Kashmir’s silence, betrayal and looming storm |
THE recent report by the Concerned Citizens’ Group (CCG) on its eleventh visit to Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir is not merely observational; it is a chilling testament to a deliberate betrayal. It depicts not integration, but a suffocating occupation where promises of democracy, dignity and self-determination have been systematically shredded, leaving a populace trapped in “sullen silence” on the brink of eruption.
For decades, Kashmiris were assured that their future would be decided through the democratic principle enshrined in UN Security Council Resolutions 47, 80, 98 and 122: a free and impartial plebiscite. Indian leaders, from Nehru onwards, repeatedly pledged on global platforms that the people of Kashmir would determine their political destiny under UN auspices. Today, that promise is a ghost—invoked only to be mocked by the grim reality on the ground. India has moved from rhetoric of consent to a policy of punitive control.
The CCG report meticulously documents this architecture of domination. The continued denial of statehood is not an administrative lapse but the cornerstone of a colonial-style diarchy. The elected Chief Minister himself admits to being a “half CM,” presiding over a “toothless” government. Real authority lies with the unelected Lieutenant Governor, a viceroy in all........