The protests in India against legalizing persecution of Muslims are extremely important internationally & in the struggle against the Islamophobic ‘war on terror’. They are linked inextricably & holistically to the struggle of Kashmiris who are in their majority Muslims. We cannot allow our attention to be withdrawn from the occupation but in our campaigning against CAB & NRC must integrate demands for the immediate withdrawal of troops from Kashmir & from everywhere else they are being deployed in India, including on campuses firing tear gas at student protesters.

News reporting from Kashmir is down to a trickle; most of us have no way of knowing what is going on. But in over four months of lockdown, we know the situation is extremely dire & we cannot relax our vigilance & attention. We should remember that one way antiwar opposition is thwarted is by news blackouts on the wars in Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, Iraq, Libya, East Timor, Sri Lanka, even Syria. We cannot be daunted by the overwhelming violence in so many countries but need to take a holistic approach, knowing all these struggles are interconnected militarily & ideologically. Our solidarity should unite in action all these struggles against war, occupation, genocide. That is why the most imperative political mission of our times is to rebuild the international antiwar movement. The forces to do that will be drawn from these struggles.