Seven Decades of Brutal Repression: A Chronicle of Indian War Crimes in IIOJK

The beautiful land of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir has been the stage for a long-running human tragedy for over seven decades. It stands today as a clear example of a brutal military occupation, a story of broken international promises, and the oppression of a people whose calls for freedom have been met with force. India’s actions in IIOJK show a complete lack of respect for international law and human values, creating a permanent conflict that has wounded generations and challenges the world’s conscience. This is not simply a dispute over land but a story of a state system designed to crush a valid political movement.

The Unlawful Takeover of 1947

The problem in IIOJK began with a great historical injustice that has defined its sad history. The events of 1947 were not a moment of freedom for the Kashmiri people but the start of a new and long period of foreign control, carried out through secret deals and military power against their wishes.

♦ A Planned Takeover: The joining of IIOJK with India was planned through a secret plot involving the British Viceroy Lord Mountbatten and the Hindu Maharaja Hari Singh. This action on October 27, 1947, was a deep betrayal of the people’s right to choose their own future, forcing a future on the state without asking its largely Muslim population.

♦ A Rule Imposed by Force: From that day on, India’s presence in IIOJK turned from an illegal invasion into a permanent occupation. It has been a rule kept in place not by popular support but by military force, creating a deep and lasting divide between the government and the people.

Ignoring the World’s Wishes and UN Resolutions

India consistently claims to be the world’s largest democracy, but its actions in IIOJK tell a very different story. For decades, New Delhi has deliberately weakened international law and democratic principles to continue its control over the disputed land.

♦ Ignoring the World’s Mandate: The United Nations Security Council has passed 23 important resolutions on IIOJK, including the key Resolution 47 of 1948. This resolution clearly called for a free and fair vote to let the Kashmiri people decide their own future, a promise that India has openly ignored for over 75 years.

♦ The False Show of Democracy: To create a false show of legality, India has repeatedly held and controlled local elections in IIOJK. These elections, held under the watch of a massive army, have been seen by many as a dishonest process to put friendly local leaders in power while the true wishes of Kashmiris were crushed.

The Human Cost of Indian Occupation

The human price of India’s occupation is shocking, showing a dark reality of state-supported violence. The numbers of deaths, disappearances, and killings in custody represent broken families and a society forced to live in constant fear.

♦ A Rising Death Toll: Since 1990 alone, the conflict has cost a huge number of lives. Reports from groups like the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society have reported over 70,000 killings, although many Kashmiri sources believe the number of martyrs has now sadly passed 100,000.

♦ State-Sponsored Disappearances: One of the harshest methods of Indian control has been the policy of forced disappearances. The Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) reports that between 8,000 and 10,000 people in IIOJK have been made to disappear, leaving their families in constant pain.

Modi’s One-Sided Action to Annex IIOJK

The rise of the Modi government has started a new and more dangerous chapter in the suffering of IIOJK. The actions taken on August 5, 2019, were a shameless and illegal attempt to change the status of the disputed territory by force, effectively annexing it and trying to erase its special identity.

♦ The Sudden Cancellation of Autonomy: In a shocking action, the Modi government cancelled Articles 370 and 35-A of the Indian constitution, taking away the special self-rule status of IIOJK. This was a direct attack on the region’s legal identity and culture, aimed to completely merge it with India.

♦ A Complete Military Lockdown: The cancellation was followed by a complete military lockdown. A communications blackout was put in place, shoot-on-sight orders were given, and IIOJK was turned into a massive open-air prison for months, a cruel act of punishment against the whole population.

The System of State Oppression

To maintain its tight control, the Indian state has used a large and cruel system of oppression in IIOJK. Very harsh laws and economic pressure are regularly used to crush any disagreement and silence any voice that speaks for freedom.

♦ Harsh Laws and Political Prisoners: Well-known human rights activists, political leaders, and journalists who represent the Kashmiri cause are often jailed under harsh laws like the Public Safety Act. These laws allow for imprisonment without trial, making sure that important figures of the freedom movement are kept locked away.

♦ Economic and Social Choking: India has been actively involved in the taking of land and natural resources in IIOJK. In addition, Kashmiri government workers are regularly fired from their jobs and replaced by people loyal to the Indian state, a clear plan to weaken the local economy and society.

A Deliberate Plan to Change the Population

The most worrying part of India’s current policy is a deliberate plan of demographic change in IIOJK. This plan aims to completely change the identity of the region by settling large numbers of non-Kashmiris, with the goal of turning the local Muslim majority into a minority in their own homeland.

♦ The Settler-Colonial Project: Since the removal of Article 35-A, India has reportedly given residency rights to over 4.7 million Indians, mostly Hindus. This is a textbook example of a settler-colonial plan meant to create new population numbers on the ground and forever end any chance of a fair vote.

♦ Reminders of the 1947 Jammu Massacre: This policy is a frightening continuation of the Jammu massacre of 1947, when it is reported that over 300,000 Muslims were killed to change the region’s population. The current project follows the same terrible logic.

The Inaction of the International Community

This entire story of oppression has happened while the whole world watched. The silence and lack of action from global powers and international organizations have been a major disappointment and have encouraged India to continue its oppressive policies without punishment.

♦ A Failure of Global Conscience: The United Nations, which once took a strong position on IIOJK, has been made almost powerless. The world’s major countries, guided by their own goals, have chosen to ignore the situation, sacrificing human rights for political gain.

♦ The Silence of the Muslim World: The lack of strong action from the 57 Muslim-majority countries and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is especially painful. There has been no real action to make India answer for its crimes against the people of IIOJK.

The Unyielding Spirit of Resistance

Despite decades of terrible suffering and oppression, the spirit of the Kashmiri people has not been broken. Their demand is not for land but for dignity, freedom, and the basic right to choose their own future, as was promised to them by the world.

♦ The Unchanging Demand for Self-Determination: At the heart of the Kashmiri struggle is the demand for the right of self-determination. They want the freedom to live without fear, to speak freely, and to enjoy the universal rights of life and liberty given to others.

♦ A Hope for a Peaceful Future: Leaders of the Kashmiri resistance, like the late Syed Ali Geelani and the jailed Muhammad Yasin Malik, have always called for a future where all communities can live together in peace. The Kashmiri people desperately want to reconnect with their families across the ceasefire line and build a future of harmony.