This young boy seriously injured by pellet munitions was one of over 15,000 people injured, disfigured, & disabled by pellet guns during the 2016 uprising in Kashmir. India designates them as non-lethal weapons & countered the massive protests with maximum brutality. Whilst Omar Abdullah emerges from his five-star accommodations to play the political prisoner, we should remember it was in 2010 under his tenure as chief minister of J&K that pellet guns against unarmed protesters were introduced in Kashmir. In response to international criticism for the use of pellet guns in 2016, then chief minister Mehbooba Mufti (still playing the political prisoner in five-star accommodations) said Indian troops were being instructed in the proper use of pellet guns for ‘mob control’, which means firing them below the waist. In what deranged universe is firing a volley of lead pellets at testicles, buttocks, & legs preferable to firing them at the head & face? Indian soldiers using pellet guns against unarmed protesters have always intended to inflict maximum harm on their entire bodies for the entirety of their lives.

Pellet guns are a monstrous human rights crime which Kashmiri supporters around the world must campaign against constantly especially now when Kashmiris can be charged with sedition for campaigning against such barbarism.

End the occupation. Self-determination for Kashmir.

(Iconic photo from several Kashmiri sources, 2016)

There’s a wonderful page for bird lovers called “Birds of Kashmir.” They’re remarkable little creatures & should never be kept in cages or in homes, They were meant to be free & their nature is violated by our practice of holding them in captivity where they lose their purpose for being, including flying, nest building, foraging, parenting, canoodling. The admins are doing a wonderful job of showing the many wild birds of Kashmir. Please take a look at it to like or share.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/677355303015834/

An alarming report on how coronavirus is being used to whip up hatred & persecution of Muslims in India. The writer reports that since March 28, tweets with the hashtag #CoronaJihad have appeared nearly 300,000 times & have potentially been seen by 165 million people on Twitter.

https://time.com/5815264/coronavirus-india-islamophobia-coronajihad/?

This is a sweet story told by Sharmeen Tarar on Twitter: this little guy was selling masks in Sahiwal at Pakpatan (in Pakistan) for 20 rupees each. One buyer jokingly said, “I don’t have 20 rupees.” The. little boy replied, “Take it free.” The buyer said, ‘But won’t your mother be upset?” The little mask seller said, “My mother told me–bohat buri vaba phayli hui hay (because it’s a dangerous epidemic in Urdu).”

(Tweeted by Sharmeen Tarar @SharmeenTarar)

#india #fights #covid_19

By Mir Suhail Qadiri

This is a troubling interview with Ramanan Laxminarayan, an epidemiologist & economist based in DC. It’s striking how coronavirus is killing many of the world’s rich but the reality is that it will devastate the poor who will not eat if they cannot work–especially in a country like India which has no social security & has the world’s largest slums.

https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/how-covid-19-will-hit-india?

Thamina Eff posted articles about a 103-year-old Iranian woman, a 98-year-old UK man, & a 99-year-old UK woman who survived coronavirus. They’re kind of an in-your-face rebuke to triage proponents who want to kill grandma to save capitalism. God bless them & the rest of their lives

Clapping & banging pans & now lighting a candle or flashlight against coronavirus? Maybe it’s time we started drawing comparisons between the obscurantism of German fascism & that of Indian Hindutva ideology.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/pm-modi-urges-countrymen-to-dispel-the-darkness-spread-by-coronavirus-by-lighting-a-candle-on-april-5/articleshow/74959545.cms?

An elaboration of India’s domicile law in Kashmir: a prescription for ethnic cleansing of Muslims.
Under the law, those who have resided for a period of 15 years in Kashmir are eligible to become permanent residents.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/flooding-india-introduces-kashmir-domicile-law-200401100651450.html?

Israel, like India in Kashmir & against Muslims in India, is using the coronavirus to escalate the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, including by destroying medical facilities for treating Palestinians who contract the virus.

Our being quarantined does not mean being silenced in opposition to genocide.

End the occupation of Palestine.

https://www.btselem.org/press_release/20200326_israel_confiscates_clinic_tents_during_coronavirus_crisis?