Mohamad Junaid: To those, then, who see JNU simply as a liberal space that must be preserved, here is something Kashmiris have to offer: it is not in conformity with majoritarianism, or in accepting its terms of discourse, that one can truly practice free expression. The true and courageous practice of free expression necessarily challenges the majoritarian logic and its acceptable models of speech. In Kashmir, where even people’s existence is not safe under the state of emergency that the occupation has imposed, the right to free expression, like the one our teachers seem to advocate, has never been a possibility. Yet, people express themselves courageously, in defiance of India’s nationalist codes, and they truly defend this practice by putting their lives at risk for it.
[…] Many in Kashmir are bitter, even though they give their unconditional solidarity to those hounded by the Indian state. They feel the protests so far have not understood the truth of the event: that its truth is not in lectures about “true” or “real” nationalism but in an embrace of sedition. They feel you will give up soon. That you are waiting for the government to step back. And as soon as it does, you can also step back, while preserving your silence on Kashmir. The fact is, even if BJP is gone tomorrow, you will not have destroyed the core of what keeps fascism at the heart of the logic behind the “unity and integrity of the country.” More here.