Kashmir is no different

Democracy, as we know it today, or as it has been marketed to be, is the ultimate form of political emancipation. The ideas and values of liberty, equality and fraternity which have mesmerised human societies since the French Revolution have, however, turned out to be more utopian than practical. Democracy is a farce, an eyewash. The world still turns along the same fulcrums of absolute power and xenophobia that it always has. And Kashmir is no different.

The entire argument against the abrogation of Article 370 rests on the belief that Kashmiris have been denied the right to self-determination. But let us understand very clearly that this ‘right to self-determination’ has never actually existed. Almost all throughout history, the mighty have subdued the weak, countries have been won by conquering them with military force, and in every war you can recollect from your books of history the opinion of the conquered countrymen was among the least of anyone's concerns. People simply submitted to authority, they had been programmed into doing so, and there was pretty much nothing else that they could do.

Whenever a king would conquer a land, he would flood it with his soldiers and curtail the citizens’ rights, torch their houses, rape their women and force the entire populace to surrender. And Kashmir is no different.


It has been centuries since Kashmir has been ruled ‘by’ one of their own. I asked a Kashmiri friend how long have you been under foreign rule, and this is what he had to say, “We have been under siege since ages. First the Afghans, then the Turks, then the Mughals, then the Sikhs, then the Dogras and then the Republic of India. We have never been politically free.”

If seen from this perspective, all the human rights violations, the heavy military presence, the killings and kidnappings and rapes, the communication blockade, the travel restrictions, the internet and electricity restrictions, they all make sense. It also makes sense why self-styled nationalists are so happy about it. This is because... (come close)... Kashmir has been conquered! And they know this.

The abrogation of Article 370 by a parliamentary act is a mere delusion. The Supreme Court not ready to take up this issue even after 100 days is clear evidence of the fact that everyone is hand-in-glove. I mean, how can an entire state's urgent issue not be on your priority list? Oh! It can be, if conquering and annexing it was your primary agenda. This is how counties have always been annexed, and Kashmir is no different.

Dr. Parvez Mandviwala

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