India’s Perfidy with the International Community

Mohammad Zainal Abedin : Modi’s latest hammering on the special status of IOk (India Occupied Kashmir) is an absolute and unmitigated falsity and perfidy not only with the Kashmiri people, but also the international community and to India’s constitution and commitment.

People around the world worriedly watched Mod’s pouring extra soldiers in IOK what already was thickly soldiered: one India soldier for 10 Kashmiris.

Since India illegally occupied Kashmir in 1947 it adopted two-pronged duplicity: false and fabricated commitments and inhuman atrocities combined with annihilation.

India’s falsity and duplicity are as old as its occupation on Kashmir is. When Raja Hari Singh ignoring the sentiments, hopes and aspirations of the Kashmiris, opted to accede conditionally Kashmir to India, tribal militia from Waziristan ascended down to Kashmir. To check and halt the onward march of the militias against Hari Singh’s controversial accession of Kashmir with India, it raised the issue before the UN and sought its mediation.

When the UN adopted a unanimous resolution of holding a free and fair election to decide whether the Kashmiris opt to join India or Pakistan, Indian late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru cordially welcomed the resolution and vowed to implement it. He declared if the results of the plebiscite would go against India still it would comply with the outcome.

Modi using President whimsically nullified the Article 370 of the Indian constitution that divided the Indians and pushed the whole world, particularly South Asia into a catastrophic dilemma. If Modi is not bridled and the special status of Kashmir is not restored, South Asia will ultimately experience atomic warfare, which will affect the whole world.

Mentionable, Article 370 was not an Indian gift to the Kashmiri people, rather India succumbed the preconditions what were set by the king prior to merging Kashmir with India. These preconditions were briefly documented and revealed in Article 370 of the Indian constitution. King Hari Singh’s preconditions i.e., Article 370 is interrelated and correlated to his accession to India. If this article is void, the instrument of Kashmir accession to India is automatically becomes nullified.

So, none in India whether it is government or President can void the article 370 of the Indian constitution. Vindu Goel, an Indian journalist wrote in the New York Times: Article 370 could only be abrogated with the consent of the legislative body (of Kashmir) that drafted the state constitution. That body dissolved itself in 1957 and India’s Supreme Court ruled that article 370, therefore, a permanent part of the constitution.

(https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/world/asia/india-pakistan-crisis.html)

On the other hand, the Indian Constitution is not applicable in Kashmir, as Kashmir has its own constitution and Kashmir is not bound by the Indian Constitution. If Indian parliament deletes Article 370 that should not affect the special status of Kashmir, like any law or decision of Indian parliament must be ratified by the Kashmir Legislative Assembly.

The annulment of article 370 is a sheer violation of India’s constitution and commitment. Hence it is a self-deception. It exposed India’s ugly hawkish face. It is also contradictory to India’s outstanding claim that Kashmir is a bilateral dispute between India and Pakistan. India violated its own position as well.

When last month President Trump informed Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan that Modi requested him to mediate the Kashmir disputed, Indian foreign Minister, not only denied Trump’s disclosure but also claimed that Kashmir is a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan and a third party have no role in resolving the dispute.

Now Modi unilaterally abolishing the special status of Kashmir, dividing it into two and degrading it to a union territory buried its claim that Kashmir is a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan.

Hence Modi again technically made Kashmir an international issue, as his actions were unilateral. If Kashmir dispute were a bilateral issue, Modi couldn’t change the current character and status of Kashmir. He closed all the doors of bilateral dialogue. So UNO is the only platform that will have to take the issue seriously to avert human catastrophe in South Asia and beyond.

The international community has no scope to have trust on Indian leadership. What the Indian leaders utter in words, they do the opposite in deeds. They raised the Kashmir issue before the UN, welcomed UN resolutions of holding a plebiscite and pledged to honor and implement them, but they didn’t do that. In 1972 bringing the Pakistani soldiers from Bangladesh to India they through Simla Agreement compelled Pakistan to degrade Kashmir dispute from international to a bilateral issue. 47 years passed by, but Indians were not sincere to reach an amicable solution. They followed the tactic of procrastination to pass time and swallow it. And now they did so unilaterally changing the basic character and status of Kashmir. They turned Kashmir to a detention center that is totally blocked and disconnected from the outside world. None knows how many thousands of Kashmiris were killed and arrested, or women raped and missed under the curtain of curfew and blockade.

However, Modi’s hegemonic action will ultimately appear as a boomerang to India and blessing for the Kashmiris. India’s such hegemonic adventure paved the way for Pakistan to internationalize the Kashmir issue. Now, none can avoid Kashmir problem saying that it is a bilateral dispute between India and Pakistan. It is now proved India is an illegal occupier and it must have to leave whole Kashmir. Thirdly, the derailed Kashmiris like Omar Abdullah, Mehbuba Mufti, and their followers will come to their sense that their Indian masters betrayed with Kashmir and the Kashmiris. All the Kashmiris would minimize their petty differences and unify solidly to resist India. Besides, the Kashmiris who fled to Azad Kashmir will come back to IOK to invigorate the freedom movement. Kashmir may experience unprecedented bloodbath if the international community doesn’t take a prompt step to permanently end the Kashmir problem.

Writer : Mohammad Zainal Abedin, Editor, Weekly Runner, New York,

USA