Isn't What Happened in Kashmir has to Do with Article 370?
- Thread starter Altruist
- Start date
wasiqjaved
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
When Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared that Article 370 has been “buried forever,” it wasn’t just political bravado — it was a clear-cut admission of what many Kashmiris have always feared: that their rights, their autonomy, and their very identity mean nothing in the eyes of the Indian state. The phrase "buried forever" isn’t just symbolic; it marks the death of whatever was left of Indian federalism, democratic consent, and constitutional promises to the people of Jammu & Kashmir.
For context, Article 370 was not some symbolic token. It was the only constitutional provision that linked Jammu & Kashmir to India — and it came with the explicit promise of autonomy and self-determination. That link was always contentious, but it was at least grounded in legal and historical commitments. When India revoked Article 370 in 2019, it didn’t consult Kashmiris, it didn’t hold a referendum, and it didn’t even bother pretending to care what the region's population thought. Instead, it rolled in tens of thousands of troops, imposed an unprecedented communications blackout, jailed local leaders, and shut down all channels of democratic expression.
And now, India’s leadership boasts that this betrayal has been permanently cemented. It’s like staging a hostile takeover, locking the owners out of their home, and then celebrating it as "integration." That’s not federalism. That’s not democracy. That’s occupation — plain and simple.
What’s more frustrating is how the rest of the world just shrugs. Because of India’s global economic clout and diplomatic weight, most Western powers turn a blind eye to what’s happening in Kashmir. It’s not because they don’t know — they do. It’s because the market is more valuable than Muslim lives, and strategic alliances matter more than human rights. So Kashmiris are left voiceless, censored by their own state and ignored by the world.
And let’s just call out the hypocrisy here. India constantly sells itself as the “world’s largest democracy,” but democracy doesn’t look like this. Democracies don’t revoke constitutional guarantees without consent. Democracies don’t jail entire political parties or silence dissent with curfews and pellet guns. And democracies sure as hell don’t militarize an entire population and then pat themselves on the back for it.
At this point, Kashmiris aren’t treated as citizens — they’re treated as subjects. Subjects of a nation that talks democracy but walks authoritarianism. Modi’s statement that Article 370 has been “buried” wasn’t just about a law. It was about erasing the political voice of an entire people. It was about silencing history. And it was about sending a message: We don’t need your consent. We’ll do what we want — and no one’s going to stop us.
This isn’t unity. It’s conquest, cloaked in constitutional jargon. And the world pretending it’s normal? That’s the real tragedy.
For context, Article 370 was not some symbolic token. It was the only constitutional provision that linked Jammu & Kashmir to India — and it came with the explicit promise of autonomy and self-determination. That link was always contentious, but it was at least grounded in legal and historical commitments. When India revoked Article 370 in 2019, it didn’t consult Kashmiris, it didn’t hold a referendum, and it didn’t even bother pretending to care what the region's population thought. Instead, it rolled in tens of thousands of troops, imposed an unprecedented communications blackout, jailed local leaders, and shut down all channels of democratic expression.
And now, India’s leadership boasts that this betrayal has been permanently cemented. It’s like staging a hostile takeover, locking the owners out of their home, and then celebrating it as "integration." That’s not federalism. That’s not democracy. That’s occupation — plain and simple.
What’s more frustrating is how the rest of the world just shrugs. Because of India’s global economic clout and diplomatic weight, most Western powers turn a blind eye to what’s happening in Kashmir. It’s not because they don’t know — they do. It’s because the market is more valuable than Muslim lives, and strategic alliances matter more than human rights. So Kashmiris are left voiceless, censored by their own state and ignored by the world.
And let’s just call out the hypocrisy here. India constantly sells itself as the “world’s largest democracy,” but democracy doesn’t look like this. Democracies don’t revoke constitutional guarantees without consent. Democracies don’t jail entire political parties or silence dissent with curfews and pellet guns. And democracies sure as hell don’t militarize an entire population and then pat themselves on the back for it.
At this point, Kashmiris aren’t treated as citizens — they’re treated as subjects. Subjects of a nation that talks democracy but walks authoritarianism. Modi’s statement that Article 370 has been “buried” wasn’t just about a law. It was about erasing the political voice of an entire people. It was about silencing history. And it was about sending a message: We don’t need your consent. We’ll do what we want — and no one’s going to stop us.
This isn’t unity. It’s conquest, cloaked in constitutional jargon. And the world pretending it’s normal? That’s the real tragedy.
