Spark Change

 Kashmir: Following Controlling the Narrative

by Taimoor Elahi

Modern political discourse is shaped by the media we consume daily. Over time, we accept things as they are and create an echo chamber of ideas; a chamber in which we would happily spend the rest of our time. This echo chamber tells us that we don’t need to step outside of our comfort zone. We don’t need to risk an extra brain cell for something that probably won’t come back to bite us. So the question I often ask myself is: should we expect the general public to care about things that don’t affect their daily commutes, grocery bills, or health? It may come as a surprise, but the fact is people do care about things that don’t affect them personally every day. The two things that determine how much a person cares are: the framing of the issue, and the person or entity conveying the message. Over the past decade, there have been many instances that show how people react to different issues depending on how they consume information. In 2014, there was a massive celebrity and social media-driven viral campaign that saw people raise awareness for a disease known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which affects about 0.00001% of the population of the United States of America every year. One million two hundred thousand videos and two million two hundred thousand tweets later, the ALS foundation reported donations that crossed the $100 million mark that year. This kind of internet-driven campaign should be a lesson in what humanity is capable of. It is one of the best examples of why humans are fundamentally right-minded yet flawed at the same time. It is a remarkable display of what we can achieve with unity and clarity; yet at the same time it is an unsettling reflection of what drives our priorities. This is exactly why it should baffle us that the world’s most militarized region — with more than 7 million people caged into submission and acceptance of a fate riddled with physical and psychological oppression — exists. This is also what humanity is capable of. This is what Kashmir is today.

On August 5, 2019 the Indian government made an announcement that changed everything for the people of Jammu & Kashmir — the part of Kashmir controlled by the Indian government. It was announced that article 370 of the Indian constitution would be revoked. This article granted the permanent residents of Jammu & Kashmir a special status in regards to many legal protections such as self-autonomy, property rights, and the like. It was apparent from the get-go that this move would be very unpopular down in the ‘valley’ (another term for that area of Kashmir). Because of this, the Indian government imposed the new amendment in a gradual and muted fashion. They slowly increased military presence and eventually put the entire region on lockdown to make sure they would cut off any possibility of Kashmiris mobilizing to cause an uproar or protest. They shut down the internet, cut off phone lines, closed all businesses, locked down hospitals and clinics and started imprisoning local elected officials. It was a thorough and immensely effective strategy.

People outside of Kashmir found out about the situation before the people inside. Fear and anxiety overcame my parents and I, along with hundreds of thousands of Kashmiris around the world. My grandparents, aunts, and extended family were all in Srinagar — one of the major cities. Imagine a situation where all of a sudden, a tightly-sealed cage has been dropped on your loved ones, cutting off all communication to and from the outside world. All of the mainstream news outlets around the South Asian subcontinent then started adding to everyone’s fear, claiming that the situation was very sensitive and no one knew what the Indian government’s next move would be. The Pakistani government and general public reacted with protests and retaliatory statements of their own by standing up for what they perceived to be the will of the Kashmiri people. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed that this move was necessary to achieve peace, stability, and development in the region and that most Kashmiris were excited by the prospect of what was to come. It was funny (it wasn’t funny) because no one who is actually from Kashmir could understand how the destruction of basic human rights for people who are already one of the most persecuted in recent history was going to bring peace. Of course we all know what well-meaning governments do in a “democracy” whenever they want to enforce a law that the people will love, right? They cut off their communication from the world and block access to basic necessities — actions tantamount to violations of international law.