Tragic Memory of the Jammu Martyrs Day

By Sajjad Shaukat

Like other “black days”, Jammu Martyrs Day which is another dark day in the history of Kashmir, is observed on November 6 by Kashmiris and their Pakistani brethren and rest of the World to remember the great sacrifices of 2,50,000 inmates of Jammu, including men, women, children and elderly Muslims who were mercilessly slaughtered by the armed Hindu gangsters, the Indian occupying and the Dogra military troops near Jammu Sialkot working boundary under a nefarious pre-planned conspiracy, while they were proceeding for migrating to their beloved homeland Pakistan. This tragedy occurred on this very day in 1947.

During the first week of November in 1947‚ hundreds of thousands of Kashmiris were killed by the forces of Maharaja Hari Singh‚ Indian army and Hindu extremists in different parts of Jammu region, while they were migrating to Pakistan. But, their brutalities were not confined to it. As part of pre-planned scheme, on November 5, 1947, announcements were made everywhere in Jammu, asking Muslims to assemble in police lines from where they would be sent to Pakistan. On November 6, Jammu Muslims were seemingly dispatched towards Pakistan in trucks. Before they could reach destination, Indian army, forces of Maharaja and Hindu extremists at Samba Reasi and other places martyred them in gruesome manner.

The huge deaths had stunned the world. In this regard, the ‘Time” magazine, in its November 47 publication pointed out the figure of 2, 50,000 deaths of Jammu people. But, these sacrifices did not go waste, as they have kept the Kashmir issue alive.

However, during the partition of the Sub-continent, the people of the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) which comprised Muslim majority decided to join Pakistan according to the British-led formula. But, Dogra Raja, Sir Hari Singh, a Hindu who was ruling over the J&K in connivance with the Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Governor General Lord Mountbatten joined India.

The design to forcibly wrest Kashmir began to unfold on August 16, 1947, with the announcement of the Radcliffe Boundary Award. It gave the Gurdaspur District—a majority Muslim area to India to provide a land route to the Indian armed forces to move into Kashmir. There was a rebellion in the state forces against the Maharaja and were joined by Pathan tribesmen. Lord Mountbatten ordered armed forces to land in Srinagar.

Nevertheless, Indian forces invaded Srinagar on October 27, 1947 and forcibly occupied Jammu and Kashmir in utter violation of the partition plan and against the wishes of the Kashmiri people.

When Pakistan responded militarily against the Indian aggression, on December 31, 1947, India made an appeal to the UN Security Council to intervene and a ceasefire ultimately came into effect on January 01, 1949, following UN resolutions calling for a plebiscite in Kashmir.

The Security Council’s resolution 47 of April 21, 1948 promised a plebiscite under UN auspices to enable the people of Jammu and Kashmir to determine whether they wish to join Pakistan or India. On February 5, 1964, India backed out of its promise of holding plebiscite. Instead, in March 1965, the Indian Parliament declared Kashmir-an integral part of the Indian union.

In fact, the very tragedy of Kashmiris had started after 1947 when they were denied their genuine right of self-determination. They organised themselves against the injustices of India and launched a war of liberation which New Delhi tried to suppress through various forms of state terrorism.

Since 1989, various forms of state terrorism have been part of a deliberate campaign by the Indian army and paramilitary forces against Muslim Kashmiris. It has been manifested in brutal tactics like crackdowns, curfews, illegal detentions, massacre, targeted killings, sieges, burning the houses, torture, disappearances, rape, breaking the legs, molestation of Muslim women and killing of persons through fake encounters.

After the Indian fanatic Prime Minister Narendra Modi-the leader of the extremist ruling party BJP came to power in 2014, he took various drastic steps such as abrogation of the special status of the disputed territory of the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), revocation of articles 35A and 370 of the Constitution—bifurcation of the IIOJK into two territories to be ruled directly by New Delhi, continued lockdown there, deployment of more than 900,000 military troops who have martyred thousands of the innocent Kashmiris through brutal tactics, amendment of the law, allowing Indian citizens to buy land in the IIOJK and issuance of domicile certificates to more than 800000 non-Kashmiris.

While, under a well-planned hidden agenda, Modi-led regime has accelerated the implementation of bringing demographic changes in the IIOJK.

In this regard, India’s move to register almost 2.5 million new non-local voters in the IIOJK triggered outrage among the local Kashmiris and Muslims, as it will permit voting rights to any Indian citizen living temporarily in the region.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Electoral Officer Hirdesh Kumar told reporters on August 17, this year that more than 2 million new voters are expected to be enrolled in the region ahead of local polls due in November, 2022.

Taking note of Indian illegal act, in a statement issued on August 19, 2022, the Foreign Office spokesperson (FO) Asim Iftikhar said: “Pakistan categorically rejects the deliberate Indian attempts of pre-poll rigging and overt manipulation in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir…permitting temporary residents to register as voters is a clear manifestation of the treacherous Indian design to influence the outcome of so-called elections in the territory.”

He further stated: “Pakistan reiterates its complete rejection of India’s entire litany of steps aimed at turning the Muslim majority into a minority, including the formulation of the so-called ‘Delimitation’ Commission and its baseless report, the issuance of fake Kashmiri domiciles to millions of outsiders, and changes in the property laws”, called on “the international community to take cognisance of its attempts at effecting illegal demographic changes in the [occupied Jammu and Kashmir]  region.”

The FO added: “India will not be able to break the will of the Kashmiri people or to mislead the world community.”

Besides human rights organisations and NGOs, main political parties of the IIOJK have sharply criticised the move as Kashmiris fear that the rule changes will allow the extremist Hindu-nationalists of the BJP government to further alter the demographics of the region.

Nonetheless, Indian forces have been also availing various draconian laws such as Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), the Public Safety Act (PSA) etc. in martyring the Kashmiri people, and for arbitrarily arrest of any individual for an indefinite period. Besides UNO, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and various rights groups have also pointed out grave human rights violations in the IIOJK.

Indian cruelties have compelled the Kashmiri youngsters to pick arms and to target the Indian forces, sacrificing their lives for the right of self-determination. Therefore, intermittent gunbattles between the freedom fighters and Indian military continue in various regions of the IIOJK.

Indian forces had also intensified shelling inside Pakistani side of Kashmir by violating the ceasefire agreement across the LoC and compelled Pakistan Army to give a matching reply.  In February 2021, the Director Generals of Military Operations of Pakistan and India had agreed to strictly observe the 2003 ceasefire agreement at the LoC and other sectors, including Working Boundary. Again, in a statement on February 25, 2022, both the sides decided to observer ceasefire at all these sectors with effect from midnight of 24/25 February.

At present, Indian atrocities in the occupied Kashmir have come in the limelight of the international community and their media. But, without bothering for the fact that Kashmir remains a nuclear flashpoint, Modi-led regime’s extremist moves have completely ended any sort of dialogue with Islamabad to settle the Kashmir issue.

It seems that New Delhi reached to a conclusion that only bullet is the right way of dealing with the Kashmiris.

However, November 6 is commemorated by the Kashmiris and Pakistanis as the Jammu Martyrs Day to remember the supreme sacrifices of lives, laid down by 2,50,000 people of Jammu, who were ruthlessly massacred by the Hindu extremists, Indian forces and the Dogra military troops on November 6, 1947.

Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations

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