Do you hear the deafening silence of political leaders about India’s onslaught against Kashmir? The most vigorous objection was from the US State Department who shook the naughty finger but from a position of moral depravity because of its several wars & there was some whimpering & hand-wringing from the UN. Imran Khan spoke the most forcibly but then blew it by calling for Trump to mediate. That’s because some of them are scoping out how well Modi’s scorched earth politics work out in Kashmir so as to emulate them against civil disorder in their own countries.

We cannot look to governments to address injustice in Kashmir or anywhere else since most are complicit with tyranny in one way or another. In Burma, as an example, if they aren’t selling arms to the genocidaires, they’re investing in the neoliberal bonanza operated by the military. Never was it more apparent that Palestinians, Kashmiris, Rohingya, Uyghur, Syrians, Afghans, Iraqis, Yemenis, Somalis, Libyans, Venezuelans, refugees, sweatshop workers, oppressed castes have only human rights supporters around the world to stand with them. We are called on by historic necessity & have the advantage of social media to educate, agitate, organize against war, occupation, persecution, inequality, genocide.

No human being is alien to us.

“My Kashmiri siblings,
As a Palestinian ally & simply human being I’ve been with you for the last couple of years & wish I was more vocal & active. I’ve been following every executed body, every crying mother & every future destroyed. You’re not alone. Our bodies might be occupied by heartless forces but our souls remain free, resilient & with ever-lasting willingness to fight. I see you. #freekashmir”

–Daliah Li VK

(Photo is Daliah)

When Modi addressed the nation today about “development” in Kashmir, he wasn’t talking to Kashmiris who he has locked down in their homes, who get shot at if they leave, & have no way of hearing since all telecommunications are shut down. He was talking to investors with a very simple message: Kashmir is open for exploitation. The plunder of Kashmir is now official policy & will be protected by nearly one-million troops. It will become a central part of India’s neoliberal policies which impoverish most of the population but make a handful of Indians filthy rich. That’s how the Kashmiri struggle for self-determination is inextricably linked to the struggle against Indian capitalism.

Huffington Post reports that over 500 Kashmiris have been arrested since the military onslaught began. We knew the people of Kashmir would never take this murderous assault sitting down.

Actually, as I reread the report, it isn’t certain that all of the 500 arrested were engaged in protest but may be among the activists and leaders being arrested to prevent protests.

#StandWithKashmir

From this Associated Press report:
–Doctors at a Srinagar hospital told AP that at least 50 people had been treated for pellet gun or rubber bullet injuries
–A woman who went out to buy vegetables was shot as she came out of her home. Her husband found her face down on their door step, blood pouring from her eyes.
–A woman called for an ambulance since she was ready to give birth. The ambulance was stopped at so many checkpoints that she gave birth inside the ambulance.

https://apnews.com/9491eada41bf49d184d4fac5f7d7794a?fbclid=IwAR1ZxhHhpxxZD2iW5TYy4si313H5__wXiys1Gj18NHZS1YmVkLg4ccVwMoM

When Iyad el-Baghdadi tweeted “I’m a Palestinian & I stand in solidarity with the people of Kashmir who are being used by Hindu Nationalists as a punching bag to quench their supremacism,” he set off a Twitter storm where others are reposting his statement from Nigeria, Libya, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Australia, Switzerland, the US, Canada, Pakistan, & elsewhere. It was retweeted nearly 2,000 times & liked nearly 5,000 times. Kashmiri solidarity has finally been born.

I’m an American & I stand in solidarity with the people of Kashmir who are being used by Hindu Nationalists as a punching bag to quench their supremacism.

This is a very troubling report on Modi’s speech today about the military onslaught in Kashmir. Ignore the rubbish about housing & health benefits. India doesn’t even have social security & teachers in Kashmir have been battling India for years about their conditions of labor. He’s talking about railroads, taking Kashmir Bollywood, making Kashmir a tourist playground for the rich, hydroelectric power, & what Jairus Banaji called “unfettered economic exploitation by powerful business interests linked to the present government.”

https://thewire.in/government/narendra-modi-address?fbclid=IwAR13gRAaDXUJfREY-3QNZ0dw38s6BTIrShzP7SjCBBdDulym_rn9k3D7Kho