Day: January 8, 2022

New Delhi, January 08, 2022 (PPI-OT):With the elections round the corner in Uttar Pradesh, the Hindutva brigade has come up with yet another antic to up the ante in the poll-bound state. Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal supporters have put up posters all along the ghats (river banks) of Ganges in Varanasi sternly prohibiting non-Hindus from venturing near the river banks in the city.

Some of the posters in Hindi made their way to the social media. One of them read: “Not a request, but a warning”. Video clips shared by journalists show a group of VHP and Bajrang Dal members, all sporting saffron mufflers around their necks, holding aloft the posters while riding a boat.

Reports said the posters were seen at Panchganga Ghat, Ram Ghat, Dashashwamedh Ghat, Assi Ghat and Manikarnika Ghat of the city, which is represented by the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, in the Parliament.

Rajan Gupta, a local VHP leader, is seen in a video clip that showed up on the internet, saying, “This is not a poster, but a message to non believers of Sanatan Dharma. They (people belonging to other religious groups) should stay away from symbols of Sanatan culture. This is not a picnic spot.”

The posters have come up amidst raging election campaign for the upcoming assembly polls where the stakes are high for every political entity. The rightwing Hindu groups campaigning for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are openly playing communal card to mobilise Hindu voters both online and on the ground. In their desperation they are hurling verbal abuse on minorities with impunity banking on the lenient law enforcement agencies.

The city and the river have a religious significance for Hindus. Of late, their importance has grown manifold in political terms after Narendra Modi inaugurated the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor project on 5,000 hectares last month at a project cost of Rs 399 crore.

The rightwing groups are planning to put up such posters outside temples in Varanasi as well. “River Ganga is our mother, it is not a picnic spot,” Bajrang Dal’s Varanasi coordinator, Nikhil Tripathi Rudr, was quoted as saying by the media. “Those who consider the Ganga a picnic spot should stay away from it. If they do not, Bajrang Dal will make sure they do,” he hurled a warning.

However, Opposition parties like Congress have termed the move communal taken with an intent to polarise the city. They said that they would meet the administration to lodge their protests and demand action against the rightwing groups for attempting to disturb communal harmony of the city.

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Surguja, January 08, 2022 (PPI-OT):A large group of extremist Hindus took an oath to boycott Muslims socially and economically at a village in Surguja district in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. In a video clip that has gone viral, they are seen taking a pledge to not purchase any items from Muslim vendors, shopkeepers or sell land to members of the community. After the pledge, they are seen chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’, a war cry furthered by Hindutva extremists, and other slogans.

“From today, we Hindus pledge to not buy any item from a Muslim shopkeeper and not to sell them anything. We pledge to not sell or give our lands on lease to Muslims. We Hindus pledge to buy from vendors coming to our villages only after ascertaining their religion. We also pledge to not work as labourers for them,” they say in the video.

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New Delhi, January 08, 2022 (PPI-OT):Justice Madan B. Lokur, a former judge of the Indian Supreme Court, voiced his great worry about the Supreme Court’s ‘inaction’ in response to the hate assembly’s calls for genocide against Muslims in Hardiwar in December17-19,2021.

He underlined that a call for genocide is the same as genocide itself, according to Article 3 of the Genocide Convention, to which India is a signatory. In a forceful and outspoken interview, Justice Lokur, said he is “terribly disappointed” the Supreme Court has not taken cognizance of the calls for genocide.

The Supreme Court, according to Justice Lokur, should have intervened promptly and has both a legal and moral obligation to do so. A call for genocide is judged to be the same as genocide itself, according to Article 3 of the Genocide Convention, to which India is a signatory. As a result, India has committed genocide under the Convention, making the Supreme Court’s silence and lack of action all the more perplexing and troubling.

Justice Lokur said in a 17-minute interview with Karan Thapar for The Wire that even if the chief justice didn’t want to act suo moto, which he could and should have done, he should have acted after receiving a letter from 76 lawyers, including a former law minister, requesting the Supreme Court’s intervention.

When asked what the Supreme Court’s taking cognizance would entail, Justice Lokur responded that the court must first ask the government, both at the state and federal levels, what it is doing and give them no more than 24 hours to respond.

Following that, the court should order a new and thorough inquiry to be conducted in a short period of time. Third, the court must demand that those who called for genocide be apprehended and “placed behind bars,” as Justice Lokur put it.

When calls for genocide are made, Justice Lokur believes the Supreme Court has both a legal and moral obligation to respond. He explained that the court is known as “the sentinel on the qui vive,” which means it guards against any breach of fundamental rights. The demand for genocide is unmistakably a violation of basic human rights.

Justice Lokur questioned why the court had not acted even four days after reconvening after the New Year’s vacation. Indeed, he claimed, the Supreme Court should have responded to the letter from 76 lawyers as soon as possible, if not earlier on a suo moto basis.

It is worth mentioning here, besides 76 lawyers’ letter, former Union minister Prof Saifuddin Soz, Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind (M) and others also wrote letters to the Chief Justice of India on the hate matters.

Justice Lokur concurred with a point made by Rekha Sharma, a former judge of the Delhi high court, in an article in the Indian Express that each Supreme Court judge has the power as well as the obligation to intervene in this case, and that they do not have to wait for the chief justice to do so. He also agreed that this meant that none of the Supreme Court’s 30 judges has deemed it appropriate to take cognizance of cries for genocide and act. He agreed that the situation is really troubling.

Finally, when asked what would happen if the Supreme Court failed to intervene and take up this case, Justice Lokur remarked it would be “a dreadful scenario.” We’d be “heading for trouble” in those circumstances, he warned.

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Srinagar, January 08, 2022 (PPI-OT):In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, most places in Kashmir Valley witnessed heavy snowfall on Saturday morning as the authorities issued an alert for avalanche-prone areas of it. The Met department had predicted that the intensity of Snowfall and rainfall in parts of IIOJK are likely to increase today.

Due to heavy snowfall in the area, all operations at the Srinagar Airport have been delayed. Srinagar Airport issued the notification on Saturday stating that all flights and services were delayed as continued snowfall has reduced the visibility at the airport.

Landslides triggered by incessant rain blocked the Srinagar-Jammu highway, the only surface link of the Kashmir Valley with the rest of the world, leaving at least 3,000 vehicles stranded. As per media reports, the traffic officials said over 1,000 vehicles were cleared from Srinagar to Jammu on Friday after which landslides and shooting stones at multiple places in Ramban district in Jammu region again blocked the highway.

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New Delhi, January 08, 2022 (PPI-OT):In an open letter, a group of students and faculty members from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) have asked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to speak up against hate speech and caste-based violence in the country. The signatories said that the PM’s silence on these issues was emboldening the hate-filled voices.

“Your silence, Prime Minister, emboldens the hate-filled voices and threatens the unity and integrity of our country. We request you, Prime Minister, to stand firm against forces that seek to divide us,” the students and the faculty said in their letter. The letter comes in light of the recent Haridwar Dharam sansad event where some Hindu religious leaders urged people to take up arms against Muslims and called for genocide.

“Hate speeches and calls for violence against communities based on religion/caste identities is unacceptable,” the letter said. The signatories said that even though the Indian Constitution provided the right to practice one’s religion in dignity, there was a sense of fear across India.

“There is a sense of fear in our country now – places of worship, including churches in recent days, are being vandalised, and there have been calls to take arms against our Muslim brothers and sisters. All of this is carried out with impunity and without any fear of due process,” they wrote. The letter was signed by 183 signatories, including 13 faculty members, students and faculty members of IIM-Ahmedabad and IIM-Bengaluru.

At the Haridwar event, a Hindu religious leader, Sant Kalicharan Maharaj, declares that the aim of Islam is to capture the nation through politics. In the controversial speech, clips of which have gone viral, Kalicharan Maharaj also urged people to elect a “staunch Hindu leader” to “protect” Hinduism.

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New Delhi, January 08, 2022 (PPI-OT):Dalits are facing systematic oppression at the hands of upper caste Hindus in India even in this civilized world of 2022. A report released by Kashmir Media Service, today, said the Dalits have been enduring oppression for centuries and they are considered ‘untouchable’ under the Indian caste system. It said the Indian society has miserably failed to integrate Dalits and 75 years after India’s independence from the British rule, discrimination against the minority community is still rampant in the country and they are forced to perform most menial jobs. It pointed out that the Indian government has not only failed to eradicate the caste system, it has also entrenched and modernized it.

The report said Dalits are subjected to various forms of caste discrimination and brutal violence. They are not even allowed to enter temples in upper caste neighbourhoods while the women belonging to the community have long been victims of sexual violence by upper caste Hindus, it added. The report said that the international community should come forward to save Dalits from persecution by upper caste Hindus and it must raise its voice against inhuman caste system in India.

The report pointed out that only 7 percent Brahmans are ruling India and the demand for caste based census by the 70% population of India is growing. It said the last caste census was done in 1931 when India was under British rule and a similar exercise was carried out in 2011, but it never saw the light of the day.

The report said, the political parties including Janata Dal United (JDU), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Smajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) are demanding caste census and claiming that the so-called upper castes have occupied disproportionate share in jobs and access to higher education.

It quoted Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, a strong advocate of caste census, who said that enumeration of population of each caste group would help the government to formulate more accurate welfare programs. The report maintained that quotas for Scheduled Castes (SCs) also called Dalits 15 percent and the Scheduled Tribes (STs) 7.5 percent are based on caste and tribal identities and this reservation is not based on their share as per their population.

The report said, the BJP has categorically stated in Parliament that it won’t undertake a caste-based survey. “Despite the fact, caste-based census is the need of the hour in India, the Supreme Court has dismissed the case on the request of BJP government that it is not possible to carry out caste-based census. The absence of fresh caste census data means that the caste estimates of 1931 are being projected for formulating welfare policies in 2022” it added.

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New York, January 08, 2022 (PPI-OT):A webinar was held in New York to commemorate the Kashmiris’ right to self-determination. In his key-note address, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Munir Akram, said that this was to mark the fifth of January 1949, when the UN Commission for Pakistan and India (UNCIP) adopted the resolution, promising the right of self-determination to the people of Jammu and Kashmir through the holding of an impartial plebiscite under auspices of the United Nations.

This resolution and subsequent resolutions of the Security Council concerning the final disposition of Jammu and Kashmir and the provisions of the resolution were accepted by all parties to the conflict. They are binding on both Pakistan and India. Unfortunately, over the course of the last 73 years, India has failed to implement these resolutions of the Security Council. First, by resorting to various forms of obfuscation, and deviousness and delay, and later, through a campaign of massive oppression which in the course of a 10-year period, from 1989 to 1999, killed over 100,000 Kashmiris and brought untold suffering to Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

The latest ploy by India is to impose its unilateral measures from 5 August 2019 when it sought to obliterate its special status. These acts were aimed at destroying the state of Kashmiris’ distinct identity to induct 900,000 troops to oppress the freedom struggle of its people; to change the demography of Jammu and Kashmir; and transform it from a Muslim majority state to a minority territory by the Indian government.

Ambassador Akram further emphasized that Pakistan was of course, entirely, and fully committed to the freedom struggle of the Kashmiri people from the outset and since five August 2019. Pakistan has also put together a detailed dossier, which lists over 3400 specific crimes committed by Indian forces in IIOJK and have called for the persons responsible for these crimes to be held accountable.

Ambassador Akram added that the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, has set out the conditions for the resumption of dialogue with India. And the conditions are three: First, Halt in India’s human rights violations in IIOJK. Secondly, the immediate cancellation of all the unilateral measures taken by India post August 2019; and third, reverse the process of demographic change in Jammu and Kashmir.

Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai, Secretary General of World Kashmir Awareness Forum (WKAF), said that Kashmir was the oldest unresolved international conflict still pending on the agenda of the Security Council. And that Kashmir was the only international dispute where the solution of the conflict – right to self-determination – was suggested by the parties themselves, India and Pakistan.

Dr Fai cited the example by quoting Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who said on 29 July 1947 in Delhi, “I am not going to suggest to the Maharaja (Ruler of Kashmir) to accede to India and not to Pakistan. The real sovereign of the state are the people. The ruler is a servant of the people.” “Kashmir would belong to the Kashmiris.” Fai also quoted columnist Swaminathan Aiyar of New Delhi wrote in The Times of India “We promised Kashmiris a plebiscite six decades ago. Let us hold one now, and give them three choices: independence, union with Pakistan, and union with India. Let Kashmiris decide the outcome, not the politicians and armies of India and Pakistan.”

“Much is being made of the fact that seven decades have passed since the principled solution was formulated by the United Nations with almost universal support. Mere passage of time or the flight from realities cannot alter the fact that these resolutions remain unimplemented until today. The United Nations resolutions can never become obsolete or overtaken by events or changed circumstances. The passage of time cannot invalidate an enduring and irreplaceable principle – the right of self-determination of the people of Kashmir, Dr Fai explained.

The WKAF General Secretary made an appeal to the Secretary General of the UN to persuade India to take four steps. 1. Rescind Domicile Law which was designed to change the demography of Kashmir; 2. Release all political prisoners, including Yasin Malik, Khurram Parvez, Shabbir Shah, Aasiya Andrabi and Masarrat Aalam; 3. Repeal all special repressive laws; and 4. Restore the rights of peaceful association, assembly and demonstrations.

Ms Victoria Schofield, British biographer and historian said that our aim as we know is to show solidarity on the occasion of the Kashmiris’ right to self-determination day – in the light of the UNCIP resolution of 5 January 1949. It goes without saying that I condemn all human rights abuses – the longer the issue remains unresolved the higher the statistics, the more dangerous globally the issue becomes and the more people suffer.

Again – Ms Schofield added, putting the resolution in its historical context – two prior resolutions – one passed by the Security Council in April 1948 and the other by the recently established UNCIP in August 1948 – had already endorsed this process. The 5 January 1949 resolution was meant to resolve aspects of disagreement which had already arisen and then move forward to the resolution. What is the resolution’s significance today, she asked, in relation to the inhabitants’ right of self-determination? I would suggest, together with the other key resolutions, that it still establishes the necessary principle of consultation, of reference to the people, of self-determination.

So, considering where we are today – and appraising ‘the right of the Kashmiris to self-determination in the light of UNCIP resolution of 5 January 1949,’ – it is important that we learn from the history, we understand why the resolution was passed, what the context was, and why it failed. We also have to move on. But that does not mean forgetting the Kashmir issue or setting it aside. We have a voice, we have a pen, we need to continue to highlight the situation so that the inhabitants of Jammu and Kashmir can enjoy, like us, in the privileged western world, the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, Ms Victoria explained.

Dr SH Shaheed Soharwardi, Professor of International Relations at Peshawar University, said United Nations resolutions adopted by the Security Council, be it Palestine or Kashmir need to be implemented. Human rights standards should be the perquisite for any member country to maintain the status at the United Nations. Those who are violating the international agreements need to be banned from joining any session of the United Nations General Assembly or the Security Council.

Dr Soharwardi added that India is involved in human rights violations including extrajudicial killings in Kashmir. India is using all methods to change the demography of Kashmir, be it land grabbing, allowing non-Kashmiris to settle in Kashmir. Human Rights Council needs can be instrumental in handling the situation there.

Dr Soharwardi explained that the United Nations has to play a role to persuade member countries to abide by its Charter and other relevant Security Council resolutions, whether in Palestine or Kashmir. In order to avoid more human tragedy, the UN must initiate peace talks over Kashmir. United Nations has played a very important role, particularly in East Timor, which gives us hope that if it can happen in East Timor, it can happen in Kashmir too. World powers need to settle the Kashmir issue for the sake of international peace and security.

Dr Halil Thoker, Professor at Istanbul University, Turkey said that he felt embarrassed, as a human being, of the fact that after 75 years since the occupation of Jammu and Kashmir by Indian Army and after 73 years since 5th January resolution of 1949 by the UNSC, we are here together again and discussing how a nation’s right of self-determination has been denied and how a nation is being subjugated to live under inhuman conditions created by an occupation force.

As a human being and a human right activist whenever I look at the Kashmir problem, naturally, I see a problem from the human rights perspective. So, I started going through the human right reports and other resources so that I may present more reliable information. However, when I went through and found the human right abuses in Kashmir and crimes against Kashmiri people, I thought it will be better to take a look at the UN Charters and concerning papers about the human right abuses, Dr Thoker emphasized.

Dr Thoker explained that he was not a lawyer, nor an expert of international relations, nevertheless, when he read the Article 7 of Roma Statue concerning “crime against humanity” and Article 8 of Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocol II concerning “war crimes”, without any hesitation his logic had it connected the crimes committed by Indian forces in Kashmir to those Articles 7 and 8 of UN regulations.

In short, the situation in Kashmir is alarming and the rest of world should act against the inhuman offenses committed against the people of Kashmir. As the members of human race, we should declare that human right violations in the occupied Jammu and Kashmir are not acceptable, and the right of Self-Determination of Kashmiri people must be respected and United Nation resolutions must be implemented as soon as possible.

Lars Rise, Norwegian parliamentarian said that the United Nations Security Council resolutions stemming back to 1948 and expressly endorsed by both India and Pakistan mandate a self-determination referendum for Jammu and Kashmir under the United Nations supervision. Negotiations between India and Pakistan have failed to break the logjam for an equally long period.

It is time to recognize the true Kashmiri leadership should be recognized as the principal party to the dispute. It was a glaring mistake from the outset in 1948 to exclude Kashmiris from discussions over their future destiny.

Lars Rise emphasized that he never considered the Kashmir conflict a territorial dispute between India and Pakistan. It is the issue of the right of self-determination that was promised to the people of Kashmir by both India and Pakistan and endorsed by the United Nations Security Council. Modi, Lars Rise added, is violating all international conventions. We must call Modi what he is – a criminal – who even banned the Missionaries of Mother Teressa Charity.

Norway, he added, being the member of the Security Council in 2022 can play a role in the right direction. He still believed that appointment of a special envoy on Kashmir could bring the parties together and that it was time that both India and Pakistan realize that until the people of Kashmir are included in the peace process, any negotiations between these two neighbours may not lead them to any logical conclusion.

Muzammil Ayub Thakur, Director of Justice Foundation, said as we remember this day as the Right to Self-Determination Day, I’d like to remind everyone the urgency of achieving self-determination for the people of IIOJK. Right to self-determination will always remain relevant but the precondition to that is not just the end, but the reversal of India’s settler colonial project to force demographic change. Since 5th August 2019, India has taken many steps towards fulfilling their promise of an Akhand Bharat, a pan Hindu nation.

Muzzammil warned that Genocide Watch issued an alert 2 years ago, warning genocide is imminent. Bear in mind modern genocides and ethnic cleanings don’t necessarily happen by bullets and tanks and missiles. Modern Indian fascism has paved the way to accomplishing their agenda of a pan Hindutva nation.

The youth of Kashmir, he added, have announced that no compromise on principles and ideology. The intellectual and ideological lines of demarcations have been drawn. They have sacrificed far too much to sit on a fence and appease everyone.

“We must devise a plan for sustainability of this resistance, fostering a new generation of leaders, thinkers, writers, activists, strategists etc, willing to give up everything as I have. Space needs to be filled by the new generation, well equipped and adept in the modern world. Our enemies are organised, and they evolve and adapt quickly. We must too, Muzzammil observed.

Muzdalfa, British Kashmiri youth representative, said yet again, we are witnessing another anniversary of the non-implementation of the Security Council resolution on Kashmir. It’s been 73 years since self-determination plebiscite in the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir remains unfulfilled.

Self-determination is one of the fundamental rights codified in all major human rights instruments as well as the United Nations Charter. The denial of this right and subjugation of Kashmiris is the very negation of human dignity.

Muzdalfa emphasized that in these seven decades, we have seen Kashmir becoming one of the most militarized zones in the world, where Indian occupation forces have committed massive human rights violations that have been documented in two reports of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in 2018 and 2019. India’s continuous aggression against the Kashmiri people shows that peace could only be restored by a free and fair self-determination plebiscite.

Therefore, Secretary General of the United Nations should call India out for its inhuman actions taken in IIOJK and fulfill its obligation of holding a free and impartial plebiscite, to let the Kashmiris exercise their right to self-determination. Towards the end, Mr Raees Warsi read an emotional poem specifically for the occasion.

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Srinagar, January 08, 2022 (PPI-OT):In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President, Mehbooba Mufti, hit out at the authorities for not allowing the party workers to visit Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s grave in Bijbehara on his sixth death anniversary.

The PDP chief, who was accompanied by some party workers, returned home in Srinagar after paying visiting the grave of her father, who died on January 07 in 2016. Later, Mehbooba took to Twitter to thank everyone who remembered her father on his death anniversary.

“Meanwhile J and K police is hounding my party workers who dared to offer Fateha at his grave today. Outlawing and criminalising even a simple act of paying respect and tribute to one’s leader shows state administration’s deep paranoia and intolerance,” she said. Mehbooba posted a video on her timeline in which she is seen arguing with a police officer who also misbehaved with an unidentified PDP leader.

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