Kashmir: Hindu Nazis emulate Israeli Zionists on settlements

Crescent International

Jumada' al-Akhirah 24, 1436 2015-04-13

Daily News Analysis

by Crescent International

The Hindu fascist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by Narendra Modi has made no secret of its plan to incorporate the disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir into India, in clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions. Now using the pretext of resettling Hindu Pandits who were allegedly forced to flee Kashmir, it has been proposed that special secure colonies were built for Hindus to resettle them in Kashmir.

Srinagar,
Monday April 13, 2015, 11:49 DST

Massive protests have erupted in Srinagar, capital of the Indian occupied Kashmir, over recent plans unveiled by the extremist Hindu government in India to build settlements for Hindus in the Muslim majority state. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claims that the decades-long conflict in Kashmir has driven out around 200,000 to 300,000 Hindus from the valley. It claims the plan is to resettle them in Kashmir by building secure colonies for them.

The real purpose is much more sinister. These settlements are for the purpose of weakening the relative autonomy of Kashmir and resettling right wing Hindus in the region. Muslim and other Kashmiris, indeed even Indian activists say this plan is inspired by the Zionist Israeli policy in Jerusalem and other cities in Occupied Palestine in order to demographically alter and, therefore, control the region. After all, no such resettlement plan has ever been proposed for the nearly one millions Kashmiri Muslims that have been driven out of their homes since the brutal military crackdown successive Indian governments have launched against the people of Kashmir since December 1989.

A number of commentators have pointed out that the decision is religious as well as political; the BJP will be able to “ship in” pro-BJP supporters, tilting the electoral balance of Kashmir in their favor. On April 9, the BJP declared that “Kashmiri pandits” should be returned to the high-conflict region, and demanded a “secure zone for those who want to return to their homeland.” “We are very much clear and we want the return and resettlement of the Kashmiri Pandit community in the Kashmir valley in a dignified manner,” said Ravinder Raina, the BJP member of the local Kashmir assembly where state elections were held in February. “They must be given secure environment. They should not go and live in scattered places in their villages, they need proper security zones for their survival."

This anticipates setting up massive surveillance and Israeli-style checkpoints throughout Indian-occupied Kashmir to ensure the “security” of the Hindu pandits at the expense of the Muslim majority struggling for their rights. In Kashmir, as well as other locations, the Hindu political groups have constantly blamed principled opposition on Pakistan, and have accused conscientious objectors of being Pakistani agents. When his move was criticized, Raina declared as per the usual BJP script: “See we are not silent, the government will not succumb under the pressure of the separatists who are Pakistani agents". Raina also signaled that his actions had Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s approval. "Modi government has to decide after talking to the Kashmiri Pandit, we cannot leave them on (sic) the mercy of the terrorists,” said Raina. “Jammu and Kashmiri Government will have to coordinate and work with the government of India towards the rehabilitation of the community."

Syed Ali Shah Geelani, the veteran Kashmiri leader, condemned the plan and likened it to the Zionist’ settlement policy in Occupied Palestine. He added that any Kashmiri—whether a Hindu Pandit or Muslim—should be able to return to their home safely but creating ghettoes for Hindu Pandits is not the answer. He also called for an end to the brutal crackdown of the Indian occupation forces. He demanded the holding of a referendum as per a number of United Nations Security Council resolutions.

Local elections were held in the state from November 25 – December 20, 2014. The result was inconclusive. Following weeks of political wrangling, a coalition government was ultimately cobbled together in Kashmir in March 2015 between the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the BJP. The Hindu fascist party’s intrusion into Kashmiri politics was seen as an ominous sign whose consequence has already manifested itself in the Hindu settlement policy as a first step towards absorbing Kashmiri completely into India.

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