Of Occupation, Resistance and Music: An Appeal

Huma Dar: The people of Jammu and Kashmir have been under Indian occupation for 66 years. Sixty-six years of State brutality and absolute impunity. Over the last 23 years, 8000+ disappeared, 70,000 killed, 7000+ unidentified, unmarked and mass graves. Countless cases of torture and rape. There have been no effective prosecutions of the perpetrators to date. Therefore, absolute impunity. How does the Indian State mask this reality of Jammu and Kashmir? A crucial feature of this most dense military occupation has been the constant endeavour to forcibly control the local, regional and international narratives on Jammu and Kashmir. From criminalizing popular dissent and resistance as “agitational terrorism,” “anti-national,” or “unpopular,” to the more recent obsession with portraying “normalcy” and “peace,” the Indian State seeks to obscure truth and forcibly control the destiny of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Since 1947, the Indian State has sought to use art, sports, cinema and culture to camouflage the truth about Jammu and Kashmir. The scheduled Zubin Mehta concert is yet another attempt to control the narrative. It is an instrument to grant a veneer of “normalcy” and “peace” to the most militarized occupation on the planet. More here.