Close your eyes and imagine this. You wake up one morning — and your phone has no signal. The internet is gone. Roads are blocked. Soldiers stand at every corner. You cannot call your mother who lives one street away. You cannot know if your child reached school safely. This is not a scene from a dystopian novel. This is Kashmir — and it has been living this reality for decades.
In August 2019, the Indian government revoked Article 370 — the special constitutional status that had defined Jammu & Kashmir since 1949. In a single night, 8 million people were placed under the longest internet blackout ever imposed in a democracy. No phone calls. No news. No way to tell the world what was happening inside.
“And the world? It issued statements. Expressed concern. And moved on. Because Kashmir does not have oil. Because Kashmiris are Muslim — and in today’s world, Muslim suffering carries a different price tag.”
The History They Erased
To understand Kashmir, you must understand 1947. When British colonialism ended on the subcontinent, the rulers of each princely state were given a choice — join India or Pakistan. Kashmir’s Maharaja Hari Singh was Hindu, but his population was overwhelmingly Muslim. He hesitated. Then tribal fighters from Pakistan entered Kashmir. Panicking, he signed the Instrument of Accession with India — under the condition that a referendum would be held to let the Kashmiri people decide their own fate.
That referendum was promised in 1947. It has never been held. Seventy-seven years have passed. The promise was buried — under politics, under war, under silence. The UN itself passed resolutions demanding a plebiscite. They were ignored. And every time Kashmir raised its voice, the world called it a “bilateral dispute” — as if the will of a people is simply a matter to be negotiated between two governments.
“A people’s right to choose their own destiny is called democracy — unless they are Muslim. Then it is called a security threat.”
What Is Happening There Today
Since the revocation of Article 370, Kashmir has witnessed a systematic transformation. Demographic changes are being introduced — non-Kashmiris can now buy land and settle in the valley. Thousands of outsiders have been granted domicile status. This is not a new strategy. The world has seen it before — in Palestine, where settlements changed facts on the ground faster than diplomacy could respond.
Human rights organisations — Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch — have documented pellet gun injuries that have blinded hundreds of young men. They have documented torture in detention. They have documented the killing of civilians under laws that grant security forces near-total immunity. AFSPA — the Armed Forces Special Powers Act — means that a soldier can arrest, detain, and in certain circumstances kill — with virtually no legal accountability.
The Quranic Law of Oppression
Allah says in the Quran: “And do not think that Allah is unaware of what the wrongdoers do. He only delays them until a Day when eyes will stare in horror.” — Quran 14:42. This is not poetry. This is a divine law. Every oppressor in history — Pharaoh, Nimrod, the Roman Empire, the Mongols — all believed their power was permanent. None of them was right.
“The blood of Kashmir’s martyrs is not wasted. In Allah’s accounting, not a single drop is forgotten. Every one of them has a file open with Allah — and that file will be presented on a Day that no army can delay.”
What Can You Do?
The Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever among you sees an evil, let him change it with his hand. If he cannot, then with his tongue. If he cannot, then with his heart — and that is the weakest of faith.” You may not be able to change what happens in Kashmir with your hand. But your tongue — your voice, your pen, your platform — is a tool. Your heart — your du’a, your grief, your refusal to forget — is an act of faith.
Do not let Kashmir become background noise. Every time it disappears from your feed — remember it. Speak about it. Educate those around you. And make du’a — because the du’a of the oppressed travels to Allah without any veil between them.
“To forget Kashmir is not neutrality. It is a choice — and on the Day of Judgement, every choice will have a witness.”