1 week Ago By Dr Muhammad Khan
Sequel to its illegal act of undoing the special status of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) on August 5, 2019, India imposed Civil Services Decentralization and Recruitment Act (Act No.XVI of 2010) in April 2020. As per this Indian Act, ‘any person who has resided in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) for certain duration would be able to get domicile of the state.
As defined by Jammu and Kash-mir Civil Services (Decentralization and Recruitment) Act, a domiciled person is one, “who has resided for a period of 15 years in the territory or has studied for a period of seven years and appeared in class 10 or 12 examinations” in the educational institutions situation in IIOJK. Later in October 2020, through another amendment, India allowed non Kashmiris to buy the land of IIOJK. Through these unacceptable and illegal amendments, land of IIOJK has been kept for sale, increasing the sufferance of Kash-miri masses especially poor and smaller land owners.
Despite Indian oppression, the people of IIOJK are constantly resisting these laws and demographic changes being made there. As per available data more than 4.5 million non-Kashmiri Hindus have been given Kashmiri domiciles from April 2020 to April 2025.
This is worst form of exploita-tion and human rights violation of Kashmiris by India. Indian Government is settling millions of non-Kashmiri Hin-dus in IIOJK for changing the demography of the state. Besides, Indian authorities have started diluting Kashmiri identity; the culture and civilization through various means.
In the wordings of Professor Dr SaibaVarma, “Given the history of Indian state intervention in occupied Kashmir, there are efforts to destroy the local, distinctive cultural identity of Kashmiris and forcibly assimilate Kashmiri Mus-lims into a Hindu, Indian polity.” Professor Dr Saiba Varma is professor of cultural and medical anthropology at the University of California, San Diego. India is using four methods for making demographic changes in IIOJK.
One: establishment of Sanik colonies in various parts of the IIOJK where retired officers and soldiers of Indian Army and its paramilitary forces are being settled. These officers and soldiers and their children from various parts of India are being issued with Kashmiri domicile based on their service in IIOJK. Two: 17000 kanals of land was allotted for mak-ing fortified colonies for the Kashmiri Pandits who were forced by Indian Army and Governor Jagmohan in the 1990s to migrate to India so that Muslim Kashmiris can be punished with clarity and total impunity.
According to Mr Mohammad Yusuf Taing, immediately after appointment of Governor Jagmohan on the night of January 19, 1990, there was a mass evacuation of the Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley to Jammu and various Indian States. Once Pan-dits left the Valley in huge numbers, the Indian army undertook the shameful Gawkadal massacre of the Kashmiri Muslims. The Gawkadal massacre was named after the Gawkadal Bridge in Srinagar, where on January 21, 1990, the Indian Army and paramilitary troops massacred over 54 peaceful Kashmiri protesters and wounded over 300.
This killing by Indian Army has been described as “the worst massacre in Kashmiri history”, through the use of brutal force. Three; the Hindus who migrated from West Pakistan in 1947 are being settled in various parts of the Valley. These Hindus have been residing in Jammu since then.
Despite being non Kashmiris, they are rehabilitated in the Valley to change the demography of the state. Four: Over 800 kanals of Kashmiri land on the north of Srinagar has already been allotted for Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board. This forest land is meant to settle the Hindu population from various parts of India.
In the garb of Hindu shrine, this all is meant for the demographic changes in the valley, which have over 95% Muslim population. The indirect strategy of occupation through demographic changes in IIOJ&K has always been on the agenda of Indian State which was gradually executed by successive governments starting from Nehru. It is just a matter of time that the BJP is rul-ing the India.
The world has not reacted to what India has done to Kashmiris in last the three decades, starting from 1990. There have massive human rights violations in IIOJ&;K at the hands of Indian Army and its paramilitary forces. Unfortu-nately, there was no tangible global response from international community against Indian atrocities in IIOJ&;K.
Kashmiris expected from international community that illegal Indian acts of relegating their state to union territories and amendments in domicile laws will be resented by UN, EU, OIC and major powers. But nothing really happened after India introduced Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act-2019 and Civil Services Decentralization and Re-cruitment Act (Act No.XVI of 2010) in April 2020.
— The writer is Professor of Politics and IR at International Islamic University,Islamabad.( [email protected] ).
