Halloween, Brexit and the forced occupation of Kashmir

© Steve Eason, Flickr

In the UK, our eyes are fixed on Brexit. A letter was voted into Parliament to delay it further and we’re now hoping that everything just goes up in flames and we can start again. In the meantime, some of us Halloween lovers are trying to distract ourselves by watching Hocus Pocus on repeat and singing “You Put A Spell On Me” at the top of our lungs. 

Despite the complications of Brexit, the countless letters and Acts named after what feels like white people from the Victorian age, we are still focused on it. Our minds are still taken over by looming fear. 

But there’s another fear for some people.

The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act takes place on 31 October 2019. Brought in by the Parliament of India in August earlier this year, its plan is to turn the state of Kashmir into two union divisions, one to be called Jammu and Kashmir, and the other Ladakh. This gives power and governmental control to India.

It’s done by revoking Article 370, which originally gave Kashmir autonomy to start its own constitution and not join India’s, back in the 1950s. Kashmir has since been in conflicted negotiations between India, Pakistan and China, for ownership. India revoking their autonomy means they are able to take hold of the land, governing as they see fit.

© Steve Eason, Flickr

Since this decision, India has cut Kashmir’s communications with the rest of the world, through phone lines and the Internet. There have been reports of abuse and murder. We are told that communication has been cut so they can assert their power without legal repercussions.

While all this is happening, it isn’t until the 31 October that revoking Article 370 takes affect and Kashmir becomes an Indian state. It was the Home Minister Amit Shah who announced that the President of India had issued The Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order 2019, in August, which superseded the original Article 370.

Kashmir is a predominantly Muslim state, something that we can’t ignore in this narrative. Remembering that the Hindu Nationalist government whose aim is to define Indian culture with Hindu values helps us understand what’s happening here. Pakistan, who have claimed part of Kashmir due to its large Muslim population are (and have been for years) in conflict with India for ownership.

A few days ago Pakistan and India traded fire in Kashmir, killing nine people. They claim that there were more deaths, but they could not be verified. The everyday lives of Kashmiri people have been destroyed. Although there has been conflict over the past few years since the ceasefire was jumped, it still had its autonomy. The government were able to bring in legislation that affected their people but that’s no longer an option and politicians have been put under house arrest.

So what will happen on 31 October?

The Indian government will begin the dissolution of the government in Kashmir and start to introduce their rule, which will create the separation of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

But outside of that, there’s not much else we know. The communication shut down, the air strikes, arrests and abuse that has occurred in Kashmir has been faced with protests from civilians. Not just in Kashmir, but around the world.

So we have to keep raising our voice about Kashmir. We need to read everything we can, because there has been a limit in what we’re told. We need to use common sense, when we’re assessing what can essentially be considered ethnic cleansing.

We can’t let Kashmir down. After October 31 2019, life for Pakistani Kashmiris will be scarier than any Halloween we’ve experienced.