for a migrant labour camp in Pampore, who was beaten while carrying a valid pass. An executive magistrate also reported that his vehicle was stopped by a policeman, who savagely beat his driver.
The healthcare system remains in dire straits during the lockdown, with cancer treatment and surgery being cancelled. The level of Covid-19 testing remains low, with only a few dozen tests per day, according to Suhail Naik, president of the Doctors Association of Kashmir, and unlike in other states, private and government healthcare facilities are not working together. The restrictions on travel make it impossible to transport samples to the central laboratory in Delhi. There is just one ventilator per 71,000 people. The Directorate of Health Services in Kashmir warned doctors on 1 April that they will face ‘strict action’ if they publicly criticise the government’s response to the pandemic.
The people of Kashmir have fought for decades for their independence and even under the lockdown, the possibility of resistance is feared by the Indian government.
End the communications blackout!
Mass testing now!
Free Kashmir!
