SRINAGAR: This is the first time since 1987 that the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) are going to vote. In the Indian Occupied Kashmir, elections have long been considered a polluted affair, marred by boycotts, violence and rigging. But as people of Kashmir go to the elections on Wednesday to vote for their first local assembly in a decade, this time there has been an intense buzz.
Vote Against Oppression
The polls, which will continue in phases until 1 October, is being viewed across the region. It is not only the first time since 2014 that people of Kashmir will be able to vote for regional assembly, but is also the first vote since the region was stripped of its statehood by India’s extremist prime minister Narendra Modi.
A local told the media on the condition of anonymity that they are going to vote against New Delhi to reject the draconian policies of Narendra Modi. He said that there is no room for Modi and his fascist Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) in the Kashmir. He said that he has no interest in these shame elections but wants to use it to reject Modi and New Delhi polices.
Hindutva’s Grip, Kashmir’s Resistance!
It was August 2019 that Prime Minister Modi unilaterally revoked Article 370 – which had given Kashmir its own special status since 1947 – and brought it under the complete control of the New Delhi. An oppressive and lengthy crackdown followed. Thousands of additional forces were deployed in Occupied Kashmir; thousands, including prominent political leaders and activists, were jailed; and the internet was cut for more than 18 months, the longest blackout ever recorded.
The people of Kashmir strongly opposed the unilateral move of Modi and showed strong resistance against the revocation of special status of Kashmir. For Modi’s BJP, taking full control of Kashmir had been a main pledge of their Hindutva agenda for years. Experts said that this unilateral action exposed evil designs of Modi in the region. Western media and independent observers said that Kashmiris on the ground strongly opposed this move and many held protests and openly criticized this unilateral action of New Delhi.
In Occupied Kashmir, anyone seen to be involved in dissent and disagreement was regularly harassed and arrested by Indian security forces and police, often under draconian laws, and the freedom of the Kashmiri press was systematically destroyed and crushed, with hundreds of journalists among those arrested and tortured.
Reclaim Our Voice, Reject Modi’s Rule!
Voters in the Occupied Kashmir described the elections as an opportunity to lastly get back their voice, following years of having their democratic rights muzzled. The Modi regime had resisted holding the elections but it was finally mandated by the supreme court this year, with a September deadline. Another local told the media that the people of Kashmir will regain their voices and will never accept Modi’s rule. He said that the people of Kashmir should reject Modi’s rule and BJP and send them a very clear voice that they will never accept Modi’s extremist regime.
Democracy Wins, Autocracy Loses
The Hindu extremist BJP had firstly claimed they would “sweep” the polls yet widespread anger has left them contesting less than a third of the 90 assembly seats, mostly focused in the only Hindu-majority area of Jammu.
BJP’s Divide & Rule Won’t Work Here
Iltija Mufti, daughter of ex-CM Mehbooba Mufti, whose political party was once in coalition with the BJP said that they are a crossroads in their history and admitted that the people of Kashmir have not felt such deep hostility before. She added that the people feel homeless and disempowered.
However, Iltija Mufti said that this election is important as there is complete disillusionment amongst the people of Kashmir. Historically, the people of Kashmiris have reason to be wary of local polls. Kashmir has been disputed between Pakistan and India since 1947, when the two states gained their independence, and three wars have been fought over the issue of Kashmir.
Ballot Over Bullets, Peace Over Propaganda
It was in 1987 that New Delhi, fearful of the region falling into the hands of pro-freedom leaders, was accused of meddling in elections in Kashmir to prevent pro-independence candidates from taking power. In reply, a coalition of popular political parties stayed out the elections in Occupied Kashmir. Several leaders launched an armed revolt against New Delhi. It plunged the entire region into waves of violence that continue to this day.
This time, candidates from a multitude of parties demand to release many Kashmiris detained under draconian laws since 2019’s crackdown. They made the demand during election rallies in the Occupied Kashmir. India has been projecting the election as a justification of their policies in the occupied Kashmir but the ground realities are completely different.
Kashmir Awakens, Modi’s Era Ends
Many people in Kashmir believed that the Modi regime is attempting to change the Muslim-majority demography of Occupied Kashmir, following changes brought in after 2019 permitted outsiders to buy land, property and invest in the disputed region for the first time. According to media reports, unemployment remains at a 45-year-high in the Occupied Kashmir.
The Modi regime’s claims to have crushed the insurgency in the Occupied Kashmir have been undermined by a recent increase in attacks, which have killed more than 650 people including 200 security personnel since 2020.
Restore Article 370, Restore Kashmir’s Pride!”
Sheikh Showkat Hussain, a Kashmiri political analyst told The Guardian that Modi has been treating the election as a referendum for his decisions of 2019, but local parties see it as a vote against his draconian policies. Sheikh Showkat Hussain said that the people of Kashmir feel that by voting they may lastly be able to put up barriers to the assault that has been unleashed upon them since 2019. People of Kashmir demanded to restore Article 370 and termed it as Kashmir’s Pride.
According to The Guardian, Mohammad Rafiq, 45, a shopkeeper in Bijbehara, was among those to vote for the first time, to send a clear and direct message to the Modi regime. He said that his brother was killed by India’s border security in 1993 when he was holding protest. He said that after killing of his brother, he decided to boycott shame elections but “Now there is such a major attack on our identity that I am going to vote to reject the BJP.”
Our Land, Our Laws, Our Leaders!
Voters seem to be rejecting the traditional political parties, some of whom once aligned with the BJP, in favor of independent candidates or those aligned with groups that have been critical of India’s Kashmir policies.
One of the most famous independent candidates has been Abdul Rashid Sheikh known as Engineer Rashid – a firebrand political leader who had been held in Delhi’s Tihar prison since August 2019 on terror-funding allegations. He is fielding several independent candidates in the assembly election. Local people said that they would not allow anyone to grab their lands in the Occupied Kashmir.
Self-Rule, Not Delhi’s Rule!”
After the court granted Engineer Rashid bail in September, thousands of his supporters have thronged to his gatherings. He said that people are coming out in a large number to record protest against Modi’s draconian policies in Occupied Kashmir. He said that their vote is absolutely against BJP’s assault on the people of Kashmir. Engineer Rashid has pledged to get Kashmir’s autonomy restored but to “solve the Kashmir dispute” once and for all.
Break the Chains of Oppression, Vote BJP Out
Experts and local leaders of Kashmir said that people of Occupied Kashmir should break the chain of oppression and voted against the BJP to completely washout it from the disputed region. According to the experts the current elections are an opportunity for them to reject BJP and Hindutva.
Modi’s Policies, Kashmir’s Pain!
Speaking at an election gathering on the weekend, India’s PM Modi boasted that “the changes in the region in the last decade are nothing short of a dream”.
Yet at the nearby village rallies and political meetings, the same fiery and sizzling slogans raised by Kashmiris for years are once again being heard. In reply to the rallying cries of “hum kya chaahte?” [What do we want?], there is just one response: “Azadi” [freedom]”, The Guardian reported.
