Kashmiris have a long history of dark days, which continues to grow as Indian security forces persist in their atrocities and brutalities. For over 75 years, India has blatantly denied the implementation of UN Security Council resolutions that call for granting the right of self-determination and allowing the genuine residents of Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) to decide their future.

Kashmiris observe two of the darkest days in their history as they continue their unarmed, indigenous freedom struggle. The first is observed on October 27 each year, marking the landing of Indian security forces in 1947. This occurred after the last Dogra ruler, Hari Singh, fled to Delhi and signed a forged Instrument of Accession, opting to join India against the wishes and aspirations of the valley’s population. India wasted no time in airlifting its security forces into the occupied territory.

The second darkest day in Kashmir’s history occurred unexpectedly on August 5, 2019, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s fascist regime unilaterally abrogated Articles 370 and 35A of the Indian Constitution, ending Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and merging the occupied territory with the Indian Union. This move brutally undermined the ideological identity of the Kashmiris by altering their demographic reality. It was merely a vile step by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to change the Muslim-majority state of Jammu and Kashmir into a minority conclave.

Since then, Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC), all over the world, and in Pakistan observe August 5 each year as Youm-e-Istehsal-e-Kashmir—the second darkest day in their........

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