August 23, 2020
365 Black Days of Kashmir
365 black days have been passed away but no one is concerning? The heaven of the world is
having blood shedding and girls are being raped. Young people were arrested without charges
and still not reached back to home. 47 resolutions and 286 meetings have been passed in the
United Nations still waiting for result. Thousands of martyrs are there but freedom does not
seem. Why am I silent, why are you blind, why is the country looking disable?
Yes, you are right! My point of concern is Kashmir. If you ever desire to visit heaven being live,
visit our own heaven KASHMIR, it is undoubtedly one of the best places to be in the world. Snow
clad mountains, Chinar Trees, Dal and Nagin Lake. The beauty of Kashmir is very popular. Many
religions and cultures have been through its valley. Many Kingdoms have ruled and stay in the
beauty of land.
British rulers were very diplomate they were have a formula “Divide and Rule” so they did the
same it. In the time of 1800’s Kashmir has Muslim Majority and Hindu were in the minority. With
help of the formula divide and rule, in March 1846 the British government sold Kashmir to Hindu
person Gulab Singh for a sum of 7.5 million Nanakshahee rupee under the term of the Treaty of
Amritsar.
After 1846, Hindu/Singh’s Maharaja were stake holder of Kashmir. At the time of partition
Pakistan and India in 1947, Hari Singh was the Maharaja of Kashmir. Hari Singh did not accept to
be a part of Pakistan or neither India. British government was agreed and make Kashmir an
independent state. Hari Singh was too much close of British government because he was a
member of Churchill's British War Cabinet in World War II, and supplied troops for the Allies. Hari
Singh didn’t go with Pakistan because of his personal issue; he wanted his personal independent
state.
After Independence of Pakistan and India, Kashmir conflict take a birth. As I have mentioned
before Kashmir is Heaven of World, Full of river and tourism place are there. Muslims were in
majority and they raise their voice to join Pakistan and civil war took place in Kashmir. It was just
start of that bloodshed; Kashmir situation was out of control from Raja Hari Singh. Raja Hari Singh
went to the Jawahar Lal Nehru, the Prime Minister of India for help. Although the Indian Prime
Minister was ready to send troops, the Governor-General of India C. Rajagopalachari, Lord
Mountbatten of Burma, advised the Maharaja to accede to India before India could send its
troops. Hence, considering the emergency situation, the Maharaja signed the Instrument of
Accession on 26 October 1947, joining the whole of his princely state (including Jammu,
Kashmir, Northern Areas, Ladakh, Trans-Karakoram Tract and Aksai Chin) to the Dominion of
India.
Why India was showing humbleness to Hindu Raja Hari Singh? Did India really wanted to help
them? The answer is the glaciers and fresh water they provide to the region and to India.
The glacial waters that flow through Kashmir provide water and electricity to a billion people in
India. Pakistan also relies heavily on glacial waters flowing from the region to prop up its
agricultural sector.
365 Black Days of Kashmir
Junaid Christopher
August 23, 2020
In 1960, India and Pakistan signed the Indus Waters Treaty, brokered by the World Bank. The
agreement gave India control over the Beas, Ravi and Sutlej rivers, and Pakistan control over the
Indus, Chenab, and Jhelum. Because all the rivers flowed through India, India was given special
provisions for hydroelectric development.
In the Kashmir conflict Pakistan and India fought three war. The first Indo-Pakistani War is the
war between India and Pakistan fought from October 1947 to December 1948 (with a ceasefire
declared on January 1, 1949). This war was terminated by a ceasefire resolution of the United
Nations (UN) Security Council. The second Indo-Pakistani War was fought from April 8 to
September 23, 1965, and was terminated by the Tashkent Declaration, which was brought about
through Soviet intervention. The primary battlefield was Kashmir. The third Indo-Pakistani War
was fought from December 3 to 16, 1971. At the time, Pakistan consisted of East and West
Pakistan, with India in between them. The war concluded with East Pakistan’s declaration of
independence from West Pakistan.
The conflict in Kashmir is not just between Pakistan and India, but also between militant groups
in the region seeking autonomy from Indian rule. Those groups include Hizbul Mujahideen, the
Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, which seeks independence for Kashmir, and Lashkar-eTaiba (LeT).
Current scenario is on 5 August 2019, the Government of India revoked the special status,
or limited autonomy, granted under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution to Jammu and
Kashmir. Article 370 was added to the Indian constitution shortly after the partition of British
India to give autonomy to the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir until a decision was
made about its rule. It limited the power of India's central government over the territory. A
related provision gave state lawmakers the power to decide who could buy land and be a
permanent resident -- a provision that irked many non-Kashmiris.
Almost 365 Days Kashmir being sent under the lockdown refers to a security lockdown and
communications blackout imposed to prevent protests during which thousands of people, mostly young
men, have been detained in Kashmir.
Do you really think it's easy staying at home for more than 1 year? All forms of communication, including
the internet, phone lines and post offices, were suspended. Deadly clashes between troops and anti-India
protests erupted in the streets. During the pandemic situation of COVID-19 in Pakistan it was very difficult
to survive for 6 months but Kashmiri's are living a pandemic life since last year.
Now 73 years has passed and still Kashmir conflict between Pakistan and India is alive. We are standing in
the advanced and modern world where no one wants to spend his life like a prisoner. But Kashmiri's are
waiting for their normal life, Children are looking at their books, mothers of Kashmir are looking for a
household. Young girls are not secured, many rapes have been reported, Young boys are being arrested
without any legal obligation. My appeal to this world is to give freedom to those Kashmiris' and live them
their normal life. If we could not do that, in which world are we living?
365 Black Days of Kashmir
Junaid Christopher