Protesters rally outside Indian mission on Kashmir Siege Day

LONDON: Over a thousand people protested outside the Indian High Commission in Central London on Wednesday to register their anger against India’s illegal occupation of Kashmir and revocation of Article 370 a year ago by the Hindutva Modi regime.

On August 5 last year, India had unlawfully changed the special status granted to Kashmir under Article 370 of the constitution of India, effectively ending any illusion of secularism in the world’s second-most populous country and snatching from Kashmiris their separate status, identity and nationhood.

British Kashmiris belonging to Jammu and Kashmir National Liberation Front, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Pakistan People’s Party, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam and UK National Awami Party attended the protest outside India House in Aldwych which was guarded by over 100 police officers.

Protestors slammed Modi’s fascism in regards to Kashmir and held signs saying, ‘Indian Butcher Army out of Kashmir’, ‘Kashmir Nuclear Flash Point’, ‘Implement UN Resolution’, ‘Stop Genocide, Stop Modi Now’, ‘Free Kashmir, Stop Modi’s Repression’, ‘No to Scrapping of Article 370’, ‘Stop Killing in Kashmir’, ‘India: Stop Blinding Women and Children in Kashmir’ and various others.

Slogans against the fascist Indian government were also raised with the protestors chanting in favour of the freedom of Kashmiri people. Protestors seemed agitated and furious over India’s brutal lockdown in Kashmir which has lasted a year.

Kashmiris living under Indian occupied Kashmir have seen a complete communications blackout with internet and communication lines severely disrupted in the disputed territory.

In order to avoid mass protests, India has issued a curfew order on 4th and 5th to repress the right of free assembly in Kashmir. Earlier, Genocide Watch issued a stern warning regarding India’s planned genocide in Kashmir. There are around 800,000 - 900,000 armed Indian soldiers in Indian occupied Kashmir who systematically target and kill unarmed civilians.

According to 18 special rapporteurs and UN experts, human rights have seen a ‘free fall’ in Indian occupied Kashmir. Speaking outside Indian High Commission, Kashmiri protestors said that August 5 marks a whole year of one of the saddest chapters in the history of the Kashmiri struggle. On August 5, 2019, the Indian state revoked Article 370 and 35-A which made Kashmiris refugees of their own land, the speakers said calling on the international community to end silence over Kashmir. The speakers said that India snatched ownership rights and national identity of Kashmiris, made huge promises but ended up snatching everything from Kashmiris. The protest leaders said that international community should imposed sanctions on the Indian government for being involved in genocide of Kashmiris.

The Indian High Commission remained shut throughout the day to avoid scenes of last year when around 20,000 protestors lay siege of the high commission demanding the government end lockdown of Kashmiris.

The protestors said that the western world has come to know about the lockdown in the last four months but the Kashmiris have known what it is like to live in a lockdown since the start of Indian occupation over 70 years ago. They said that Kashmiris have been living in the world’s biggest prison since August 5 last year and it was moral duty of the world to take notice of the rights’ violations of Kashmiris.