Uprising against tyranny

The Kashmiris have risen up once again to defy India's hegemony and illegal occupation of Kashmir. The uprising began when Indian soldiers martyred a 17-year-old boy during a protest demonstration in Srinagar on June 11.

This incident triggered violent angry demonstration and sit-ins throughout the valley. Strikes crippled everyday life bringing all activities to a grinding halt. Schools were closed, shop and business centers kept their shutters down and traffic on roads came to a halt. APHC Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and veteran Kashmiri Hurriyet leader Syed Ali Gilani exhorted people to continue their strikes, demonstrations and sit-ins to blunt Indian intransigence. Sensing danger the puppet chief minister of occupied Kashmir Omar Abdullah cried to New Delhi for help and army contingents were rushed to restore normalcy. It was for the first time in decades that army was deployed in Srinagar to quell an uprising. The APHC and other freedom movement leaders were house arrested to prevent them from leading demonstration and sit-ins. Despite that Mirwaiz defying curfew spearheaded sit-ins in Srinagar. Protest demonstration continued in defiance of strict curfew. Thousands of Indian troops patrolled the streets in Srinagar and other towns and cities to enforce the curfew with all its rigidity aimed at ending anti-India demonstrations and sit-ins. Srinagar and many parts of occupied Kashmir mostly remained curfew bound during the month. Even curfew passes issued to the newsmen were disallowed and there had been no newspapers for several days. Regions press was totally gagged and sixty newspapers were unable to publish. People having curfew passes were disallowed to come out of their houses. Troops resorted to firing and teargas shelling causing injuries to several people. As many as 15 innocent youth have been martyred in troops/police firing during first fifteen days of the month. The uprising is reminiscent of 1980's, which sparked anti-India protests resulting in martyrdom of over one lac Kashmiri people since then at the hands of occupation forces. Similar uprising erupted during Amarnath agitation and Shopian tragedy. India justifies use of draconian methods to contain the Kashmiris struggle for their rights on the plea that they used guns against the army. But now the Kashmiris carry no weapons but even then they are being subjected to the tyranny. Their only weapons are stones, which they are using to defend themselves. Harsher curfew was imposed on July 13, the 'Martyrdom Day' and people were forced to stay indoors under barrel of the gun and all APHC and other liberation leaders were put under house arrest. APHC Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq declared that military measures will in no way break the resolve of the people as it has been proved beyond doubt that the army had always been India's first and last priority in handling Kashmiris.