The document provides a toolkit for advocating on the issue of Kashmir, which is a disputed territory between India, Pakistan, and China. It outlines key talking points about the political history of Kashmir and ongoing human rights issues like repression, censorship, sexual violence, and mass blinding by Indian forces. The toolkit offers guidance on political advocacy, digital outreach, boycotts, and presenting Kashmir in a way that counters the narrative put forward by India.

1. KASHMIR
A C T I V I S T

2. Kashmir Civitas is an international civil society and strategic
advocacy organization committed to the socio-political, educational,
economic and moral uplift of Kashmiris. The organization campaigns
for the fundamental right of self-determination for the people of the
disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir. This foundational decree
is not only premised on their inalienable rights, but includes a total
of 18 United Nations Security Council Resolutions on Kashmir.

3. Enough is enough.
The world cannot wait while Kashmiris are being forcefully silenced,
slaughtered, expelled from their homes, and undergo a systematic
ethnic cleansing.
This is not another collection of all the atrocities that India has been
committing for almost a century. This is not another booklet outlining
the human rights violation by the on-going military occupation. This
is not a list quantifying the number of people tortured, raped, killed,
or kidnapped. This is a call to action.
This Kashmir Activist Toolkit will serve as a practical guide for
everyone to use, not only to inform on the conflict, but to provide
actionable steps, communication guidelines, tactics and strategies:
online, face-to-face, through political lobbying, economic boycotting,
and beyond. Whether you’ve been advocating for Kashmir before, or
you want to learn how to help for the first time, this toolkit will be
a valuable one-stop shop.
The first section will go through some of the major talking
points of the conflict in a concise manner, not to become
another echo chamber for seasoned Kashmiri activists, but to
provide a concise way of communicating all the core talking
points of the current war crimes in the conflict.
Section 2 & 3 are dedicated entirely to what our independence
movement needs now more than ever: strategy.
Freedom will be earned through patience and persistence: with
every act of oppression, the flames of resistance burn brighter.

4. CONTE
CONTENTS
1
9
15
SECTIONONE
SECTIONTWO
SECTIONTHREE

5. ENTS
KASHMIR AT A GLANCE
ADVOCACY AND OUTREACH
HOW TO PRESENT KASHMIR
Introduction to Kashmir & Occupation
Political History in a Nutshell
Repression & Censorship
Sexual Violence
Mass Blinding
2
3
4
6
7
Key Points
Political Advocacy
Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS)
Digital Outreach & Resistance
Solidarity with Justice Seeking Causes
10
11
12
13
13
Seizing the Narrative
Speak up! Why Now?
How to Present Kashmir in the Workplace
Kashmir in 12 Talking Points
Learning Resources
16
17
18
22
23

6. KASHMIR A

7. AT A GLAN
KASHMIR AT
A GLANCE

8. Introduction to Kashmir
& Occupation
A UN-recognized
disputed territory located
between the borders of
India, Pakistan, China
(and partly, Afghanistan).
With an area of 87,000
square miles, Kashmir is
three times the size of
Belgium, Netherlands
and Luxemburg
combined.
2 / 
Population
Military
Presence
Language
Religion
Capitals
Control
Distribution
Approximately 18 million across all three major regions
Between 700,000 to 900,000, from army officers
to paramilitary troops, making it the most
militarized zone on the planet
Urdu (Official), Kashmiri, English
80% Muslim, 16% Hindu, 3% Sikh, 1% Buddhist, Other
Srinagar (Indian-occupied Kashmir), Muzaffarabad
(Azad Kashmir)
• 51% Indian-occupied
• 38% Pakistani-administered self-governing, aka
Azad Kashmir
• 11% Chinese-administered Aksai Chin

9. Political History in
a Nutshell
Since 1947, Kashmir has been the post-world war’s oldest unresolved
conflict and the longest standing unresolved UN resolution in history.
With almost a million Indian army troops in the territory, Kashmir remains
the most densely militarised zone in the world, facing waves of political
turmoil, with peaceful protesters being violently assaulted or killed.
Undoubtedly, the people of Kashmir – its ethnic origin, culture, and language is unique. A
fascinating fusion of the original Semites, Central Asians, Greeks, Persians, Afghans and Turks,
amongst others. Still, Kashmiri people, are just that – a people with their sense of history,
purpose and destiny. Who, even with their significant internal diversity, have never been tied
to Indian conceptions of self and society, rightly highlighted by the eminent Arundhati Roy.
Hindu fundamentalist parties continue to fan nationalistic flames to this day, heavily infusing
politics with religion. This does not explain genocides, torture, rape, extrajudicial killings,
disappearances and kidnappings, arbitrary imprisonment, blinding children and peaceful
protesters.
/ 3

10. Repression & Censorship
4 / 
Draconian Laws To Discuss
India is systematically changing
the demographics, removing the
consititutional rights of millions
of Kashmiris, and immediately
arresting any non-violent political
resistance to these changes. Over
13,000 people have been arrested
since August 2019, when India
changed the constitution to
remove the autonomous rights of
indigenous Kashmiris.
Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety
Act (PSA) – empowering the law
enforcement agencies to detain
and imprison anyone without
charge or trial.
Prevention and Suppression of
Sabotages Act
Armed Forces Special Powers Act
(AFSPA) – providing the armed
forces complete impunity for
crimes that they commit, which
literally means they have the right
to kill extrajudicially.
National Security Act

11. / 5
No Freedom, Free Speech,
Communication, Movement or
Association
Alongside India’s removal of
the constitutional articles that
granted autonomous rights
to indigenous Kashmiris, the
communication lockdown
imposed on Kashmir in August
2019, was unprecedented in
history, a complete ban of
communication technology
including landline, broadband,
cellular - all forms of internet
connectivity or calling that lasted
213 days, and what journalists call
the longest mass communication
blackout in history
(https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/indias-
internet-shutdown-in-kashmir-is-now-the-longest-ever-in-a-
democracy/2019/12/15/bb0693ea-1dfc-11ea-977a-15a6710ed6da_
story.html)
More Resources on Censorship:
The Guardian Article on Kashmir Censorship on Facebook
Al Jazeera Article on Twitter Censoring Kashmiri Voices
TRT World Article on Twitter Censorship
Human Rights Watch
Our Demand: Kashmiris must be granted the right to peacefully
gather and protest to resist their oppression. Journalists, civil society
activists, and human rights defenders have the right to perform
their work without fear of illegal imprisonment. Kashmiris on both
sides of the border need to be granted freedom to assemble,
communicate, express themselves and discuss their political future.

12. VIOLENC
Sexual Violence
6 / 

13. CE
/ 7
Mass Blinding

14. VOCACY A

15. AND OUTR
ADVOCACY AND
OUTREACH

16. 1. Kashmir is not India. Our singular focus is on the Right of Self-
Determination.Thatissacrosanct,undeniableandnon-negotiable.
This will be determined by free and fair plebiscite, with possibility
of the option of independence. Those who are ‘state-subjects’
according to the United Nations guidelines are able to vote.
2. India is militarily occupying Indian-Occupied Kashmir. It has
committed crimes against humanity and our organization will
vigorously pursue every legal, moral and ethical means to end
India’s settler-colonial project.
3. Demilitarization. India is militarily occupying Kashmir. It has
nearly 1 million soldiers, paramilitaries and fascist RSS
mercenaries patrolling Indian Occupied Kashmir. Consequently,
Kashmir is the most militarized place on earth. Our organization
campaigns to hold India accountable and compel India to
demilitarize the disputed territory.
Key Points
10 / 

17. Political Advocacy
/ 11
Outside of the West: Reach
out to leadership within the
Arab gulf countries that have
leverage over India, reach out
to other countries that
have been against military
occupations in the past,
such as political leaders in
Ireland. Consider finding
diplomats and ambassadors
from China that can be
contacted. All of these can be
reached through embassies
in your residing country.
Consider non-traditional
organizations and
countries, such as certain
African countries and
organizations, or the SEA.
Divide the outreach amongst
each other and see where the
Kashmir agenda can most
likely synergize.
Send periodic letters, both
open letters and private, to
dignitaries such as
ambassadors, United Nations
representatives, famous human
rights advocates.
For activists and Kashmir
diaspora within Western
countries, it is our responsibility
to send letters and request an
audience within the parliament
by contacting your local
MPs, or your local
congresswomen/congresswmen
and senators, and reach out
to them about Kashmir on a
consistent basis, systematically,
every few months, with a new
update on the escalating
situation.
This must be done
both locally, as well as
through intergovernmental
organizations, such as the
European Union, and the United
Nations headquarters in both
Geneva and New York City.
Find a way to network with
representatives who would
lobby for the Kashmir issue and
do this on a consistent basis.

18. BDS
Boycott, Divestment
& Sanctions (BDS)
Sanctions campaigns pressure
governments to fulfil their
legal obligations to end Indian
occupation, and not aid or
assist its maintenance. We
need to ban business with
illegal Indian settlements,
ending military trade and
free-trade agreements, as well
as work for suspending
India’s membership in
international forums.
Boycotts involve withdrawing
support from India’s military
regime, complicit Indian
sporting, cultural and academic
institutions, and from all Indian
and international companies
engaged in violations of Kashmiri
human rights.
Divestment campaigns
withdraw investments from the
State of India and all Indian
and international companies
that sustain India’s military
oppression.
Boycott Divestment Sanctions
#BoycottIndia
12 / 

19. Digital Outreach
& Resistance
Solidarity
with Justice
Seeking
Causes
Since Facebook is becoming
increasingly redundant, the
youthwiththemostengagement
on digital platforms now exist
on TikTok and Instagram. On
these platforms, large scale
social media campaigns are
necessary, and these can often
be shared. Certain organization
championing social media
campaigns include the World
Kashmir Awareness Forum, as
well as Kashmir Civitas itself.
These posts can be shared and
spread.
Twitter Storms have become a
crucial part of our movement,
so the use of hashtags play a key
role in spreading the word
quickly when the Indian
state acts aggressively. Since
India is the country with the
largest internet bans by far (all
concentrated in Kashmir),
people outside must use
social media to compensate the
silencing with a megaphone.
It is of the utmost strategic importance to always
show solidarity as a Kashmiri publicly to all other
causes that stand with oppressed people and seek
justice for them. This is not an opportunity for us
to hijack other causes, but to add to their base of
support, being explicit about our Kashmiri origin
and why their struggle matters to us. Kashmiri
activism cannot, under any circumstances, throw
any other conflict or struggle under the bus by
emphasizing our own importance. At worst, we
cannot criticize or undermine other struggles. At
best, we synergize each other’s campaigns.
However, challenge for Kashmiris
is to deal with the suspension of
accounts as social media
tech giants censor content
related to Kashmiri activism.
Given this reality, we must
reach out to tech giants publicly,
appealing to the mandated
rights enshrined in various
countries constitutions (values
such as freedom of
speech) so they could
respond adequately for
requests to get uncensored.
Kashmir has a UN mandated
right; we do not have sedition
against a country.
/ 13

20. PRE
14 / 
Racial Equality &
Black Lives Matter
Feminist issue
Solidarity with
Palestine
The way Kashmiris experience oppression
has a strong link to the Palestinian
experience. Palestine is undergoing a brutal
military occupation, resistance is being
branded as terrorism, military force is used
with impunity, while Israel
increasingly tries to change the
demography through laws and live
under constant fear of surveillance.
All the while the human rights abuses are
being undermined by flaring religious
sentiments by a far right-wing
government. The Indian and Israeli
state have been increasingly cooperating,
using violent tactics of occupation to
oppress the indigenous inhabitants of
the lands they aim to colonize.
Kashmiris within Kashmir have
consistently been arrested in India for
showing support to Palestine. However, for
the diaspora outside Kashmir and
Kashmiri activists, it is paramount to
show unequivocal support for the
freedom of the Palestine.
As a Kashmiri, we must stand up against racial oppression in
all manner and respects. Stand up for the Black Lives Matter
movement as Kashmiris and raise the Kashmiri flags
and banners indicating that you are a Kashmiri and against
the use of violence to oppress any group based on their race or
ethnicity. We offer full support for the Black Lives Matter
movement, because we are living under the military state
apparatus that oppresses us for our ethnicity as it
systematically kills us. This parallel must be acknowledged,
as we will work mutually with our allies for justice.
Oppression of Muslims
Worldwide
There is no hierarchy of suffering among Muslims in the
same community – we are not special. The
Palestinians, the Rohingya, Syrian refugees, Indian
Muslims threatened by Hindu nationalist mobs, there is no
separation between us and them. We must stand up for
them and put effort into aiding their struggle by virtue
of our shared faith and committment to justice, and
encourage from them the same in return. Prophet
Muhammad (PBUH) had spoken of the unity of the Muslim
community, “The believers, in their love, mutual kindness, and
close ties, are like one body; when any part suffers, the
whole body responds to it with wakefulness and fever.”
Solidarity & Unity
Between Kashmiris
Kashmiris are stronger when they focus on the suffering
that unites them together. Kashmiris must put an end to
separation, distinguishing between Kashmiris from different
cities and neighborhoods, or religious sect-based thinking,
especially differences about politics. Regardless of what future
you want for Kashmir, every Kashmiri agrees with the right
for self-determination and an end to the brutal occupation.
Support Kashmir Employment for Kashmiris who must leave
their homes out of necessity, as economic opportunities are
getting increasingly stifled due to the conflict. Make a duty
to help a fellow Kashmiri diaspora, and show solidarity on an
individual level. Keep connected with your fellow Kashmiris
wherever you are and build a strong culture of activism for the
Kashmir cause.
It is of paramount importance for Kashmiris
tostandupforwomen’srightsinallconflicts.
Indian military have repeatedly used rape
as a weapon of war, and in Kashmir, women
have been disproportionately affected
by the conflict, with the widespread
phenomena of half-widows – women who
had their husbands disappear without
ever finding out about their whereabouts.
Many women are molested, harassed, and
kidnapped throughout this conflict, and
it is up to Kashmiris to present this as a
feminist issue that demands international
attention.

21. ESENT KAS
HOW TO
PRESENT
KASHMIR

22. Seizing the Narrative
India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party government is doubling down by construing a
narrative portraying resistance to India as “foreign” and refusing to accept UN intervention.
Therefore, we must take back our narrative and be vigilant when the following word games
are being played:
TERMS:
CLAIMS:
Militant / Terrorist / Separatist
Pakistan’s militancy campaign among a few
violent separatists
Threats to state security being contained
Kashmir is an integral part of India
Pakistan is funding terrorism and separatism
so they can take Kashmir for themselves
The Indian army are there to protect locals
from terrorism
Claims of “development”,”economic
rebuilding”, “residency enhancements” and
creation of a “new Kashmir” by the Indian
Government.
Normalization of the state ‘Jammu & Kashmir’
Separatist movement, militancy
Freedom Fighter
Kashmiri people’s right to self-determination
Innocent journalists, activists, politicians and
peaceful protesters being illegally detained
Kashmir has its own ethnicities,
culture, language, history, and identity,
that is completely different to India.
Kashmiris are being violently oppressed by
the Indian military occupation and want to be
given a chance to decide their own fate
Kashmiris unanimously oppose India’s
military presence because they operate with
absolute impunity in the region and have
abused their power in every conceivable way,
from rape, torture, murder, illegal detainment
and kidnapping
The law changes are settler-colonial
expansionism to change the demography,
ensure a pathway for non-Kashmiris to take
control of Kashmir’s weakened economy, enable
a systematic erasure of Kashmiri history through
new education policies, and implement a media
policy that criminalizes any reporting and
documenting of Indian brutalities. According to
economic indicators, Kashmir was economically
ahead of most Indian states before the imposed
laws that caused irreparable economic damage.
Indian-Occupied Kashmir
Independence movement, freedom struggle
16 / 

23. SPEAK U
Speak up!
Why Now?
It is often very difficult to talk about Kashmir,
especially in our work settings. Kashmir and
their co-strugglers have for too long been
silenced, vilified and criminalized for countering
dominant narratives. Worse, they have been
dubbed as separatists even though they have
made very clear, time and again, that the desire
for freedom against Indian military violence
and undemocratic occupation, is not the same
as separatism, and that a large component of
the movement for Kashmir liberation stems
for a historic separation and independence
from India before the partition. These forms of
suppressing free speech on Kashmir have been
persistent across generations, are accompanied
by volatile consequences for one’s
own professional, economic, physical and
mental health wellness, and have only
intensified in the last decade as the movement
as been silenced on social media.
However, it is still important to have
these conversations, not only because
of a responsibility towards the Kashmiris
who have no one to protect them against
the Indian state’s atrocities, but also
because when we collectively show
solidarity, we are able to protect more
people taking action and open space for
others to do the same.
/ 17

24. Many corporations have a centralized discussion board which
employees can post messages on to generate a conversation or to
share resources on how people can learn more or take action. For
smaller workplace environments, a staff meeting or interpersonal
discussion with your supervisor might make most sense. An email
message to coworkers can also be appropriate. You can organize
an online discussion forum off company hours and invite your co-
workers to attend so you can share these thoughts. Interpersonal
chats in break rooms, or on the phone are also tremendously
meaningful. Another option is to create a space to openly share
and engage in discussions in the workplace with the purpose of
bringing people together to talk about issues and topics that are
important and/or interesting to them.
How to Present Kashmir
in the Workplace
In Conversation
18 / 
1

25. 2
Know Your Audience
Before crafting your message, reflect on your audience. What sort of workplace environment
are you a part of? What are the values of your team? How can you make a connection with your
co-workers in a way that can help make them feel that the Kashmir cause matters to them
and that they are also stakeholders in Kashmiri self-determination? Do you have colleagues
that would support the Kashmir cause or identify as solidarity activists?
EXAMPLES:
If you work in a media or tech company: you can start the conversation by speaking out against
corporate suppression of free speech, or discuss how in fact tech is not neutral and what
responsibilities tech workers have in these moments.
If you work in education: you can start the conversation by talking about the importance of free
intellectual exchange of ideas and experiences, or talk about the difficulties Kashmiri educators
and students face just trying to teach/learn.
If you work in a job dedicated to social, climate, disability, racial, gendered, sexual, or other
forms of justice: you can draw a direct correlation between your workplace values and how that
specific form of injustice is unfolding in Kashmir.
If you work in the food industry: talk about Kashmiri cuisine, the various ways Kashmiri culture
is appropriated, stolen, and how natural foods indigenous to Kashmir are threatened by Indian
attacks on agricultural production and access.
If you work in a job that has promoted values of democratic engagement, inclusion and/or
diversity: you can talk about this as a Kashmiri and/or an advocate for Kashmir and why it matters
to you.
If you work in the legal field: you can discuss the calls to end normalization agreements with India
until it complies with international law and how what is happening is a violation of human rights.
If you work in a job where your employers have direct ties with Indian companies or public
institutions: you can make them aware that there is a global movement for boycotting India in
Kashmir which parallels the movements to boycott apartheid in South Africa and sway them
toward institutional responsibility by ending complicity.
If you work in the medical field: you can talk about the ethical responsibility of medical practitioners
to account for war- manufactured injury, disease, mortality rates etc.
If you are a cultural worker, share and discuss the work of Kashmiri poets, artists, writers, singers,
designers, novelists etc.
Have the beautiful geography and pictures of mountains and valleys in Kashmir displayed on your
walls, use it to spark a conversation.
If you’re a doctor,or a nurse, ask your influential patients about Kashmir if they are grateful for
your help. You can also ask them to pray for Kashmir, even if it’s to just spark a conversation
about it.
If you work in other professions: find a way to connect with the real lived experiences of your
co-workers whether that be through working class struggle, struggles against borders (for
immigrant and refugee communities especially), anti-racist struggles, and gendered/sexual
justice struggles.

26. 3
4
Fear of Retaliation
Your supervisor/employer should not retaliate against you for expressing your
opinion on this matter. Your legal rights will vary from place to place, so
if your job is threatened or if your workplace becomes hostile, document
everything and reach out to organizations for resources and legal support
as soon as you can. There are many groups you can contact, if you’re in the
United States, this would be the ACLU.
Calculating Your Words
Be sure to be clear in your message, however you choose to deliver it.
Speak your own truth and make that clear when you craft your message.
Ask for people to respect your truth preemptively.
Make sure to be clear about the principles of the Kashmiri struggle:
It is a global struggle against exploitative capitalism and brutal
colonial enterprise/project. While it may seem important to debunk
myths such as this is a fight between religious groups, it is best to
present the principles of the struggle without worrying about those
myths and then answering questions as they come up by always going
back to the principles.
Make sure to stress that Kashmiris have the right to defend
themselves, which is exactly what they are doing, as they are under
occupation, and subjected to blockade, and persecution, not the other
way around.
Do not retract your principles when you receive push back.
Be careful about the “two-sided conflict” frame, or that it is
more “complicated”. Words matter and it is important for us to amplify
the calls from Kashmiris on the ground.
Resistance is justified when people are occupied: we can stick to
our principles without going into details about the actors/forms of
resistance.
Steer clear of any responses you feel are attempting to entrap you to
say something out of anger.

27. 5
Example
By now, I am sure you are all aware of the
intensifying violence unfolding in Kashmir.
As the daughter/son of Kashmiri parents
who lived through the conflict, the events
this past few months has pained me greatly.
The death of the non-violent resistance
leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani while he was
under house arrest for several years, and
the unlawful arrest of the Human Rights
activist, Khurram Parvaiz, has caused me a
lot of grief, because no one is able to raise
their voice or stand up for the rights of the
Kashmiri people.
Example
• Your own entry/orientation to the
Kashmiri cause.
• The courage you feel based on the
resilience of Kashmiris in Kashmir.
• A sense of responsibility to amplify their
voices and break through the fear of
speaking up.
• An expression of vulnerability: the fear,
grief, pain you have personally been
experiencing as a result of the events.
• The support you have felt as a member
of the team in your workplace setting,
which is giving you the confidence to
raise the topic.
• The isolation you have felt in your
workplace setting which is pushing you
Example
• Urging your co-workers to join actions, sign
petitions, appeal to their congressional
representatives.
• Sharing resources for how to learn more
(you can include a link to resources)
• Asking your workspace to consider its
constituentswhoareKashmiri,Palestinian,
and/or Muslim and the various forms of
grief, trauma, pain and exhaustion they
might be currently experiencing. Maybe
providing them space to reflect on the
events, resources for mental health
support, time off, etc.
• Asking your workspace to end complicity
in silencing Kashmiri narratives.
• Asking your workspace to be aware that
Kashmiris and their co-strugglers are
being silenced asking for more space and
intention for deeper engagement on this
issue.
• Think of the power or influence you have
and/or your place of work - this can also
be an opportunity to think of long-term
strategizing and change, and the first-
step is to open the door for conversation.
Crafting Your Message
Describe the Current Situation that has unfolded
in Kashmir
Describe What it Means for You to Be Speaking
Up
Pitching Your Ask - What do you want from your
work space?
step one
step two
step three
to speak up.
• The courage it takes to speak up when
Kashmiri/advocates for Kashmir have
been punished for so long and while
Kashmiris are still being fired from their
jobs, silenced, and criminalized for
speaking their truth in India.
• The importance that the Movement for
Black Lives, Palestine and other social
justice causes/communities have done
for us this year, inspiring us to be truer
to our principles/values and to speak out
when injustice is unfolding.
• The courage it takes to speak up when
Kashmiri/advocates for Kashmir have bee
• The isolation you have felt in your
workplace setting which is pushing you
to speak up.

28. Kashmir in
12 Talking Points
1. Kashmir is a UN recognized disputed territory. It does not belong to India.
2. Kashmiris have the Right of Self-Determination. That is sacrosanct, undeniable and non-
negotiable. This will be determined by all those who are ‘state-subjects’ according to the
United Nations guidelines – hitherto agreed upon by both India and Pakistan.
3. Kashmir is a nuclear flashpoint – India and Pakistan have fought 4 wars and have
NUCLEAR WEAPONS. The likelihoodof war is ever-present.
4. Indian Occupied Kashmir is the most militarized place on earth, with nearly 1 million
Indian soldiers ominously patrolling.
5. India has committed gross crimes against humanity. That includes the approximately
200,000 – 300,000 killed during the Jammu Massacre of 1947 and the more than 95,000
killed since 1989, for a total of nearly 400,000 people.
6. Mass graves in Kashmir have unearthed 6700 bodies. We call for an independent,
impartial investigation to uncover this brutal reality.
7. Genocide Watch has issued 2 Genocide Alert for Kashmir since 2019 at the hands of
the Indian government.
8. In Indian Occupied Kashmir, the majority opinion is represented by the Joint Resistance
Leadership (JRL) which includes Syed Ali Geelani, M. Yasin Malik, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq
and others such as Kashmiri freedom icon Shabbir Shah. Majority of Kashmiris want
nothing to do with India’s occupation. Knowing this, the Indian state does not allow for
a referendum.
9. Kashmir is not a bilateral issue between Pakistan and India. And, the most important
stakeholders are the citizens/state subjects of the disputed territory as well as the
international community.
10. Kashmir is a de-colonization struggle against military occupation. Our struggle needs to
be framed in a way that focuses on India’s colonization of Kashmir – and rightly point out
the Indian state’s hegemonic settler-colonial project. It is not a secessionist or separatist
movement, but a de-colonial movement against Settler-colonialism.
11. Kashmir is not an integral part of India. In fact, it never was. Irrespective of the
propagation of false histories that rationalize it as such. We believe that the cultural/
ethnic, geographical, religious and political history of the disputed territory make this
clear considering majority of ancient Kashmiris were Buddhist, not Hindu. Ultimately, this
organization believes in peaceful methods of civil resistance to challenge India’s settler-
colonial project.
12. There has been a deliberate attempt to undermine Kashmiri agency and usurp our history.
It must be acknowledged that Kashmiri Muslim identity is the primary, though not
only, ethnic/religious/cultural identity in the disputed territory. As such, our organization
believes in encouraging the development of an inclusive, pluralistic polity, that recognizes
local axiology and the values and norms of the majority community, while protecting the
rights of minorities.
22 / 

29. Learning
Resources
SOME resources below are clickable hyperlinks.
List of PARTNER Kashmir Organizations
Kashmir Civitas
World Kashmir Awareness Forum
List of Trusted Kashmiri Charities
J&K Yateem Trust
Athrout
List of reliable news sources on Kashmir
ALJAZEERA
Free Press Kashmir
The Kashmiriyat
The Kashmir Walla
Kashmir Observer
TRT World
List of Books on Kashmir to Recommend
A Disputed Legacy, 1846-1990 | Alastair Lamb
The Collaborator | Mirza Waheed
Kashmir: The Case for Freedom | Angana Chatterji, Arundhati
Roy, Pankaj Mishra, Hilal Bhatt, Habbah Khatun & Tariq Ali
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Hindu Rulers, Muslim Subjects: Islam, Rights, and the History of
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Kashmir: Exposing the Myth Behind the Narrative | Khalid
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Nuclear Flashpoint: War Over Kashmir | Farhan Mujahid Chak |
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