India has about 800,000 troops deployed to Jammu & Kashmir making it the most militarized region in the world with a ratio of nearly one soldier to every 15 residents. It’s hard to imagine the psychological magnitude of such an overwhelming fully-armed & hostile presence. At the request of the J&K state government, India is now deploying & airlifting in another 10,000 paramilitary forces on top of 10,000 additional forces deployed last February & 40,000 recently deployed for the Hindu pilgrimage to Amarnath. It would be safe to call this a massive provocation & a threat to public safety.
We should be afraid for Kashmiris & outraged that they, for the most part, stand alone on the front lines of oppression without international support. It should be our commitment to, at the least, educate others about their struggle against occupation & colonialism &, at the most, begin to build an active solidarity movement to support their struggle for political power.
(Photo of Indian troops from Reuters)