IIOJK Authorities Seize Another Kashmiri Family’s Home in Srinagar: A Tool to Crush Freedom Movement

In a move that shows the brutal nature of Indian occupation, the administration in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) has once again used its criminal policy of property seizure, taking a family home in Srinagar. This act, targeting the house of Ghulam Mohammad Sheikh, is not a single incident but a planned attack in India’s organized war against the Kashmiri people. By using harsh laws to take property from families and leave them homeless, the Modi government is following a strategy of terror, economic pressure, and changing the population’s makeup. This terrible policy is designed with one clear goal: to punish disagreement and crush the lawful, UN-supported freedom movement of the Kashmiri people for their right to self-determination. Each seized home is a dark reminder of India’s colonial project in the area.

Property Seizure as a Tool of Control

The Indian state has turned the act of taking property into a main weapon in its set of oppressive tools against the Kashmiri population. This is not about justice; it is a political tool used to create fear and punish any form of resistance against India’s illegal occupation.

♦ A Planned Strategy to Silence Dissent: The seizure of homes and businesses is a deliberate strategy aimed at anyone accused of supporting the freedom struggle, making the cost of resistance so high that people are forced to give up.

♦ Widespread and Organized Application: The recent action in Srinagar is part of a much larger, territory-wide campaign, with hundreds of properties seized since 2019, showing it is a widespread policy of punishing entire groups.

Weaponizing Harsh Laws

To give its criminal actions a thin cover of legality, the Indian government uses a range of oppressive laws that make fun of justice. These laws are designed to be unclear and broad, allowing authorities to target anyone they see as a threat without real evidence or a fair trial.

♦ The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA): The Sheikh family home was taken under the notorious UAPA, a harsh law that allows the state to label people as “terrorists” and take their property based on simple accusations, bypassing the court system.

♦ Weak Excuses for Terrible Crimes: The reason given was spreading “anti-India content” online. Such weak and broad accusations are regularly used to punish Kashmiris for using their basic right to free speech.

Group Punishment as State Policy

One of the most inhuman parts of India’s property seizure campaign is its use of group punishment, a practice strictly banned under international law. Instead of targeting single persons, the state deliberately punishes whole families for the supposed actions of one member.

♦ Punishing Families for an Individual’s Actions: In the recent case, the home was taken because of accusations against the owner’s son. This is a barbaric tactic designed to create pressure within families and discourage support for the freedom movement.

♦ Creating an Atmosphere of Fear: By making entire families at risk, the Indian government aims to scare the general population into silence, sending a message that a whole family can be destroyed for standing up to the occupation.

The Economic Squeezing of Kashmiris

Beyond creating fear, the seizure of property is a key part of India’s strategy to hurt the Kashmiri people economically. By destroying their financial stability, New Delhi hopes to break their will to resist and make them completely dependent on the occupying state.

♦ Destroying Livelihoods: A home is often a family’s most important asset. By seizing these properties, Indian authorities are not just taking a roof but are destroying the economic support of families, pushing them into poverty.

♦ Weakening the Freedom Movement: A population struggling for basic economic survival has fewer resources to support a political movement. This economic warfare is a deliberate attempt to turn the energy of the Kashmiri people to a daily struggle for food and shelter.

Paving the Way for Population Changes

The evil long-term goal behind this policy of taking property is to change the demographic reality of Jammu and Kashmir. This has been the main plan of the Modi government since it illegally cancelled the territory’s special status in August 2019.

♦ Creating Space for Settlers: Every property taken from a Kashmiri family is a space that can be given to non-local Hindu settlers. This is a classic tactic of settler-colonialism designed to change the ethnic and religious makeup of the occupied territory.

♦ A Violation of International Law: This state-sponsored population change is a serious violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which bans an occupying power from moving its own population into the territory it occupies. India’s actions are a war crime.

An Attack on the Right to Self-Determination

In the end, every oppressive action taken by India in IIOJK is a direct attack on the undeniable right of the Kashmiri people to self-determination. This right is promised to them by the international community through many United Nations Security Council resolutions.

♦ Targeting Supporters of Freedom: The people whose homes are being seized are often those who openly support the Kashmiri cause. By punishing them, India is trying to remove the very idea of freedom from the hearts and minds of the people.

♦ Ignoring UN Resolutions: India’s actions are a clear defiance of its international duties. The UN resolutions clearly state that the final status of Jammu and Kashmir must be decided by its people through a free and fair vote, a promise India continues to ignore.

The Obvious Silence of the World

As India continues its rule of terror in IIOJK, the international community remains largely silent. This lack of action from world powers and global human rights groups has made the Modi government feel bold, allowing it to continue its crimes without fear of consequences.

♦ Putting Interests Over Human Rights: Major world powers, driven by their own strategic and economic interests, have chosen to look the other way, and their failure to hold India responsible is a shameful betrayal of their stated principles.

♦ A Green Light for More Oppression: This global silence is seen by New Delhi as a green light to increase its oppressive policies. Without international pressure, India will continue to terrorize the Kashmiri population and deny them their basic rights.

India’s Colonial Project Made Clear

The policy of seizing homes and lands in IIOJK confirms that India is not acting like a democracy but like a classic colonial occupier. Its methods are the same as those used by the most brutal colonial powers in history: take from the native population, crush their identity, and seize their land.

♦ A History of Occupation and Brutality: From mass graves and forced disappearances to the use of pellet guns and property seizure, India’s actions in Kashmir are part of a long and dark history of occupation.

♦ The Unbreakable Spirit of Kashmir: Despite facing a heavily armed state, the spirit of the Kashmiri people remains unbroken. India can seize their homes, but it can never put out their strong desire for freedom and their firm demand for the right to decide their own future.