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2021 april edition final
1. Resistance Unto Freedom
kashmircivitas.com
Volume 1, Issue 6
A p r i l
2 0 2 1
A monthly collection of significant
developments related to Kashmir
Stalling Kashmiri
Social Media Activism
Kashmiri Author Ather Zia
Bags International Award
Kashmir Civitas Awards for Scholars
Who Write on Kashmir
3. CONTENT
Stalling Kashmiri Social Media Activism
India-Pakistan Ceasefire from Kashmiri Point of View
Why Indian State Dreads Kashmiri Voices Anywhere in the World?
Rubbing Salt on the Grieving Kashmiri Father’s Wounds
1.
Page No
03
04
05
06
07
Topics
2.
3.
4.
5.
India Stages Normalcy in Disputed Kashmir through Projection of Foreign Envoys’ Tour 08
6.
All Government Employees’ Social Media Accounts to be Monitored in Kashmir 09
7.
Modi-IK Exchange of Letters: India’s Strategic Softness and Pakistan’s Assurance to Kashmiris 10
8.
Awards: Ather Zia / Asif Sultan / Kashmir Civitas 1 1
9.
Consolidating Indian Occupation in Kashmir: A Loot of Kashmiri Land and Resources,
Decimation of Society
4. Consolidating Indian Occupation in Kashmir:
A Loot of Kashmiri Land and Resources,
Decimation of Society
Mazahmat
03
References:
Mazahmat
The extract from the rivers, stone and sand, are a
new political weapon in the hands of Indian
agencies in Kashmir. The material is being used
to develop small-scale roads and other infra-
structure projects in different regions to appease
the local Muslim Kashmiri population. “The river
resembles a war zone at night. Throughout the
night, the sound of heavy earthmovers rob us of
our sleep,” said a local resident to a news organi-
zation.
After the Indian State took direct control of the
disputed region of Jammu and Kashmir, Kash-
miris have been thrown into the of political and
economic uncertainty and misery. People are
deprived of jobs and businesses, which are being
outsourced to Indians. Almost 85 percent of the
contracts were bagged by non-locals who have
snatched the livelihood of thousands of workers
in Kashmir. This is just a part of the broader
Indian State’s plan to force Kashmiris to sell their
lands to outsiders. Since 2019, the Indian State
has abolished every institution that, at least sym-
bolically, favored indigeneous Kashmiris. It has
unleashed their Hindutva nationalist agenda in
Kashmir as it advances towards decimation of
Kashmir’s culture, society and economy unabat-
edly. Education curriculum and official languag-
es have been changed, Kashmir’s land is being
given to associations and corporations linked to
Indian Hindutva fascist parties like RSS and BJP.
This process has been expedited by the installa-
tion of pro-Hindutva governor in Kashmir, jailing
of journalists and political leaders, shutdown of
Kashmiri schools and colleges, and crackdown
on social media. With absolutely no leash to con-
trol it, the Indian State’s different arms are in full
swing, stealing land and destroying Kashmiri
society.
Jehangir Ali: Apr 01, 2021
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/1/daylight-loot-kashmir-farmers-suffer-as-rivers-illegally-mined
Hilal Mir: September 02,2020
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/urdu-s-131-year-reign-in-kashmir-ends/1961019
Hilal Mir: October 31, 2020
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/kashmir-sees-strike-against-controversial-new-land-laws/2026542
Muhammad Mutahhar Amin: January 25، 2021
https://www.epw.in/journal/2021/4/commentary/land-laws-jammu-and-kashmir.html
Purnima S. Tripathi: August 30, 2019
https://frontline.thehindu.com/cover-story/article29059214.ece
The abrogation of the special status in 2019 and
the subsequent passing of residency laws in the
Disputed Territory of Kashmir, which India occu-
pies illegally, have been showing the signs of
their unbearable repercussion in Kashmir. It is
the agriculture season in Kashmir, but people
have no water for irrigating their lands. Thanks to
the illegal mining going on in Kashmir’s
fresh-water rivers by Indian miners. Agriculture is
the backbone of the Kashmir’s economy, with
hundreds of thousands of families dependent on
it amid the military campaign by Indian State.
Many irrigation canals and water channels criss-
crossing the apple-rich belts of Kashmir are
running dry due to illegal and unabated mining
of rivers. There is a widespread shortage of water
in many villages due to the mining. Even a study
conducted by an institution related to Indian
State had warned against mining of the Jhelum
river or its tributaries, yet a huge mining cam-
paign continues following India’s illegal auction-
ing. The illegal mining is not only affecting the
short-term water supply, but it has a long-term
environmental impact for the ecologically fragile
territory of Kashmir.
5. Stalling Kashmiri
Social Media Activism
n the militarised disputed territory of Kashmir, almost every institution of knowledge and
information is controlled by the Indian State. This includes social media as well. Ever since,
the educated Kashmiris began to articulate their painful experience on social media, the
State clampdown of the pages and accounts too became severe. Today, the time when
Kashmir’s entire mainstream media, journalism and intelligentsia is facing extreme crack-
down by the Indian State agencies, social media groups and pages have been a rare outlet
to inform the world about what is happening in Kashmir. However, the silencing measures
have been now extended to all the Kashmir-related social media pages, including Stand
With Kashmir and Kashmir Civitas. Recently, Twitter shut down the accounts of Kashmir
Civitas, Stand With Kashmir, the Kashmir Podcast, the accounts of Kashmiri academics
and activists, Ifat Gazia, and Farhan Mujahid Chak. The present crackdown on Kashmir-re-
lated social media pages is part of the broader Indian campaign against Kashmiri voices
who are speaking out against Indian State repression and human rights violations in Kash-
mir. Post-5 August 2019, it has been made extremely difficult for Kashmiris, inside or
outside Kashmir, to raise their voices against the occupying forces and rights abuses.
While the social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, have failed to explain why
the accounts of Kashmiri activists were shut down, their complicity towards the Indian
State repression in Kashmir can be understood.
Mazahmat
04
References:
Farhan Mujahid Chak: Mar 27, 2021
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/3/27/why-is-twitter-silencing-kashmiri-voices
Kashmiri activists believe that platforms like Twitter and Facebook
are choosing to side with the repressive Indian government; thus,
going against their own “commitment to freedom of expression”
and to “defending and respecting the user’s voice”.
6. India-Pakistan Ceasefire
from Kashmiri Point of View
Mazahmat
05
References:
After thousands of ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LOC), the de facto border divid-
ing the disputed region of Kashmir, over the past few years, Indian and Pakistani militaries last
week finally signed a ceasefire agreement to thaw the bitter violence. Many analysts believe
government change in the United States and China’s condition for mitigating pressure on
Indian forces in Ladakh may have forced India to soften its position against Pakistan. It is a fact
that the ceasefire brought some respite for the Kashmiris living in the immediate vicinity of
both sides of the border. However, for the Kashmiris living in the Indian-occupied Kashmir, the
ceasefire has little to release their misery. The entire Kashmiri local political leadership and
activists are under arrest by Indian forces. Kashmiris are grappling with internet lockdowns,
harassment of journalists, ban on reporting on human rights violations and ubiquitous frisking
and harassment by government forces. Since the abrogation of autonomy in August 2019, the
miseries of Kashmiris have multiplied. The people are staring at dispossession of land and
culture through legal amendments by Indian state. A US-based Kashmiri scholar and political
activist, Athar Zia, aptly reflected on this agreement through a Facebook post,
To stop killing Kashmiris on the ceasefire line is import-
ant. But ONLY Kashmiris will break the status quo
between India and Pakistan. Their inclusion is an abso-
lute must. Kashmiris do the dying and will determine
how they want to inherit their future #RSDNOW
#FreeKashmir.
Haris Zargar: March 29, 2021
https://www.newframe.com/can-the-truce-between-india-and-pakistan-last/
Salman Masood, Mujib Mashal and Hari Kumar: February 25, 2021
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/25/world/asia/pakistan-in-
dia-ceasefire.html#:~:text=ISLAMABAD%2C%20Pakistan%20%E2%80%94%20Pakistan%20and%20India,between%20t
he%20nuclear%2Darmed%20neighbors
Tom Hussain: March 04, 2021
https://www.trtworld.com/opinion/india-s-cunning-de-escalation-after-setting-kashmir-alight-44724
7. Why Indian State Dreads Kashmiri
Voices Anywhere in the World?
Mazahmat
06
References:
Safwat Zargar: March 05, 2021
https://scroll.in/article/988431/in-a-first-j-k-po-
lice-goes-after-kashmiris-living-beyond-indian-borders-for-anti-india-statements
Mazahmat
As if the repression at home was not enough, Indian
police have begun a campaign against Kashmiris
living abroad for raising their voices against Indian
abuse of rights inside Kashmir and for right to self-de-
termination. In the aftermath of the abrogation of the
special status of Kashmir and the imposition of direct
rule from New Delhi in 2019, Indian State brutality
against Kashmiri voices has been rising every day.
Many well-known influential Kashmiri personalities
living abroad have been booked by Indian police, and
their deportation is being sought. Kashmiris living
abroad have been vigorously campaigning in support
of their homeland in the face of rising Indian State
repression.
Now any overseas Kashmiri, who raises his or her
voice against Indian State brutalities in Kashmir
through social media, is declared “seditious”. Civil
rights activists believe that the Indian government’s
response to these cases is rooted in “absurd” belief
that any criticism of its policies is akin to sedition or
part of a conspiracy against the State. “The authori-
ties have the responsibility to protect citizens from
violence, including by groups based abroad, but
courts have repeatedly said that expressing dissent
or peacefully opposing the political ideology of the
ruling party should not lead to criminal allegations,”
the South Asia director of international rights body
Human Rights Watch told a news organization.
8. Mazahmat
07
References:
Mazahmat
It is becoming hard for the Kashmiris to figure
out what to grieve as misery after misery pile up.
Day by day Indian State’s repression in Kashmir is
touching new limits of inhumanity. A father sees
a cold-blooded murder of his16-year-old son,
Ather Mushtaq, along with Ather’s other two
friends. Then the father, Mushtaq Ahmed Wani, is
refused the son’s body, which is buried nearly 120
kilometers from his house. And then on demand-
ing the dead son’s body, the family is charged
with anti-terror law, Unlawful Activities (Preven-
tion) Act or UAPA, for holding demonstration.
The Indian State authorities in Kashmir have
buried more than 100 Kashmiris in unmarked
graves under a policy started in April 2020. The
families are denied proper funerals and burials of
their loved ones. Wani told a news organisation,
The father has dug a grave for his teenage son at
his village as a mark of protest.
I along with others raised slogans in
front of police officials near the village
mosque after prayers. I was just
demanding the body of my son who
was killed in a fake encounter. It was all
a peaceful appeal to ask for my son’s
body. Let the police impose all its
oppression on me for demanding my
son’s body. I will continue to ask for it
even if it means standing alone till I am
alive.
Rifat Fareed: February 09, 2021
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/9/family-of-kashmir-teen-under-anti-terror-for-demanding-his-body
TRT World February 09, 2021
https://www.trtworld.com/asia/india-slaps-anti-terror-law-on-kashmir-father-seeking-son-s-body-44015
Rubbing Salt on the Grieving
Kashmiri Father’s Wounds
9. However, Kashmiri people rejected this staged trip
by the envoys. “Will their visit mean anything in our
lives? Is there any hope that they will be able to find
how our lives are controlled and intervene? In any
case, I lost my wages today because their visit
forced us to close our businesses,” said a Kashmiri
labourer to a news organization. The Indian military
in Kashmir removed more than half a dozen securi-
ty bunkers in Srinagar and its outskirts ahead of the
envoys’ arrival. India also lifted a ban on high speed
internet on mobile devices, ending the longest
internet restrictions in the world. Even the pro-India
politicians are complaining in Kashmir now: “Peace
and silence are two different things. Peace will
remain elusive till political aspirations are not
addressed. Government’s own statistics on violence
belie the narrative that things are normal. People
don’t have the right to assemble, to protest," said a
pro-Indian lawmaker to a news agency.
It has been more than one and a half years since
Hindu nationalist Indian government changed the
status of the disputed territory of Kashmir, taking
direct control of the region. However, the govern-
ment, despite applying all the institutional forces to
control the life in Kashmir, seems to be more uncer-
tain than ever about the State’s relation with the
territory it controls. The access of outsiders to the
region is strictly monitored and controlled. No
foreign journalists are allowed except ones who are
taken on government-guided trips. Recently, in a
staged operation, the Indian government transport-
ed diplomats of 20 countries to Kashmir. Kashmiris,
as ever, responded by protest and shutdown. This is
the third visit by a group of foreign envoys to the
disputed territory of Kashmir. In a well-planned
operation, the diplomats were taken to selected
places and introduced to a selected group of
people.
India Stages Normalcy in Disputed
Kashmir through Projection of
Foreign Envoys’ Tour
Mazahmat
08
References:
AP: February 17, 2021
https://apnews.com/article/narendra-modi-kashmir-india-6bb1a7dd45df9f18c21769042ba2a53b
TRT World: February 18, 2021
trtworld.com/asia/kashmir-protests-as-india-brings-foreign-envoys-on-guided-tour-44270
Hilal Mir: February 18, 2021
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/guided-tour-foreign-envoys-visit-disputed-kashmir/2149216
Mazahmat
10. In a brazen move to curb social media activism of
Kashmiri government employees, the administration
in the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir,
which the Indian State controls, has asked the new
employees to submit their social media details. In a
region where education rate among youth is higher
than Indian literacy rate, unemployment is at its
peak—especially after the Indian government abro-
gated Kashmir’s special status. Most of the educated
youth apply for government jobs in order to support
their families and stay close to their home amid the
threats of exodus through demographic change by
the India State. Therefore, a government job is most
feasible for the youth. The new ruling by Indian
government in Kashmir is one more step in the direc-
tion of denting free speech and suppressing employ-
ees in Kashmir. The Indian government had issued a
list of dos and don’ts for its employees, who have an
active presence on social media, in 2017.
Now the Indian police have been tasked to scruti-
nise the social media activity of new employees.
Along with basic details such as name, date of birth,
and address, the heads of government depart-
ments have been asked to provide details of social
media accounts, such as Twitter, Facebook, Insta-
gram, etc., of employees. Indian government over
the past few years has taken a number of steps to
control the frames of experiences of Kashmiri
people by controlling mainstream journalism and
media, academic activity and, most importantly,
social media activism, in order to solidify its occupa-
tion of the region. Committee to Protect Journalists
(CPJ) has called out the Indian government for
using ambiguous legal processes to suppress Kash-
miri journalism, commentary on Twitter and
suspension of hundreds of Kashmiris’ Twitter
accounts.
All Government Employees’
Social Media Accounts to be
Monitored in Kashmir
Mazahmat
09
References:
Safwat Zargar: March 10, 2021
https://scroll.in/article/989089/were-being-watched-kash-
mir-decision-to-check-social-media-feeds-of-new-employees-sparks-alarm
Jehangir Ali: March 06, 2021
https://thewire.in/government/jammu-kashmir-admin-social-media-employees
Aljazeera: March, 29 2021
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/3/29/lockdown-on-thoughts-kashmiris-slam-indias-free-speech-curbs
Mazahmat
11. India’s Strategic Softness and
Pakistan’s Assurance to Kashmiris
Modi-IK Exchange of Letters:
Mazahmat
10
References:
References:
Naveed Siddiqui: March 23, 2021
https://www.dawn.com/news/1614177
Rezaul H Laskar: March 30, 2021
https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/imran-khan-re-
sponds-to-pm-modi-s-letter-seeks-enabling-environment-for-dialogue-101617117949690.html
Mazahmat
In the aftermath of the ceasefire agreement signed between India and Pakistan
related to Kashmir border on late February 2020, India’s Hindu nationalist Prime
Minister wrote a letter on March 22 to Pakistan Prime Minister, wishing him on
Pakistan Day. Imran Khan wrote back a note of thanks. For years Modi govern-
ment had maintained a harsh attitude towards Pakistan. Imran Khan on his part
had been trying to maintain a posture of calmness, and reiterating calls for
peace. A sudden thaw is triggering hasty analysis. To the most international com-
mentators, the exchange of letters between the prime ministers of the two rival
nations may signal a warming up of relations. The reasons for this so-called
warming up of relations between India and Pakistan have to do more with their
internal and external factors, than any desire for peace. This is least true of Modi’s
India that is facing heavy economic crisis and pressure from China on borders,
and the US for curbs on dissent.
But reading the content of the letters closely suggests the underlying mistrust.
From a Kashmiri point of view, Modi’s erasure of Kashmir issue, which India
illegally occupies, from his list of concerns that need to be solved between the
two nations is not surprising. Modi’s call for countering “terrorism” together in his
message is a crystal-clear reference to Kashmir’s uprising and resistance that the
Indian State terms as “terrorism”. At the same time, practically speaking, the
human rights abuses have not subdued in Kashmir. Imran Khan’s response, by
including Kashmir as the most important issue between the two nations is, on
the other hand, a sign of assurance for Kashmiris of Pakistan support to their
cause. The overall analysis of India’s role in Kashmir over the years, and the
government’s softening of its harsh position towards Pakistan at this moment
suggest that the element of power is a vital determinant in designing the State’s
policies towards other States and regions that it controls, such as Kashmir. It is
the relative weakness of the India State at present that has prompted Modi to sit
on the table, and there is no guarantee that it will not return to its belligerence
again. While Modi’s softness of the present is strategic. IK’s tone and semantics
suggests continuity.
12. Mazahmat
11 Mazahmat
Kashmiri Author Ather Zia
Bags International Award
A well-known Kashmiri writer, academic and political activists has bagged a reputed internation-
al award for her book on women’s struggle in the occupied territory of Kashmir. Ather Zia, A
US-based scholar has won the Public Anthropologist Award 2021 for her book Resisting Disap-
pearance: Military Occupation and Women’s Activism in Kashmir. Ather Zia is an Associate
Professor in the Department of Anthropology and the Gender Studies Program at the University
of Northern Colorado Greeley. Zia’s has been actively campaigning for solidarity with her home-
land, the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
A Kashmiri Journalist, Asif Sultan, has been languishing in Indian jail for more than two and a half
years. Sultan while being in jail has received many international awards for his brave journalism,
including the John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award from the American National Press Club in
2019. Thirty two-year Sultan has featured in TIME magazine’s 10 “Most Urgent” cases of threats to
press freedom around the world in 2020. In the latest recognition of his journalism, The Clooney
Foundation for Justice (CFJ), founded by Hollywood actor, producer and screenwriter George
Clooney and his lawyer wife Amal Clooney, has announced it will monitor the trial of Aasif Sultan
who has been in Indian jail on fake terror charges. For the journalists in Kashmir, the case of Aasif
Sultan has had a chilling effect. Many journalists were scared into self-censorship, abandoning
the stories related to militancy. Recently, seven UN Special Rapporteurs wrote to the Indian
government seeking information on the factual basis of investigations involving cases against
human rights defenders and journalists of Kashmir including Parvaiz Bukhari, Khurram Parvez
and Parveena Ahangar.
Clooney Foundation to Monitor
Incarcerated Kashmiri Journalist’s Trial
13. In a bid to boost Kashmir-related scholarship and knowl-
edge production, the Canada-based civil society group,
Kashmir Civitas, has announced monetary awards for
academics and writers. Kashmir Civitas, which strives for
solidarity with the right to self-determination cause of
Kashmir, has announced cash awards of USD 1000 for
academic papers and USD 500 for opinion articles. The
aim of this award, Civitas notes, is to promote the intellec-
tual work that challenges the established hegemonic
narratives of Indian State about Kashmir. The goal is to
generate more and more critical work about Kashmir
that gives articulation to Kashmiri peoples’ aspirations.
Kashmir Civitas Awards for
Scholars Who Write on Kashmir
Mazahmat
12
References:
The Kashmiriyat: March 01, 2021
http://thekashmiriyat.co.uk/renowned-kashmiri-au-
thor-ather-zia-bags-public-anthropologist-award-for-her-book-on-kashmir/#:~:text=Support%20Independent%20M
edia-,Renowned%20Kashmiri%20Author%20Ather%20Zia%20bags%20'Public%20Anthropologist'%20Award,for%20
her%20Book%20on%20Kashmir&text=Ather%20Zia's%20book%20%E2%80%9CResisting%20Disappearance,the%20
Public%20Anthropologist%20Award%202021.&text=Ather%20Zia%20is%20a%20poet%2C%20short%20fiction%20wri
ter%2C%20and%20columnist.
Shakir Mir: February 28, 2021
https://thewire.in/media/clooney-foundation-to-monitor-trial-of-kashmiri-journalist-detained-for-over-2-years
Mazahmat
