Asia

Kashmir needs liberation not solidarity

Every year since 1989 Feburary 5th is observed as “Kashmir solidarity day”. On this day there are many rallies throughout Pakistan and Azad Kashmir in order to show solidarity with the people of Occupied Kashmir.

The Kashmir conflict has been ongoing for over 60 years and has been looked at as unfinished business that started at the time of partition of Indian subcontinent. When the British occupied the Indian subcontinent there were some 565 princely states in existence. Upon independence and partition of India in 1947 these princely states had the to accede to either India or the newly created Pakistan. The ruler of Kashmir at the time wanted to remain independent.

Since that time there have been 3 solutions proposed in order to bring an end to the conflict namely Kashmir goes to India, Kashmir goes to Pakistan or an independent Kashmir.

As for Kashmir going to India, some may argue that the Maharajah of Kashmir Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession when Pakistan sent tribal fighters into Kashmir therefore the decision to accede to either new country had been made.

Firstly there is a dispute as to whether or not the Maharajah actually signed the document on the stated date 26th of October 1947 or the next day. India claims it was signed on the 26th however according to Pakistan it was signed after Indian forces had arrived in Srinagar. Also it is claimed that the document was signed while the Maharajah was under the influence of alcohol while in the presence of V.P. Menon who was the secretary of the ministry of states, his job was to integrate the princely states who wanted to accede to India( Quaid -I-Azam Jinnah and the battle for Pakistan pg 135). It is claimed that after obtaining the maharajahs signature V.P. Menon rushed back to New Delhi with the document and then India sent its troops into the valley, however, according to author Stanley Wolpert in his book”Jinnah” the document was delivered after troops had already landed in Srinagar showing the deception and insincerity of the Indian government.

It is also upon this basis that India claims Kashmir as an integral part of India (Atoot Ang) as has been stated by Indian Home Minister Govind Ballabh Pant in 1957, by former Prime Minister Atul Bihari Vajpayee and in October 2010 by Home Affairs Minister P.Chidambaram in response to a conference entitled “Azadi -The only way” about the Kashmir issue attended by author Arundati Roy and APHC leader Syed Ali Geelani, they were threatened with charges of sedition.

Finally and most importantly the question arises as to how anyone can honestly think that Kashmir should become a part of India given the atrocities committed against Muslims for over 60 years. How many sisters have been raped? How many brothers have been killed? The Muslims have been brutally crushed when protesting against Indian rule and this has been most evident since the uprising of 1989. How can anyone forget the curfews after such protests and violence rock places like Srinagar, Kashmir has been turned into a virtual police state by the Indian Government.

As for the view that Kashmir should go to Pakistan, this was what the majority of people in Kashmir wanted at the time of partition due it being a Muslim majority state and is also the wish of the muslims of Pakistan. Pakistan has described Kashmir as being its “jugular vein” and the letter K in Pakistan is said to refer to Kashmir.

Unfortunately as mentioned above the Maharajah “signed” the Instrument of Accession, however, it must also be noted that due to the ceasefires with India and the defeat in the 1965 war and signing of the Tashkent Declaration by Ayub Khan calling for a withdrawal of forces Pakistan was no closer to gaining Kashmir. Subsequent governments have not done much to bring Kashmir into the fold of Pakistan as backing armed groups has harmed India little as well as given Pakistan a bad name amongst the international community with it being labelled as a terrorist state. If the Pakistani government had been sincere in taking Kashmir it would never have agreed to a ceasefire and talks on the issue, nor would we have seen shameful pull outs like the Kargil debacle, nor would it call for a plebiscite on the issue in line with UN Resolutions and offer “moral support”.

Any aware observer will see that in today’s reality Kashmir is no closer to becoming part of Pakistan than at any time before. The reality today is that the Pakistani government has done a u-turn on the Kashmir issue by dismantling the camps of the mujahideen and going after them at the behest of America. The civilian government has turned its back on its own people by fighting them in the tribal regions and allowing America to bomb them in hundreds of drone attacks. It is the Pakistani government which gives resources to the invading army in Afghanistan by allowing supply routes to remain open. The Pakistani government has been unable to bring an end to the suffering of those people affected by the earthquake in 2005 and the devastating floods in 2010. How then can we expect it to be able to bring an end to the decades old suffering of the people of Kashmir?

With Regards the UN Resolutions being a solution, they resolution only looks to give the people of Kashmir a choice as to whether they want to join India or Pakistan and not the choice of Kashmir becoming an independent state. It is also incorrect to think the UN will solve this issue, the question should be asked which UN will we turn to? Will we turn to the UN that was responsible for sanctions on Iraq and the deaths of millions of Iraqis or will we turn to the UN which proposes a two state solution for Palestine which looks to give away occupied Muslim land to Israel or is the UN which is was a bystander in Bosnia and currently in Syria. The UN is hopeless when it comes to Muslims and nor is it allowed from Islam for Muslims to turn to them as it is a means of interference in our lands as well as well as giving up of our sovereignty.

Allah سبحانه وتعالى  says:

وَلَنْ يَجْعَلَ اللَّهُ لِلْكَافِرِينَ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ سَبِيلًا

“And never will Allâh grant to the disbelievers a way (to triumph) over the believers.”

(An Nisa: 141)

So turning to them means accepting their resolutions whose implementation becomes binding on the one who accepts.  This is contrary to the Shariah were we are directed to follow only Allah سبحانه وتعالى and the messenger Mohammed صلى الله عليه وسلم

Allah سبحانه وتعالى Says:

وَمَا كَانَ لِمُؤْمِنٍ وَلَا مُؤْمِنَةٍ إِذَا قَضَى اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَمْرًا أَنْ يَكُونَ لَهُمُ الْخِيَرَةُ مِنْ أَمْرِهِمْ ۗ وَمَنْ يَعْصِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلَالًا مُبِينًا

It is not fitting for a Believer, man or woman, when a matter has been decided by Allah and His Messenger to have any option about their decision: if any one disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he is indeed on a clearly wrong Path.”

(Al Ahzab:36)

The issue of Kashmir has already been decided for us by Allah سبحانه وتعالى which is if one of the Muslim lands is occupied then its liberation is obligatory.

Allah سبحانه وتعالى Says:

وَأَخْرِجُوهُمْ مِنْ حَيْثُ أَخْرَجُوكُمْ

“And turn them out from where they turned you out”

(Al Baqarah:191)

As for the issue of an independent Kashmir which is being championed by some pro- independence groups like JKLF, this is highly unlikely. First of all India has consistently stuck to its view that Kashmir is an integral part of India and view the “separatists” as people who are anti-state and seditious and looking to bring about a further partition of its land.  This is why it has dealt with others brutally such as the Sikhs in 1984 in the Golden Temple massacre and has problems with groups in Assam such as United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and other areas such as Naxalbari from where the Naxalite-Maoist movement started in the late 1960’s and is still going on till this day.  If the Kashmiris are given independence this will set a precedence and in turn will allow the other groups within India to demand independence, something India will never allow.

Secondly and more importantly what will this independence be apart from a further division of the Muslim lands which is forbidden in Islam.

Allah سبحانه وتعالى says:

وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا

“And hold fast to the rope of Allah and be not divided”

(Al Imran:103)

This type of independence has only lead to the type of weak states that we see today.  So if, for example it was attacked by India to annex it, how would it be able to withstand the onslaught?  The Pakistani government has already failed miserably in liberating Kashmir and in the event such things did occur it would only maintain its flawed stance of “moral support”

The above are all clearly failed solutions as they lead to either more oppression in the case of Kashmir going to India, unattainable as Pakistan is highly unlikely to annex Kashmir, lead to a weak state which will be unable to sustain itself and be another division of Muslim lands or be under the UN which has acted unfavourably towards the Muslims.

As for the rest of the rulers in the Muslim world, their treachery knows no bounds and are no different to the rulers in Pakistan.  They sit as spectators watching the bloodshed of Muslims in places such as Palestine, Syria, Kashmir.  They and their impotent OIC and Arab League organisations do nothing other than announce “solidarity” with the people in these countries.

It should be remembered that the issue of Kashmir is an Islamic issue and affects the whole ummah and should not be restricted to Kashmir, Pakistan and India.  This ummah is one ummah and feels the pain of its brethren.  For too long we have been sold the idea that Kashmir is a problem for Kashmiris, similar to how we are told Palestine is a Palestinian issue.

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:

The believers, in their love, mutual kindness, and close ties, are like one body; when any part complains, the whole body responds to it with wakefulness and fever “(Muslim)

And when the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was making tawaaf around the Kaaba he said

“How great you are and how sweet is your scent. How great are you and how great is your sanctity. By the One who the soul of Mohammad is in His Hand the sanctity of a believer is greater with Allah than your sanctity” (Ibn Maja)

What is needed is not solidarity but political unity.  Political unity will only come under the shade of the Khilafah state as it will seek to remove the occupiers via Jihad and annex the lands to itself.  We hope and Pray to Allah سبحانه وتعالى that the Khilafah state is established again soon so that the land of Kashmir is liberated and becomes part of it.