Military Might Versus Liberation Struggle in the Garrison State of Indian-Held Kashmir

Abstract

While the menace of violence is known to man since ages, the Indian
army and para-military forces are committing atrocities at such an
unprecedented scale in the Indian-held Kashmir that has never ever
been recorded in the history of independence movements. The situation
in the Garrison state of Indian–held Kashmir has been simmering for
the last six decades. The Indian military has carried out hundreds of
brutal operations killing thousands of unarmed Kashmiris, Muslim
militants and even non-Muslim Kashmiris during raids and combing
operations, involving house-to-house searches. Since the security
forces have been used as an instrument of terror by the Indian
governments to deprive Kashmiris of their right of self-determination,
the majority of Kashmiris believe that their freedom and identity can
only be established if they throw off the yoke of Indian subjugation. The
present state of Kashmiri struggle and independence movement did not
evoke response all of a sudden. It has been preceded by a prolonged
phase of discontent, discrimination, maltreatment and frustration. Thus
Kashmiris’ movement against Indian tyranic rule in the Garrison state
has gained momentum time and again and each passing day brings
fresh reports of crimes against humanity, killings, rapes and acts of
structured violence in the valley. Such a perspective has generated an
acrimonious debate on the future of Kashmiri people. Undoubtedly, the
intense sentiments of Kashmiri Muslim consciousness, reinforced by
discriminatory treatment by the Indian federation have been
channelised into a secessionist outlet. This paper, therefore, attempts to
investigate the contemporary phenomenon of strife between freedom
struggle and Indian repression in the Indian held Kashmir. In
particular, it concentrates on the thesis that the resurgence of freedom
struggle is the logical outcome of the Indian military might and its
“Hindu Rashtra” policy, which contains seeds of anti-Muslim posture.