27 October: Black Day in Kashmir

Praise be to Allah (swt) and peace be upon the Prophet Muhammad (saw)

Indeed, they will never avail you against Allāh at all. And indeed, the wrongdoers are allies of one another; but Allāh is the protector of the righteous. [Al-Jathiyah, 45:19]

Muhammad (saw) said:

"You see the believers as regards their being merciful among themselves and showing love among themselves and being kind, resembling one body, so that, if any part of the body is not well then the whole body shares the sleeplessness (insomnia) and fever with it." [Sahih al-Bukhari 6011]

Commemorated on 27 October by the people of Kashmir and in Pakistan, Kashmir Black Day marks the arrival of Indian troops in Srinagar on that day in 1947. Seventy-nine years ago, on a Friday, Indian forces invaded the Himalayan region, triggering decades of deadly violence. Every year, the people of this region observe a ‘Black Day’ to protest against the Indian military occupation and the presence of more than 600,000 Indian soldiers on Kashmiri soil.

The people of Kashmir regard this date as the start of an illegal occupation and demand the right to self-determination for the Kashmiri people, in accordance with United Nations Security Council resolutions (such as Resolution 47). The day also serves as a reminder of the ongoing tensions, notably the impact of the unilateral measures taken on 5 August 2019 altering the region’s constitutional status, as well as concerns regarding human rights.

Since that tragic Friday, every household has a story to tell of the death of a brother, a son or a husband, and of the atrocities it has endured at the hands of the occupying forces.

Indeed this, your religion, is one religion, and I am your Lord, so worship Me. [Al-Anbya, 21:92]

According to history professor Muhammad Ashraf Wani, 27 October 1947 changed the history, geography and culture of Kashmir with the blockade of the borders with Central Asia, a major trading partner. Seventy-nine years on, the Kashmir conflict persists, with further atrocities against the people and more suffering.

The conflict has led to armed struggles, deaths and destruction, without any serious initiative to resolve it. Whilst India and Pakistan continue to argue, it is the Kashmiris who are bearing the brunt of the violence.

A look back at history

In 1947, India, then a British colony, began its move towards independence. In July 1947, a certain Lord Radcliffe, pursuing the British policy of ‘Divide and Rule’, proposed the partition of India and the creation of Pakistan. Thus, on 15 August 1948, the largest migration in history took place, with the partition of India and the creation of West Pakistan and East Pakistan. A large majority of Muslims chose to migrate to the new state.

In the wake of this partition, unlike the Maharajas of India, the Nawabs of Kashmir refused to choose between India and Pakistan. Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India, decided to divide Kashmir into three parts: a region known as Azad Kashmir, a semi-autonomous Kashmir attached to Pakistan, and the other, attached to India, known as Jammu and Kashmir. This situation meant that Kashmir was unable to determine its own foreign policy or maintain an army. It has now been 79 years since Kashmir became a thorn in the side of the Ummah.

It should be noted that on 21 April 1948, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 47, which allowed the Kashmiris to decide whether to join India or Pakistan through a popular plebiscite. Like many United Nations resolutions, these were never upheld.

It is important to note that the autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir is enshrined in the Indian Constitution. Article 370 of the Indian Constitution recognised the autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir. In 1954, Article 35A of the Indian Constitution continued to grant the people of Kashmir the right to determine who was and was not a resident of the region and, consequently, prohibited foreigners from acquiring land or settling there.

On 4 August 2019, the BJP government unilaterally decided to repeal Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, bringing an end to the autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir. At the same time, Article 35A was also repealed. To quell any opposition, the government imposed a curfew, closed schools and businesses, and blocked the internet, mobile phone communications and access roads. The government also deployed a further 50,000 troops to reinforce the 500,000 already stationed there, making Kashmir the most militarised region in the world.

Having lived for 79 years in fear of demographic change at the hands of the Indian government, the Muslims of Kashmir are now living a nightmare. Deprived of the right to determine their own fate, they are deprived of many of the benefits that autonomy used to provide. They also face discrimination in public sector employment and in positions of responsibility.

Worse still, they are subjected to widespread persecution. Arbitrary arrests of women and children, including an eight-year-old, administrative detention without any charges being brought against them – as in Israel – and torture in prisons: all the hallmarks of the Zionist repressive machinery are present there.

[…] Do not take as intimates those other than yourselves [i.e., believers], for they will not spare you [any] ruin. They wish you would have hardship. Hatred has already appeared from their mouths, and what their breasts conceal is greater. We have certainly made clear to you the signs, if you will use reason. [Ali 'Imran, 3:118]

It is now clear that India’s plan is to annex the territory of Jammu and Kashmir through colonisation, thereby mimicking the Zionists’ illegal colonisation of Palestine. The revocation of Article 35A allows Hindus who are not originally from Kashmir to buy land there and settle there. The long-term aim is to reduce Muslims to a minority, with a view to subsequently carrying out ethnic cleansing.

The revocation of Article 370 is no coincidence. It followed on from the close ties that India has forged with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, amongst others. Already benefiting from the support of Israel – from whom India is Asia’s largest arms buyer and Israel’s third-largest trading partner in Asia – the Indian Prime Minister was simply emulating his ‘big brother’.

It is regrettable that, true to their various allegiances, Muslim heads of state have turned their backs on the Muslims of Kashmir. They have failed to condemn India for its refusal to comply with United Nations resolutions.

What is the Muslim stance?

It is imperative that we, as witnesses for humanity, denounce oppression, whoever the oppressor may be. It is our duty, based on the fundamental principle of hisbah, to denounce the torture to which our brothers and sisters in Kashmir are being subjected and to protest against the occupation and persecution.

The believers are but brothers, so make settlement between your brothers. And fear Allāh that you may receive mercy. [Al-Hujurat, 49:10]

May Allah (swt) guide and help us.