Kashmir, An Unending Story of Resistance

The story of resistance in the Indian Occupied Kashmir has seen many phases. As is labeled, though inappropriately, the struggle entered into an armed resistance in the decade of 1990. Indigenous Kashmiris filled with zest and zeal underwent guerrilla training and fought tooth and nail against the Indian Occupational forces. It was at that time when young Kashmiri Kids would hold March past Parades on the roads of Srinagar on 23^rd March or 14^th August clearly depicting that their affiliation and bond with Pakistan.

Operation Sadbhavana: A Smokescreen for Repression

India started with Operation Sadbhavana as pacifying efforts started back in 1990s wherein the military invested a lot in social development of Occupied Jammu and Kashmir on one hand while the local killings peaked during the era. However, Occupier Army invested a budget of 40 million INR which increased to 5500 million INR in 2020.

Operation Sadbhavana, also referred to as Operation Goodwill had been launched in Jammu and Kashmir by the Indian Army under their Military Civic Action programmes, which are aimed at “Winning the Hearts and Minds” (WHAM) of the people in the region.

Operation Sadbhavana was officially launched in 1998, especially in rural areas near the Line of Control (LOC) where there was a heightened sense of alienation among the people of Jammu and Kashmir from the rest of India. Welfare initiatives under Operation Sadbhavana included infrastructure development, medical care, women and youth empowerment, educational tours and sports tournaments among other initiatives. With the passive failure of Sadbhavana primarily because the army got exposed and turned out to be mastermind of major massacres in valley through its mercenaries publicly termed as the Ikhwaans.

From Parliament Attack to Land Grabs: India’s Escalating Repression

The general public of occupied lands was always instigated by India in one way or the other. In 2001, after the attack on Indian parliament, several Kashmiris were arrested. Peace talks had ensued with curbing of armed resistance and a heavily guarded fence on line of control both technologically as well as in terms of human force was installed. As the issue was kept on a back burner by Pakistan, India took a daring step in 2008 and then in 2010 by initiating the land grab and tightening the noose around common Kashmiri traders. With the martyrdom of Sheikh Abdul Aziz in the uprising and several other Kashmiris, the people of Jammu Kashmir were forced into a normalcy by India.

Also See: Kashmir 76 Years After January 5, 1949—Fight for Self-Determination Continues

Burhan Wani: The Spark That Reignited Kashmir’s Story of Resistance

This façade was again shattered in 2016 with the martyrdom of Burhan Wani, a young lad popularly known as the poster boy of Kashmir. Burhan’s martyrdom initiated a cascade of resistance pattern. On ground and Non-Resident Kashmiris (NRKs) took to social media and started projecting the Conflict stories internationally.

For the People of Jammu Kashmir, it was a slight reminiscence of 90s where huge protests with thousands of Kashmiris on road were a common show.  India added fuel to it by the unilateral actions of abrogation of Article 35A and 370 in 2019 which further paved way for an international screen of the conflict frozen in time.

Kashmir’s Uprising: Indigenous at its Core, Global in Its Reach

The timeline of the resistance or uprising is associated with the people on both sides of Line of Control. There has always been an indigenous element that has led to the eruption of volcano. However, as the new millennium started, the policies of Pakistan started defining the temperature of the pot.

As the ardent supporter of Kashmir struggle, Pakistan has been safeguarding the cause on political, diplomatic and moral grounds. However, it is the Kashmiris themselves who have to show iron teeth to the enemy.

The driving seat of armed resistance naturally fell to the Kashmiris with backing of the United Nations resolution 37/43. With the concrete step of continuous agitation against the Occupational forces, another pro freedom force that appeared was the Kashmiri youth who had left the valley for education or job purposes. Such youth became the infallible advocates of Gun solution. It was the conglomeration of all these that formed different Kashmiri groups abroad such as the Stand With Kashmir (SWK), Kashmir Campaign Global (KCG), WKAF and several others. This coherence of ink, words and bullet appeared for the first time after the 2001 global move to dab all freedom struggles as terrorist movements.

A Clear Vision for the Future: No Room for Surrender

For Kashmiris, the destination and the journey has been very clear. They have never had the option to surrender, because that would mean aligning with India which was out rightly rejected by all the stalwarts. The policies of Pakistan may define the interaction with India or regional atmosphere but the newer generation Kashmiris have started to frame their own strategy. That is why we see photojournalists, lawyers and civil society human rights defenders in Kashmir on the forefront.  With the intensification of human rights violations in Indian Occupied Kashmir, the base camp or Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK) reverberates with slogans expressing a firmer support to the people living across the line.

The dynamics of Kashmir are complex but it is important to have a clear vision. Inconsistency in policies, halfhearted taken up tasks or diplomatic immaturities must be avoided to make a fair solid case. Defeatist mindset or getting impressed by the enemy strong hold is not an option. Pakistan must learn from the Kashmiris in standing upright for what belongs to Pakistan.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own. They do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of the South Asia Times.