OCTOBER 27 was observed in Pakistan, Azad Jammu Kashmir, Indian Occupied Kashmir and by the Kashmiri Diaspora across the world as “Black Day” since this the day, Indian troops illegally occupied the Valley of Kashmir, commenced their massacre of the predominantly Muslim population of Kashmir and tried to change the demographic dispensation of the Valley. The Indian Independence Act as well as the Partition Plan of 1947 for the Indian Subcontinent had declared that accession of the princely states with Hindu rulers but Muslim subjects or Muslim Rulers with Hindu subjects, would be decided by the people of the state. The Indians trampled this principle under the boots of their military. They forcibly occupied Hyderabad, Junagadh and Kashmir three princely states, to which the principle of accession was to be applied. Indian government made Maharaja Hari Singh sign the letter of accession to India at the point of a bayonet.The accession was totally illegitimate because the Hindu Ruler did not have the authority to sign away the future of the Kashmiris who were predominantly Muslim; moreover the accession was obtained under coercion. Many neutral observers opine that such a letter never even existed. Pakistan tried to upset the balance by sending its troops to help the Kashmiris get liberated. Pakistan and India went to war over Kashmir. Seeing the ill-equipped Pakistani forces advance towards Srinagar, India cried foul and approached the United Nations, who instituted a cease fire. After deliberations, the UN declared Kashmir as a disputed territory and passed Resolutions calling for the people of Kashmir to decide their own fate, whether they would opt to join Pakistan or India through a UN sponsored plebiscite. India’s prime minister then was Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru, himself a Kashmiri, who not only accepted the UN Resolutions but promised to implement them at the earliest. However, he was speaking with a forked tongue since he not only reneged on his promise but went to the extent of constitutionally declaring Kashmir as an integral part of India.
This act is not only illegal but illegitimate, since it is in direct contravention of the UN Resolutions. Pakistan and India went to war twice more in 1965 and 1971, but the fate of the Kashmiris did not change and they continued to be suppressed under Indian rule. In 1989, Kashmiris arose enmasse in a freedom struggle, to throw away the yoke of Indian tyranny and slavery. India retaliated by sending over seven hundred thousand troops to crush the just struggle. Over one hundred thousand Kashmiris embraced shahadat, Kashmiri women were raped, their houses and shops were looted and thousands were incarcerated. India tried to hoodwink the world by labelling the freedom struggle as an act of terrorism and falsely implicating Pakistan as harbouring, training and arming the Kashmiris. Unfortunately the Kashmiris are no nearer the end of their struggle than they were in 1989. Having sacrificed thousands of precious lives, they still yearn to see the fruition of their dreams but even the world is becoming oblivious to their plight. What the world needs to recognize that Kashmir is the main bone of contention between India and Pakistan, who since 1998 have declared themselves as nuclear weapons capable states. Kashmir is a flashpoint, which is on a short fuse which could erupt into a nuclear war, engulfing not only the region but devastating the whole world.
President Obama, in his prescience had recognized this acute threat during his presidential election campaign and promised to help resolve the crisis. However, after taking oath of presidency, Indian lobbyists and propaganda machinery have made him forget his promise. He will be visiting India on November 5th and if he is truly a man of conscience, he owes it to Kashmiris, nay the whole world to save the Kashmiris from their dark and dank life of slavery as well as avert the danger of world annihilation. Mr. Obama can spare a thought for Tibet, which is not even a real issue, but he chooses to be oblivious of the Kashmir issue. The Daily Mail urges the US President to keep his word on Kashmir, since by resolving it, he would also expedite the process of the return of peace in Afghanistan too, besides the Indo-Pak Subcontinent – Dailymailnews
