Gujarat Citizens Write Open Letter to Govt. of India to Restore Human Rights in Kashmir

Ahmedabad, October 17, 2019:

A group of 250 concerned citizens of Gujarat has written an open letter to the Government of India, demanding that basic human rights in Kashmir be reinstated.

Activists, academics, students, artists and concerned citizens of Gujarat have come together to declare solidarity with the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

It may be mentioned here that the government had stripped Jammu & Kashmir of its special status by abrogating Article 370 on August 5.

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The people of Gujarat have called for a complete lift on the media and communications blockade and the release of political prisoners detained without trial since August 5.

They have also urged the government for demilitarisation of Kashmir, and initiation of a meaningful dialogue with the people of the region on their future.

Extending their support to Kashmir from Gujarat, the letter reads, “On August 5, the Indian state unilaterally and without consultation with the Jammu and Kashmir legislature revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s right to self-governance. It brought the region under the direct control of the New Delhi government. In doing so, the central government displayed a blatant disregard for the nation’s founding principles of democracy, secularism and justice.”

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It further stated that the military blockade that followed the abrogation of Article 370, led to an unprecedented humanitarian crisis in the region. “Kashmiris have been denied the basic civil liberties and freedoms of expression, information, assembly, movement and religion. Eid and Ashura passed as the clampdown continued, and Kashmiris both within and outside the state were unable to wish their family members.”

The group of as many as 250 individuals has expressed their discontentment that despite credible evidences, the Government of India had been insisting that Kashmir is now ‘normal’.

Stating that Ahmedabad Police had refused permission to protest for J&K’s cause, the letter says, “While thousands protest outside the United Nations in New York, here in Ahmedabad the police refuses permission to protest. Gujarat is where the very spirit of dissent has been crushed under the weight of a state actively and tacitly supported by the majority.”

In their open letter to the Government, the concerned citizens demand that Kashmiri voices be heard. They have called for the release of all political prisoners, leaders and young people, who have been detained without trial since August 5.

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