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Kashmir A Year After Revocation

By Sahir Bilal. Dated: 8/5/2020 5:39:25 PM

Kashmir is a dystopia of post-apocalyptic age. What would George Orwell have made of the Kashmir situation in 2020. What Orwell says to us about Kashmir today. Orwell captures some sense of living in today’s Kashmir with extensive government over-reach, mass surveillance and repressive regimentation of all persons and behaviours by Indian state in Kashmir. In Kashmir Indian state exists for the sake of its own power, in a kind of sadomasochistic relationship that grinds down an entire population to perpetuate its power. Since August last year, Indian state has embarked on a war-footing mission to perpetuate a drastic demographic change in a predominantly Muslim majority region. The lethal policies Indian government is implementing since the curtailment of regions special autonomous status last year will bring tectonic shifts in Kashmir society. Kashmiris are rightly incredulous that BJP-led regime is committed to empower Kashmiris because they are abreast of the nefarious designs of the right-wing party. As the first anniversary of the scraping of Kashmir's special status is approaching, here is a factual analysis of the various policy-changes brought into yoke post abrogation of article 370.
New Domicile law
The Muslim-majority region of Kashmir was stripped of its semi-autonomous status by India in August 2019, with thousands of politicians and activists arrested. The relegation of J&K from a state with special status to a separate union territory gave a direct control on the territory and more powers to the central BJP-led government via the appointment of Lieutenant Governor. It practically limits the autonomy of the state legislature of J&K that was awarded to it via Article 370 of the Indian constitution. The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Order disempowers the state legislature of J&K from ascertaining ‘permanent residents’ and their right to employment, as was provided under Article 35A of the Indian constitution. The order is nothing but another step by India to settle non-indigenous population in the valley by changing the domicile laws. Under the new domicile law, those who have resided for a period of 15 years in Kashmir are now eligible to become permanent residents. India is systematically paving the way for forced demographic change in Kashmir thus institutionalizing a system of domination over indigenous populations. The order is a clear violation of the 4th Geneva convention. Observers warn that the new Domicile Law could permanently alter the demography of the disputed region and “17.4 lakh people can certainly acquire domicile rights, which constitute roughly 14% of J&K’s population of 1.23 crore in 2011.
New Education Policy
According to newly introduced Education Policy 2020, ‘the government intends to give due preference to reputed players in the field of education willing to set up universities in J&K. Government will facilitate allotment of land in UT from the specified available land bank and will coordinate with the concerned departments for the required approvals and clearances to facilitate the process of setting up educational institutions in J&K. Now the private players from outside the Kashmir will be incentivized to set up educational institutions in J&K. The new education policy aims to whitewash the local history and rewrite the textbooks to represent an obfuscated narrative suitable for the present Government of India. The Narendra Modi government has repeatedly been accused of ‘saffronising’ education – particularly by editing history textbooks.
New Media Policy
The policy of harassment, intimidation and threatening journalists for highlighting people’s issues has frequently been reported in J&K but with the introduction of New Media Policy the government seems to have given this policy of intimidation an official sanctum. Jammu and Kashmir administration approved the new Media Policy-2020 stating that it was meant for effective communication and public outreach. The Media Policy-2020 allows the Directorate of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) to “examine” the content of print, electronic and various other forms of media for “fake news, plagiarism and unethical or anti-national activities.” The new media policy has rendered J&K newspapers into government hand-outs. The new policy gives J&K administration powers to decide what is ‘fake’, ‘unethical’ or ‘anti-national’ news, and to take legal action against the journalist or media organisation concerned, including stopping government advertisements and sharing information with security agencies.
The new policy have been described as an attempt ‘to kill journalism’ and a ‘remnant of the colonial era.’ This is an attempt to control the narrative and throttle freedom of press, speech and expression. It’s a serious threat to press freedom in J&K. This is a state censorship where government will decide what to publish and what not to.
The BJP-led central government has curtailed Kashmir region’s special autonomous status on the premise that complete integration of the erstwhile state with the Indian union will usher in a new era of peace and development in the economically starved region. Almost a year has passed since India’s unilateral move to redraw new political map of the restive valley, peace is not only elusive but fragile to say the least A recent report by Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society, a local human rights group, says Kashmir sees 229 killings in the first half of the 2020 which includes 143 militants and 32 civilian deaths. What is happening in Kashmir during lockdown. The massive witch purge by the Indian military to wipe out militancy in Kashmir has given rise to a perturb order of complete anarchy and lawlessness. Kashmir is witnessing the longest internet blackout in modern history. August 5 of next month will mark a year without high speed internet in Kashmir. The human rights violations here are alarming now and with covid19 plaguing the world people here must have access to tools necessary to fight this disease. But the current dispensation is furthering its settler colonialism in the pretext of enforcing lockdown and saving people’s lives. Without adequate resources and internet access the covid19 is likely to took a heavy toll in a region with already fragile health system.
The revocation of the special status deepens anxieties in Kashmir. Locals fear increased level of violence once there will be influx of outsiders into the Muslim majority region. For centuries Muslims and Kashmiri Pandits, Hindus in local parlance, are living in peaceful coexistence in a harmonious relationship. But the ongoing settlement of outsiders in the valley is seen as an assault on the identity of Kashmiris. Even though the conflict in Kashmir is rooted in territory but it has a strong psychological dimension as well. As tensions continue to rise in Kashmir after the shocking revocation of article 370, fear has, once again, gripped the valley of Kashmir. The mental health burden of this militarisation is reflected in the general psychology of the already anxious population.
It’s been eleven months. What did the revocation of the Kashmir’s special status achieve? A complete abrogation of democracy and an unconscionable suppression of civil and democratic rights. The killings and the dehumanization of the indigenous people, massive extraction of resources in the guise of development and a forcible demographic change are being carried out viciously post abrogation of article 370. Democracy has been denied to Kashmiris for the last seven decades but today Kashmiris are facing an existential threat in the face of India’s settler colonialism.
The author is a Research scholar at Central University of Kashmir.