There are a few illustrative facts that NYT does not dwellon, about the Kashmir issue. They are:-
1) With all the "oppression", there are no significant Kashmiri refugees in Pakistan. Most Kashmiris go to other parts of India.
2) Pakistan tried to grab Kashmir by force three time - in 1948, 1965 and 1999. It failed each time, Now she wants to get Kashmir peacefully?
3) Many of the miltants in Kashmir are Pakistani citizens from the Punjab province.
4) Many separatist Kashmiri leaders have been killed by these Pakistanis, because they advocated peace. Mirwaiz Mauli Farooq, the head of Kashmiri Muslims, was killed in 1990 by the Pakistanis.
5) The head of Hizbul Mujahadeen (Syed Salahuddin), the biggest Kashmiri indegenous group, asked the Governor of J&K to get his son admission to the Srinagar Medical college. He lives in Pakistan, but wanted his kids to study and work in India.
23
This kind of quality reporting rarely happens in Indian papers. Hopefully it shall appeal to the conscience of the decision makers in India. But this matter is anything but simple.
Unwinding terror apparatus, even if Pakistan government takes a decision to cease low-intensity-hostilities does not mean terror tap shall get shut. The graduated and localized approach Indian authorities are constrained to take indicates that a competent civil administration is at work.
The next critical milestone for Kashmir is India-China summit meeting between PM Modi and President Xi at Mamallapuram sea coast. China has bankrolled and supplied munitions to Pakistan and shielded in international diplomatic arena. It is not clear whether India will be able to persuade China to desist from backing Pakistan. If there is success, relaxation measures towards normalcy may happen rapidly.
Unfortunately the way Indian political mobilization has taken place, concessions to Pakistan in terms of risking initiating talks before terror taps are closed in very difficult for PM Modi.
If Mamallapuram talks fail and India opts to get tough with China in concert with QUAD architecture, initiating talks with Pakistan with a view to isolate China becomes the only option. In this scenario also Kashmir could converge towards normalcy but after a longer interregnum.
It is not easy for secular Indian administration to establish writ of law, exorcise fear and lift control restrictions.
8
why no global outcry? if Israel had done this to Gaza or the Palestinians the world would have gone balistic ..... this is beyond cruelty .....
20
When I see what I see in Kashmir I wonder how it got here. There is this almost whole 1.2 billion Indian population in perpetual denial mode. I was born in Srinagar in mid 8O’s, came of age during 90’s. I have seen up-close what Indian military is capable of doing in Kashmir. So much tormented are our collective memories as Kashmiris that no amount of garbed good will gestures and goodies can efface that. That every normally thinking human romanticizes freedom de facto should not be lost on Indians. We have seen the rise of this brutal Indian occupation of Kashmir, we shall see the end of it. Folks, Pakistan is just this bogeyman that India always invokes but has long become lackluster. The modern Kashmiri uprising is indigenous. It is just that the world has to acknowledge it without seeing through Islamophobic lens and let Kashmiris live with dignity and pride.
35
As tragic as this one tale is, everyone needs to keep in mind that if the mobile and internet connections were restored, one would see a Yemen, Iraq and Syria in the Kashmir valley. This is the precise threat conveyed from Pakistan. The shutdown is enforced by the militants NOT by the govt.
15
Hope you say that with tongue-in-cheek.
9
I wonder your bewilderment.
11
The situation in Kashmir is complicated, and knee-jerk reactions to the unfolding tragedies there will do nothing to improve the situation in the long-term. The fact is that India just could not go on with the special status that Kashmir had. That special status was being exploited by both Pakistan and politicians in Kashmir to ensure that the region remained a powder-keg could not be governed normally. This led to numerous tragedies in the region over the years (including 3 wars) as well as chronic underdevelopment due to a lack of investment over the past 70 years. The Modi government, for better or worse, when it has a majority mandate, has taken a bold step to correct this, and create a different reality there. That step, however, has in turn, led to other inevitable tragedies , that this article reports. Certainly, in the short term, there will be pain in Kashmir. The Modi government also has a big challenge ahead of it - how can it lift these restrictions and improve the lot of Kashmir without provoking a backlash (which Pakistan would love to stoke) ? I hope the Indian government can achieve this transition soon and restore all freedoms to the people in Kashmir quickly as it behooves a democracy. But I fear that it will be long, and difficult road, with no easy answers.
49
“led to other inevitable tragedies.”
An example of semantic surrealism!
tragedy (noun)- And event causing great suffering, destruction, and distress, such a serious accident crime or natural catastrophe.
This article describes, but does not sufficiently explain, the institutionalization of crimes against humanity in which the wellbeing and health of ordinary people, citizens or not, are being violated by shameless, personally unaccountable policymakers. At various levels. Daily. All over.
Such behaviors continue to be enabled, and even fostered, by the passive complacency of many
(choosing willful blindness, deafness, indifference and ignorance) as well as the active complicity of others. Ordinary folks as well as influential, agendaed individuals and ranges of systems.
Bottom line: each of US contributes to what IS which should not BE!
Each of US, given who we ARE, are not and are not likely to BE, as well as may yet BECOME can choose to contributing to making a difference that makes a sustainable difference for menschlichkeit as well as for the equitable sharing of limited human and nonhuman resources which are critical for the development of wellbeing and health for ALL.
A paradox: a failed effort to find viper-venom-vaccine as ranges of viperous policymakers continue
to freely “poison” and prey on people, and life-supporting values, norms, ethics with impunity!
11
I am getting upset with the bias shown by the NYT. Yes, this is a very unfortunate situation. However, take a minute to understand the history of the conflict. First, the article 370 was always meant to be temporary. Second, Pakistan has clearly and repeatedly backed terrorism. This is not at all about Kashmir. If it were, let’s see Pakistan back more freedom
On the other side of the line of control.
23
This was not the first death and it will not be the last. Human life has always been cheap in Kashmir and especially now Kashmiris have become expendable canon fodder for the current draconian Indian central government.
Around a 100,000 Kashmiris have already been killed by 'security forces' responsible for the security of its citizens; and Indians wonder why Kashmiris want independence.
You will see many comments on this article from the apologists of the current government of India, they will attempt to justify whole scale slaughter of a community on various flimsy grounds. Unless the U.S. and Europe take a firm stand and do the right thing like they did in Bosnia, I'm afraid Kashmir is going to be annihilated...
68
@S S
No one will annihilate Kashmir. You should worry more about the 70,000 killed in Pakistan. The fact that the Pakistani Army selected Imran Khan, instead of the people who should have elected him.
5
It's the militants - numbering less than a thousand - who are preventing return to normalcy in Kashmir by threatening the locals. The Indian government has just announced that they are opening up Kashmir to travelers who unlike locals cannot be intimidated by the militants.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/jammu-and-kashmir-tourist-curbs-to-be-lifted-from-thursday/story-G1UYOXlGluo5uVUyWfZeHI.html
8
Its as if ,going back 2 stone age with all modern facilities & technology available but un-availability due 2 Govt: ignorence & stubborness ---Pray 2 ALMIGHTY for kindness 2 prevail at the earliest
As long as the NYTimes continues to take a partisan view and only chooses to find every possible angle to present a Muslim angle to the goings on in Srinagar, it has no credibility. Why dont you report instead on the fact that there are absolutely no restrictions anywhere in Ladakh or Jammu? Restrictions are only in an area where the population is largely controlled by a Sunni majority that has blood on its hands by the three decades of ethnic cleansing that it conducted. This is a community that wants Sharia law and is intolerant to everyone else. No sane country would allow that to ever happen. Of course, the NYTimes has other opinions. Which is why this is not reporting but should be in the opinion page.
16
@CommonSenseEconomics
In press and in all other media only the baad news and sensationalization sells . NYT is no different. Good news is no news. Press never cares for anything other than the circulation. It is an extraordinary situation and it calls for extraordinary solution.
Shame on India. Shame. Shame. Shame.
16
@Zoli
When you point a finger at someone, three fingers point back towards you.
Bangladesh, Baluchistan, Swat Valley, etc.
3
@Zoli Shame on brutal Islamic terrorists who want to establish an Islamic ISIS-like Caliphate in Kashmir. Shame. Shame. Shame.
3
I read a lot of supports of the Hong Kong RIOTERS, while they systemically damaging and destroying subway stations, blocking main roads, beating up fellow Hong Kongers who disagree with them, including the beating up of the JPMorgan banker, but I have not heard any criticism, including the RIGHTEOUS NYT, on the lock-down of the Kashmir region.
Amazing...!
6
@John D market of 1.3 billion people matters for these hypocrites
4
I was born in the 70's in Srinagar, Kashmir. I lived there all along barring a few years when I lived in the US and Europe.
I have witnessed the iron fist policies of the Government of India to suppress the Kashmiri sentiment of Freedom.
Due to lack of infrastructure in Kashmir, locals have to travel to mainland India for higher education, healthcare as well as business. With time India had a constituency in Kashmir not because of its policies but due to the relationship that was naturally fostered between the Indians and locals over the years. During the 2014 floods, Indian civil society went out of its way to help the locals by collecting and sending relief. However, Prime Minister Modis promised 1000 Crores that he collected from corporate India never came.
With the abrogation of article 370 and bifurcation of the state, not to mention the communication blockade, Indian has once again induced pain to the heart of Kashmiris. The irony this time is the silence of the civil society, who echoing the voice of the PM and the home minister say that this treatment is good for Kashmir in the long run.
Kashmiris are not allowed to reply or protest. The state is hell-bent on the fact that the Kashmiri must surrender.
Surrounded by a million armed troops. the only saving grace from genocide this time is the international community that has sent many stern warnings to the government of India.
This night will certainly end and the dawn of freedom awaits Kashmir.
Kashmiri
26
When Indians elected "Modi" as their PM, who was barred to enter the USA. What Americans were expecting, knowing Modi's hand in the violence in Gujrat which resulted thousands of deaths!!
India through their media and politicians have created a persona which it doesn't deserves. For centuries the Indians have been treating their own citizens worst than animals, based on their caste. Why is world so blinded by the use of term "Secular" by the Indians!! Majority of Indians had been deeply racists and believed in supremacy of "Aryan" race.
PM IK has rightly put it, if we keep appeasing people like "Modi, Doval and Amit" we would be repeating the mistakes we made in the past with Hitler et al.
19
Heart wrenching story of a young kid who died because fascist Hindutva forces are dancing naked in Kashmir valley depriving Kashmiri people of their legitimate human needs. How long these tragic restrictions will continue, and how many innocent lives will be lost before world acts to save Kashmiris?
17
@Rana Ali As long as there are brutal Islamic terrorists who want to establish an Islamic ISIS-like Caliphate in Kashmir, there will be problems in Kashmir. That's the blunt truth.
4
Please contrast the reality of this unforgivable situation with Modi’s lofty words in his Op Ed, 5 days ago in this paper, invoking the spirit and values of Mohandas Gandhi. Shameful.
21
The lockdown of kashmir must to be revoked because, enough time is taken by the indian government to get the situation under their control but they failed to do so. Now this issue not only remains the security issue now it get turned into human rights issue.
Human rights of Kasmirians are being exploited, the government also violating their fundamental rights, the right to life, right to personal liberty and freedom. the children are starving, their is lack of medicine and other medical facilities due to which the casualities are rising day by day.
Now this issue is not only the interest of a single nation, it become a worldwide issue.
I want to draw the attention of each and every people of this world because Humanity is prior than any religion existing in this world. Humanity is being murdered on the streets of Kashmir. PLEASE RAISE YOUR VOICE AGAINST THIS AND DO PROTEST FOR THIS ISSUE.
IF I QUOTE THIS ISSUE IN A SINGLE LINE "THIS IS NOTHING BUT A MASS CAPTIVATION."
#FREEDOM FOR KASHMIRIS.
12
India faces immense economic and social inequality and poverty with millions of people living in areas without clean water, sewage treatment, staggering levels of environmental pollution, lack of public transportation, etc. Roughly 2/3 of the Indian population (circa 850 million people) subsist on less than $2 day. Despite widespread poverty, malnutrition and pollution, India spent an estimated $64 billion on the military in 2018, 5th highest in the world. Instead of addressing India’s endemic structural economic problems, Modi has continued spending astronomic sums of money on the military and promoted anti-Muslimism bigotry to distract Indian citizens from endemic corruption and poverty in India. Ongoing treats against Pakistan are a continuation of these policies. Any war with Pakistan will likely rapidly escate into a nuclear confrontation.
Notes
1. Poverty in India: Facts and Figures on the Daily Struggle for Survival Link:
www.soschildrensvillages.ca/news/poverty-in-india-602
2. The 15 countries with the highest military budgets in 2017 by Daniel Brown May 2, 2018; Link: www.businessinsider.com/highest-military-budgets-countries-2018-5
16
@Paul
India was the worlds biggest economy for thousands of years, till the British came looted her.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angus_Maddison#/media/File:1_AD_to_2003_AD_Historical_Trends_in_global_distribution_of_GDP_China_India_Western_Europe_USA_Middle_East.png
1
I would feel strongly about the plight of the people of not for the obvious bias in this reporting.
What does “unilateral” revocation mean? Who would be the other party? Kashmir is integral part of India, as signed and acceded by the Maharaja.
None of the reporting by NYT asks the fundamental question - how did we get here? Who is responsible for the violence? Why is the Indian government doing this - certainly not because they enjoy violence.
There are 180 million Muslims living in India. There is no army in the world who can oppress or control so many people.
India has a long history of living with Islam. But Pakistanis have forced India’s hand by sending terrorists across the border, leaving India with few options.
Where is NYT’s condemnation of Pakistani terrorism? The US State department officially recognized LeT, HuM, TiL as terrorist organizations operating from Pakistan.
There won’t be peace in Kashmir or in South Asia until the world condemns violence with one voice!
8
@GV
I am an Indian and I must answer to your question who is responsible did this situation? Indians only who over decades made Kashmiris feel disenfranchised by rigging elections, when they came out on streets Indians came down on them with brutal force and provided Pakistan troubled water to go fishing. This fascist government has created a monster which down the road will come to haunt it.
9
@RSB who rigged the election to install Shaikh Abdullah and Farooq Abdullah dynasty?
It’s not Indians. Indians gave them full freedom and they chose the Abdullah dynasty who pilfered Indian taxpayer money. Kashmir got more proportional tax money than anyone else. The current problems were not started by the current government. After 70 years, it’s time to change the dynamic in the Valley.
Where is the fascism you speak of? There are 180 million Muslims in India. There is no government in the world who can oppress those many people. Don’t throw words like fascism as Western media does. India is a mature and ancient civilization. They lived with diversity for 1000s of years. Kashmir is no different from rest of India. Kashmiris have to reject terrorism unequivocally.
8
@GV
Learn his history first as to who was Shaikh Abdullah and how he was friend of India and how BJP darling Shama Prasad Mukherjee pushed him to fear Indians because of agitation he started against land reforms of Shailkh Abdullah
3
I see the media bias now, it has taken a while to get here, being a moderate liberal myself. I used to hear the conservatives talk about liberal bias and I used to not see it. The liberal left has picked the most intolerant religion to coddle while going after other religions including the conservative ones in this country.
It seems to come from a place of well meaning arrogance, the ideal over the practical.
29
@John which ‘most intolerant’ religion do you speak of? Christianity? Hinduism? Judaism? Buddhism? ALL these drive people to oppress. All are intolerant when the extremists get their hands on.
8
@John It is hard to believe you this inaccurate view of Islam and that we live in the same city. How can you not see the difference between a religion and the people who use the religion for their own power?
How many Muslims vs Christian support locking and torturing 50,000 children in cages in the US? How many Christian vs Muslims in the called for the mass killing for people in Iraq. Neither Christ or Mohammed would condone such a inhuman acts.
You are one of the very few minorities in Boston who cant see this.
5
@John
Name the religions that the left are coddling and the ones they are going after.
Truly said- Trump & Modi are two sides of the same coin!!!
The only difference-One is insane & the other intelligent.Leave that to your imagination as to which is which! Haha!
What Modi has done to Kashmir is insane!
In today's day & time that people are dying because access to emergency health services are not reachable is criminal,to say the least.With this act,are the powers that be,who have created this situation,not akin to being murderers? Modi is firing up the rhetoric of a "Hindu nation" but on the other hand whipping up,justifiably so,anger at the injustice,in the people of Kashmir. Ofcourse this may manifest in retaliation where the common man will suffer,regretably. This is what gives rise to revolutions.That will be attributed to "collateral damage" in the eyes of the politicians to justify their actions.In their greed to open Kashmir to the industrialists of India,just like our Republicans,they have sold their souls to "the devil"!As the gap between the rich & poor deepens & widens rapidly,so do their pockets. Nothing is enough!
My heart goes out to the people of Kashmir.
The whole situation is sickening.
32
India is turning Kashmir into its very own Gaza Strip. The tragedy is how popular these inhumane policies are with mainland Indians. I thought we were better than this, but I see now that I was wrong.
65
@Vivek N. We are definitely better than this. Just a decade back, India had a Muslim president, Sikh Prime minister, leader of the largest ruling party a Muslim ruling over a largely Hindu country. BJP had to win the 2014 election not on plank of religion but development. Modi was careful to keep everything divisive out of election campaign, till he grabbed political power.
What has changed subsequently is the unprecedented control of information. Imagine a scenario in USA where Trump had established control over 90% of the media through coercion or business interests and all outlets are varying versions of Fox news ! To add to it is the echo chambers of social media which have been used very effectively by the ruling party. That's the predicament India is in. Even draconian decisions like demonetization which have inflicted great harm on a majority of Indians, have been consumed by them as something for a larger good ! Indians themselves are victims of this media control.
A counter explanation for this article is already popular in social media: 1) In any major protests of the last decades in the valley, much more have died due to disruption caused by the protests. So this while it looks cruel is a lesser evil. 2) A few hundred thousand Kashmiri Hindus were mercilessly driven out of the valley - their misery scarcely finds a mention even in the esteemed pages of NYT . Thousands more have died both civilians and armed - maybe something better will come out of this.
15
@Vivek N. Here are some of the other differences between Kashmir and "Palestine".
Over 10 years ago when Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza, it was turned into an armed enclave by Hamas. Tens of thousands of rockets have been launched toward southern Israel. Resources such as concrete have been redirected to attack tunnels. Hamas maintains the position of from river to sea for the future state of Palestine. In Judea and Samaria suicide bombings got so bad that a security wall had to be built to protect Israeli citizens from being killed on the morning commuter bus. Abbas was to serve a 4 year term as President. When were the last elections? He has made 10s of millions of dollars off the Palestinian people.
The difference between Kashmir and palestinians could not be further apart.
1
@Swapan First, a little correction about the Pandit story. We’re told nearly 300,000 were thrown out of the Valley. Official records, however, suggest different numbers. In March 2010, the state government informed the legislature that of the total number of 150,000 Pandits, 24,202 families migrated in January 1990. At five persons per family, that comes to 121,010 people. The number of Pandits killed between 1989 and 2004 is put at 219. Writing in The Spectator in January 1948, Horace Alexander says: “Hindus and Sikhs of the Jammu area … apparently with at least the tacit consent of state authorities, have driven many thousands of their Muslim neighbors from their homes”. Citing Mahatma Gandhi, he asserts “some two hundred thousand are … not accounted for”. Christopher Snedden, in Kashmir: The Unwritten History, estimates between 70,000 and 237,000 Muslims were killed. Arjun Appaduri and Arien Mack in India’s World believe 200,000 could have been killed and a further 500,000 displaced. Last year, the columnist Swaminathan Aiyar wrote: “In sheer scale this far exceeded the ethnic cleansing of Pandits five decades later”.
7
Change being brought about in Jammu and Kashmir of India is of a mammoth game changing variety. Previous governments in the center and the state had exploited the peculiar religious character of the state for their narrow selfish vote bank purpose. Both bled the state of its potential. The youth of the state were deliberately groomed to be stone pelters, strife mongers, and terror sympathisers. Narendra Modi's government, thus, had a gargantuan task on its hands. It's a challenge to transform the territory from regressive primitivism into vibrant modernism. It's not easy. The change can only be brought about by a nuanced operation that doesn't violate basic principles of democracy, and, at the same time, that can't allow the rowdy elements to take advantage of the state of transition. Certain sacrifices are inevitable. Some hardships have got to be endured. There is no other way. Earlier, some governments at the center with good intent were also loathe to attempt to bring the troubled state into the main stream being afraid of criticism such as the one contained in the article above. Narendra Modi and his Home Minister and BJP party chief, Amit Shah are men made of sterner stuff. These leaders are doers, not sermonisers. They can be trusted to do everything necessary to usher in normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir before long. Doubting Thomases and political axe grinders will have the time to eat their words very soon.
27
Is this what we told ourselves when Jagan was made the chief minister of AP, a state where you reside. The previous CM basically ticked all the things in your checklist - bringing vibrant modernism, dealing with a Herculean task. Yet, he was voted out. Didn’t the people of AP get a chance to vote him out.
Why can’t Kashmiris get the same rights. The right to say that what is happening to them is not correct. Democratic structures were very glibly destroyed in Kashmir and that is not ok.
9
India is ruled by a mass murderer in the guise of Hindu Nationalism. The North Indian Hindus don’t have any education or jobs or a future to look forward to but they are happy to murder the minorities without repercussions.
India is one of the worst suffering nation with climate change but the coal mafia in India is opening NEW coal plants like there is no tomorrow thus ensuring that tomorrow will be filled in blood from water wars. India has a youth bulge and needs to create 10 million NEW jobs but let’s bury all that with fake GDP numbers and fiscal deficit numbers while incompetent Yes Men run the finance department after chasing out competent people.
India is a tinderbox of youth waiting to explode and water wars will lead to civil war with millions of death. This is not the time to play language politics, Hindutva politics or anti-Muslim politics. The uneducated hindu fanatics are running the India train and they will not stop before the diverse country is burning with internal strife - hindu vs Muslim, Tamil vs Kannada water wars, upper caste vs lower caste, North Indian vs South Indian.
India’s survival is at stake with climate change and the need is JOBS JOBS AND JOBS but let us stoke Hindu nationalism against minorities. Shame on the supporters of a mass murderer.
30
@Thought Provoking Your comment is spot-on. Many in India supporting the move cannot see the forest for the trees. A tanking economy, atrocious environmental conditions that both rich and poor must live in, execrable education for a massive youth that will leave many unemployable - this is the future that is staring India in the face NOW. But most are happily oblivious to all this. All they see is a "strong", "bold" leader standing up for "their" (read: mostly North Indian Hindus) rights, "their" identity. They care about little else.
4
This is totally unacceptable. I urge fellow Indian Americans to take action. Write to Modi, advertise in Indians newspapers, to say that we are against such cruel treatment of Indian citizens. Inform Indians in India about this and other such articles, - most are unaware of what is being done in their name.
In 1971, some Pakistanis took brave stands against the violence perpetrated on East Pakistanis (soon to be Bangladeshis). What's happening in Kashmir is a test case, whether Indians and the Indian diaspora will stand up against the cruelty of the Indian government.
65
@Malone Unfortunately, Kashmir conflict is not black and white. There are hundred shades of grey and common people are suffering. Kashmir is a war zone because of armed rebellion and terrorism for several decades now. No country will accept it. Sadly, Indians see no other better alternative to curb rebellion. This article is only showing one side of the story but not mentioning about terror activities and exodus of Kashmir Pundits.
14
@Vidyesh
So your argument is that one wrong has to be corrected by another even bigger wrong. So what about muslims in other parts of India treated like third class citizens? What about beef ban and harassment of muslims to prove their citizenship? What about the Hindu nationalists who are also raising the Hindi language as ONE language issue?
Face it, India has been taken over by hindutva fascists and they won't stop until a diverse India is "UNITED" under one religion and one language. Unfortunately this will split the country rather than unite it.
14
@Malone What you seem to be unaware of is that India has the second largest muslim population in the world. They could have all migrated to Pakistan, but didnt. Why ? because they felt and have been correct in feeling that they were safer in India than in Pakistan. Bengalis of E. Pakistan realised that in 1971 and broke away. A large number of Kashmiris have indeed died over tghe last few decades, but if you were on the ground, you would have known that the terror and stone pelting was done on the instigation of Pakistan. Kashmiris feel that they should be free, but forget that Pakistan has tried again and again to capture Kashmir through war, and were effectively thwarted by India. A free Kashmir is not possible simply because it will never be able to defend itself from the Pakistan army. The very next day the the Pakistan army will march in, bagpipes and all. India cannot allow that. The country has sacrificed blood and treasure in protecting the Kashmiris from the rapacious Pakistanis, as the Bangladeshis realised they were. The Pakistanis had the strategy of inflicting "death by a thousand cuts" on India. We the billion plus Indians will never let them have their way.
6
What a travesty in the world’s largest “democracy”. Is anyone listening? When will this end? How can 1.2 billion people just sit around and watch the cruelty of Modi and his Hindu nationalist supporters? I know that Indians are very active on social media. Why isn’t there outrage about such incidents? India has lost her heart along with her sensibilities and decency.
96
How could the rest of the world stay quiet when Kashmiri Hindus were being killed and made to run away as refugees in their own country. Wake up - you may be too "woke".
23
@jen
Probably because Indians have experienced terrorism for close to 40 years now. The Mumbai attacks being among those attacks. In the US September 11th led to full scale wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The problem is not India or the US or even China, it is the feelings of a intolerant minority, to cleanse any other minorities within their midst (Kashmiri pundits) and to only want to be governed by a Islamic country under Sharia law.
25
@jen honestly I am feeling really bad and shamed as an Indian after seeing your comment , yes 1 billion people are doing nothing about the suffering of the Kashmiri's . Again yes I do believe that most of India has lost its heart as well because of this show man govt
34
It is time the Indian govt restores all services and freedom to move around. It is time Mr. Modi. You will lose international support eventually. I wish the article spoke how Pakistan is instigating violence day-in-day-out. Go and read Pakistan’s main newspapers. As long as that happens, Kashmir will be locked down. As in any conflict, if one side wants to induce violence, this will happen. Stop violence. And time to stop endless curfew.
21
@Dave Pakistan stoking violence? How can Pakistan do so by merely writing articles in Pakistani news outlets? How can ANY power control 8 million people across perhaps the most militarized border in the world to do their bidding? Yes, Pakistan has an interest in Kashmir but what's so wrong in that interest when, obviously, the Kashmir Muslims' interests align with Pakistan's?
9
Well, this is indeed a tragedy and my heart goes to this family.
Unfortunately, this commendable revocation of the infamous article to the constitution - is exacting toll on folks who probably had least to benefit from.
I don't know what the solution is.
I say that because pre revocation - things were impassable because of riots and disturbances.
So, something needs to be done to alleviate suffering before losing another young man to a wound that is entirely preventable.
2
How is this not an act of genocide? Death and cultural annihilation are not a side effect but intentional. The only possible result of cutting a people off from cell, internet, medical services, and more is intended death. If one tries to access any services or request change, they are arrested. We’ve all seen this before. The pattern is clear.
8
I feel badly for the people affected but the terrorists amongst them have been wreaking havoc on Indian psyche and sense of security for over 30 years. The US killed more civilians in Iraq then Indian army did and terrorists based in Pakistan some of the Kashmiris have been brainwashed to support have killed even more Indians.
Do you call US occupation of Iraq or Afghanistan a genocide?
1
I was born and raised in India and approved of the initial lockdown, but it's time to end it.
India is not China (ref. Xinjiang), Egypt, Saudi Arabia, etc.
The authorities have had 2 months to prepare, and that should be good enough. There will be terrorist activity - this much is known. There have been multiple attempts to cross the LOC from the Pakistan-controlled side, and inevitably some of these would have been successful.
Similarly, a few caches and drops of automatic rifles and grenades have been intercepted, but not all, and there will be more.
Now the game begins - Pakistan will attempt to continually ratchet up the violence so as to draw a response from the police and security services, and through that, international concern and criticism.
The Indians must not be drawn into this trap - fortunately we have civilian control of the military. Oversight must be robust, and orders must be crystal-clear. Punishment of the slightest transgressions by the police/security forces must be swift and ruthless.
Estimates of "hard-core" elements and their Pakistani ISI (or ISI trained) handlers are ~250-800. An all-out intelligence effort will be needed to capture them. Most important, the weapons caches (including plastic explosives) must be found. Stone-pelting can be managed, AK-47 fire is quite another thing.
The Pakistanis have been taught well - they began learning counter-insurgency (and hence insurgency) and the dark arts in the '50s by the US after all.
5
Modi government is a right wing government, just like Trump's government is in US. The right wing violence against minorities of India is not a new thing. It's been happening for many decades in India.
Indians also tend to justify the blockade of Kashmir by using the Pakistan-terrorism card. Nothing justifies the man-made tragedy unfolding in India.
As an Indian myself, I urge the world leaders and UN to issue a strong rebuke of Modi government. Boycotts and sanctions against India are warranted if this situation continues further.
8
It’s not as though the Indian government was not patient for terrorists to renounce violence. When will the cycle of violence end? A strong action is required at some point!
2
Aside from the crackdown by India on Kashmir, people who live in some parts of the US face similar struggles with medical care. They have no internet, poor phone service, no local hospitals and no health insurance. What is our excuse?
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@S.L. Don't worry--Trump said he is working on getting completely rid of Obama care and replacing it with something amazing, perfect, termendous.
BJP which was the BJS in 1952 is not doing anything that Indian religious ethnic organization RSS did not plan fro 70 years ago.
In 1952, the BJS’s founder and president announced his commitment to full annexation of J&K. "Part of India is today in the occupation of the enemy," declared Syama Prasad Mukherjee. "Is there any possibility of our getting back this territory? We shall not get it through the efforts of the United Nations: we shall not get it through peaceful methods, by negotiations with Pakistan. That means we lose it, unless we use force…. I am a communalist, I am a reactionary, I am a war-monger."
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And what would happen in the U.S. if the young man or his parents didn’t have enough money to Pay?
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Kashmir indeed was a trouble spot for a long time, but what has been done by Modi and his government is not correct. General public should never be inconvenienced. Modi and RSS are a mirror image of Islamic fundamentalists. In the long run, Modi and his Government would be doing immense damage to the reputation of India and Hindu religion (not Hindutva which is a rabid and corrupted version of Hindu religion).
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A very painful end of the story, can we help avoid such tales appearing again and again.
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My wife and daughter were on a 3 day visit to SRINAGAR on invitation of a Muslim friend
Will like to share their personal experience about the situation
The air tkts were booked a month before the Govt revoked 370
The flight was full both
Ways though 25% travellers were army men
By and large there is no restrictive movement for common people
Even on Friday there were lot of people and vehicles on roads
They could enjoy Shikara ride in Dal,went to all imp tourist places in Srinagar, went to Gulmarg,went for late evening dinner in a local restaurant
Army men were friendly with local people and were found paying for food etc
The main resentment against Govt is non availability of Telephone and internet services.
They went to a village and had a good interaction with women of a self help group,who did not complain about non availability of food etc
They also saw the palatial houses of main stream politicians,locals don’t have much respect for anu politician as all exploited and looted Kashmiris
The shops and schools are not being allowed to be opened by extremists/ separatists
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@Dr Rakesh. Do you mean the boy never died at first place and army helping kashmiris. Oh give me a break
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This is unbearably heart breaking.
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Very sad situation in Kashmir. It has become like a large prison with no access to health or communications. The world is completely ignoring the biggest disaster of the world peace and human rights in the world. This is ultimately going to boil and create an even complicated crisis. Unfortunately Modi and his nationalist base is glorifying Hinduyata and crushing all the minorities in India.
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In the Orwellian double-speak of the Indian government and its rabid-right media vassals, the situation in Kashmir is: 1) back to being "normal", and; 2) has been effected for the good of the Kashmiri people, who are largely supportive of the move. This narrative is clearly false and the Indian government seems clueless about what to do next.
The longer the brutal repression of 7 million Kashmiri people goes on, the more tarnished will be the reputation of India as a responsible and mature global "soft-power". Meanwhile, in Pakistan PM Imran Khan is disavowing any use of violence by Pakistani based militants and is warning of the dangers of confrontation between India and Pakistan.
Because of how the two countries are behaving, the reputational balance of power, which used to be heavily weighted in India's favor, is beginning to shift. This is something no Pakistani leader has been able to accomplish. Thanks Modi and Howdy from Pakistan!!
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It is shameful and profoundly immoral for Indian Americans to attempt to justify what is going on in Kashmir. Whether or not the political ends are reasonable, the ends do not justify the means. Those who disagree with Modi and his Hindutva RSS should be brave and speak up.
People smarter than me have made the parallel with Palestine, and it is no secret that Israel has been advising (and selling weapons to) the Indian government.
The difference is that unlike Palestine, Pakistan has nuclear weapons. Sadly, the game is not over, it has just started.
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@Baddy Khan Here are some of the other differences between Kashmir and "Palestine".
Over 10 years ago when Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza, it was turned into an armed enclave by Hamas. Tens of thousands of rockets have been launched toward southern Israel. Resources such as concrete have been redirected to attack tunnels. Hamas maintains the position of from river to sea for the future state of Palestine. In Judea and Samaria suicide bombings got so bad that a security wall had to be built to protect Israeli citizens from being killed on the morning commuter bus. Abbas was to serve a 4 year term as President. When were the last elections? He has made 10s of millions of dollars off the Palestinian people.
The difference between Kashmir and palestinians could not be further apart.
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@Baddy Khan
For a Pakistan sympathizer to castigate India's actions in Kashmir is worse than a pot calling a kettle black. Pakistan has ethnically cleansed all minorities, even non-mainstream Muslin sects like the Ahmadis, not to mention non-Muslims. It has a blasphemy law that is framed meticulously to persecute the minority. It killed 3 million Bangladeshis in 1971, raped 300,000 Bangladeshi women and are now unleashing unimaginable terror in Baluchistan. Nobody wants to see repression anywhere, including Kashmir, but for a Pakistan sympathizer to speak on this issue makes it laughable.
The hypocrisy is that China is far less hospitable to Muslims. Uighurs are interned in concentration camps and rumor has it that they cannot have Muslim sounding names, or fast during Ramadan, or wear beards and are perhaps even be forced to eat pork and drink alcohol. Chinese re-education schools are supposedly intended to wean Muslims away from Islam. Yet, one will never hear a word from any Pakistani denouncing this. Could it be because Pakistan's so-called nuclear weapons are of Chinese origin and Pakistan is a Chinese vassal state that depends on its master for its very survival?
The nuclear saber rattling is irresponsible. This is why Pakistan is clubbed with North Korea. Pakistanis who indulge in this behavior seldom realize that in the event of an all-out nuclear war, Pakistan, with no geographical depth, will be first nation that will cease to exist!
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@BS The difference between Palestine and Kashmir is that Palestine was never Israel's, but Kashmir - all of it, including the Pakistan and Chinese occupied Kashmir - had always been India's since its voluntary accession. FYI: There were non-Muslim Kashmir inhabitants at one time, known as "Pandits" who can no longer inhabit Kashmir. They were ethnically cleansed, killed, raped and driven out of their homes by their majority Muslim neighbors. Has that ever happened in Palestine?
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Situation is never black and white, with Pakistan and China lurking in the background trying to capitalize on any weakness/ concession shown by India in this important geography.
Having said that, I fear Kashmir turning into Gaza Strip and what that does to the secular fabric of India, which is real and something to hold on to.
Additionally, I am amazed how 1 Billion+ Indians including the diaspora, the newspapers have all become cheerleaders for Modi without any critical thought/ independent thinking.
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@MS you may think, india is still secular. But it is just the constitution still secular. I had a kashmiri friend in school who told me, on the ground level, they neither want to be india nor pakistan. It was the muftis and abdullahs who pleased them on the ground to be part of India as 370 gave them an illusion of freedom. Now, I am afraid to say, the call for freedom will be loud and clear. Either, it is going to be sri lanka type operation leading to big blood bath going to stop this or both india and pakistan giving the kashmiris the freedom they want. Yes, his bhakts and the strong media houses have become cheerleaders of Modi and his Sena. No criticism is welcomed on their part (even in the bhakt level). Small example. During Nirbaya case, Manmohan government gave the citizens the fundamental right to demonstrate. When the same citizens went to demo against Chinmayanand, they were thrashed with their police machines. When Anna Hazare started agitation against lokpal, the entire media gave him air time. When he tried to start 2.0, no media house gave him air time. The list can go on.
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Totally unacceptable that restrictions are leading to denial of healthcare and thus right of life. What can be more tragic than this is happening in the worlds largest democracy. The apologists of the regime inside USA benefit from the civil liberties and freedom of the great nation, but same time condone the military operations in Kashmir. This is akin to recreating aparthiad.
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This is another sample of how easy it is to ignore or inflict - massive suffering on powerless "others" knowing that most of your population is focused on it's own needs.
The US always struggled with a role in pushing other nations to honor human rights, with actions not always reflecting ideals. But under Trump, there isn't any ground left for leadership.
India has struggled with monumental problems, on the scale of China, with successes, but resolving religious conflicts - and protecting human rights, regardless of ethnicity, religion or gender is hardly among them.
The standard Holocaust message is Never Again. Yet similar outrages - depriving peoples of their basic civil rights, then starving or attacking them, and ignoring all other needs -- are going on and on around the world. This iis an outrageous example: India has declared war on the inhabitants of it's own territories.
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Wow. Heartbreaking. Thank you, had no idea that India was doing this.
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This is a KASHMIRI'S views on this. After reading this, the only thing I want to ask the so-called world leaders and the so-called civilised people of this world is that what if your loved ones are completely cut off from you for more than 60 days ? TBH we Kashmiris had hoped that Europeans and Americans would be marching against such an inhumane step that Modi took against the will of Kashmiris. Everyday I would watch the news for hours just to see people standing up for Human rights and for Kashmir's right to self determination but there was nothing. As I always say,"Life without freedom is empty, Humans without compassion are empty and a world without justice is detrimental" Also as a Kashmiri and on behalf of all Kashmiris, I request everyone reading this to come out in support of the rights of the Kashmiris and their right to self determination. We just want to live a free life.
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@Roohan Kashmiri Where are the non-Sunni Kashmiris? Oh yeah, Sunnis have ethnically cleansed most of them.
In 1990s, one of the many threats blaring from mosque loudspeakers, to the aborignal Pandit Kashmiris was "Ralive, Tsaliv ya Galive" (meaning, convert, flee or perish).
Other threats include, "We will build caliphate here using your [Pandit] women after getting rid of you [Pandits]", and slogans like "What will prevail here? Nizam-e-mustafa". These are documented facts.
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A democracy can quickly turn into tyranny of majority unless there are checks that give certain rights to minorities. We are witnessing tyranny of majority in India. A very popular government turning against its own people, who don’t have enough voting power. Thanks to Pakistan, which supported terrorism as an extension of state power, causing a massive exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from Kashmir, the legitimate struggle of Kashmiri people has been infiltrated by terror groups and is perceived as such. The voice of the struggle of Kashmiris has been drowned out.
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@Ravi Srivastava Rightly said. Kashmiris are blamed for the exodus, when in reality it was pakistan which caused it. Pandits could find a safe exit, probably because he had the means whereas the Kashmiris are still suffering. On top of it, this new struggle which is beyond their patience now.
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Modi paid homage to Ghandi recently on his 150th birth anniversary.
Perhaps he needs to apply Ghandi's principles more broadly.
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@Jeff Caspari Not more broadly. He needs to BEGIN. What he portrays to the world, he's the opposite at home.
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India and Israel are doing the same to territories under their “control” In order to maintain their firm grasp, Israel has been killing Palestinians, and ransacking their land. India has absolute power over the lives of Kashmiri Muslims and their territory. Being enemy of Muslims, Trump doesn’t act to enforce human rights, in either of those places. It seems that the United States of America has been focused on disrupting China, infiltrating Hong Kong. The USA obviously believes the gains will be bigger disrupting China’s advance. Trump’s son in law has been amassing billions in the illegal construction of new developments in the West Bank. In the meantime the USA Congress appears entirely uninterested in Trump’s son in law dealings in the Middle East.
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This article and the situation discussed in Kashmir is horrifying in its own right and deserves to be discussed in its individual complexity. The fact that you and others must bring Israel into every conversation, no matter the topic, is the anti-semitism that people speak of around the topic of the state. The Israeli Palestinian conflict is complex, with many causes and factors and few simple solutions. Wholly one-sided perspectives aren’t helpful in working toward a solution as so many are.
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@RBR
Over 10 years ago when Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza, it was turned into an armed enclave by Hamas. Tens of thousands of rockets have been launched toward southern Israel. Resources such as concrete have been redirected to attack tunnels. Hamas maintains the position of from river to sea for the future state of Palestine. In Judea and Samaria suicide bombings got so bad that a security wall had to be built to protect Israeli citizens from being killed on the morning commuter bus. Abbas was to serve a 4 year term as President. When were the last elections? He has made 10s of millions of dollars off the Palestinian people.
The difference between Kashmir and palestinians could not be further apart.
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@Emily israel IS THE MODEL and the mentor for India. Actual consultations.
There is no human rights advocacy in the White House any more. With a transactionalist President, its all about money and India is a market. America sells its values for short term advantage (if at all). Sickening to see these tragedies happen because the powerful couldn't care less.
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@There/Theree Asserting our values doesn't cost us anything.
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This is a sad moment. But there is huge discrepancy in the reporting about Kashmir. Early warnings signs are always called juvenile. Most of us are not sure what is true anymore.
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Statistics: Around 10,000 people die of snake bites all over India.
There is no curfew, but a restriction called Section 144 (which outlaws gathering of crowds), and that too only in volatile areas.
Terrorists do not want normalcy and have been threatening and killing people who dare to open their shops and conduct normal day to day business.
The Islamists in Kashmir, under the pretext of autonomy (which prevented liberal national laws eg rights to information, education, equal rights for all including religious and ethnic minorities, women, LGBTQIA+ etc from applying in Kashmir), misused the Sunni majority to maintain and spread an odious illiberal Sunni majoritarianism that is antithetical to any modern liberal democratic society.
No modern society can or should allow a virulent subset of it to demand impunity, and exemption from liberal laws protecting basic rights/equality of citizens.
Autonomy is admissible only to the extent that it is consistent with modern liberal democratic principles. In Sunni majoritarian Kashmir, it was absolutely not so.
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Excellent apology. Reminds me of the Brits during the colonial era. Go Team Occupation!!
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@LambdaCube my family has been subject of Indian atrocities there was no democracy in Kashmir always blamed Pakistan for it I have been wittiness to Indian election in Kashmir the army came and banged every ones door and took people at gun point to vote my family was put in jail in 50s only for not agreeing to agree to Indian narrative India has blocked their news for ages this is why the world does not know what is going on in India every state has issues nuns have been burnt alive for the fear of spreading their faith I hope and pray the world sees the real India
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@MR Wrong analogy. Colonianlism consisted of a setup based solely on the extraction and loot of wealth and resources from the colonies to the colonizer.
It is cearly not so in case of J&K&L.
False victimhood is the refuge of one who cannot refute facts in the original comment.
Indeed, the colonialism the nearby region is suffering, is from Sunni Punjab that has been extracting resources from Gilgit-Baltistan, Mirpur-Muzzaferabad areas under its occupation, as it is doing in other areas under Punjabi rule eg Balochistan. Punjab was doing the same to Bengal between 1947 and 1971.
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