Indian-Occupied Kashmir: The Heroes of Soura

by Michael Pröbsting, International Secretary of the RCIT, 28 August 2019, www.thecommunists.net

India’s right-wing extremist government, led by the tyrant Modi, has transformed Kashmir into a huge concentration camp. It revoked Article 370 of India’s constitution on 5 August which removed some formal autonomy rights of the region. Anticipating mass resistance against this unprecedented and historic attack, the ultra-chauvinist BJP government imposed de facto a state of emergency in the whole region.

As a result, the people in Kashmir are locked up in their own homes for most of the time since 23 days! They have only limited or none access to essential things for survival like food and medicine. They are cut off from all forms of communication. Hundreds of thousands of Indian occupation soldiers and paramilitaries are patrolling the streets day and night. They constantly raid the homes of Kashmiris and have already arrested up to 6,000 people.

All this is the result of the barbarous policy of Prime Minister Modi who is fanatically determined to enforce the Hinduization of Kashmir – for which he must crush and finally subjugate or expel the Muslim-majority population. Semi-fascistic BJP bigots are already publicly fantasizing without any shame about “getting a Kashmiri girl”. India’s social media are full with songs about racist and sexist dreams of subjugating Kashmir and its women.

However, the Kashmiri people they are uncowed in their determination to resist the tyrant. They take every little opportunity to enter the streets and to demonstrate their protest against the barbarous occupation. Particularly on Fridays, when the authorities must relax the curfew a bit to allow people joining the Friday prayers, thousands of Kashmiris are marching and throwing stones against the occupation forces.

A particularly heroic example of the popular resistance is Soura. Soura is an enclave in of Srinagar, the main city of Indian-occupied Kashmir. It is home of about 15,000 people. Since the 5 August, it has become the epicenter of Kashmiri struggle against Modi.

The people of Soura have created makeshift barricades at all entrances of the neighbourhood. These barricades are constantly guarded by youth armed with sticks and stones. Until now they successfully fought off each attempt of the Indian troops to crush this focus of resistance. Effectively, Soura has become a no-go zone for the Indian occupation forces.

There can be hardly a more extreme example of a David vs Goliath situation. Indian-occupied Kashmir is a region of about 8 million people of whom about 70% are Muslims. They face the Indian state which is soon to become the most populous country in the world with more than 1.3 billion citizens. Delhi has sent up to three quarter of a million of soldiers, police and paramilitaries in order to crush the popular rebellion in Kashmir.

However, undeterred by this overwhelming enemy, the Kashmiri people have always resisted the Indian occupation. They launched an insurrection in 1988 which the Indian army tried to smash with most brutal force. They killed 100,000 people and gang-raped about 10,000 women.

The tyrant Modi has brought Israeli policy to South Asia in attempting the Hinduization of Kashmir. But he will get back a Palestinian-type of popular resistance!

The people of Soura already resemble the Palestinians of Jenin who resisted so heroically against the overwhelming Israeli occupation forces in their refugee camp in the West Bank in April 2002.

Soura symbolizes the unbroken determination of the Kashmiri people to fight against the tyranny and to achieve freedom. There can be not the slightest doubt: the people of Kashmir want to become independent of India. They never agreed to be part of this prison house of people. India’s ruling class knows this very well which is why it never allowed the people of Kashmir to freely express their choice in a referendum.

All socialists, all democrats, all righteous people must support the struggle of the Kashmiri people for freedom. We repeat: Kashmir is our second Palestine! Their liberation is our liberation!

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We refer reader also to other documents of the RCIT on this issue which are collected in a special sub-section on our website: https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/asia/collection-of-articles-on-the-liberation-struggle-in-kashmir/