India sparks global criticism after hosting G20 in occupied Kashmir

The Indian government is under stern criticism from Kashmiri activists for its baffling attempt to show “peace and prosperity” in highly militarised and securitised occupied Kashmir. The 22^nd of May marked the first of a three-day meeting between 60 delegates from G20 countries, hosted by India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. This meeting has invited condemnation from some of the international community, including Saudi Arabia and China who have boycotted the event. [1]

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Kashmir is the new Guantanamo Analysis Pressure the British government into action Also read

Hypocritically, China criticised India for hosting the event in “disputed territory”, despite their current violent occupation of East Turkestan, where over a million people are in state-sanctioned concentration camps. Alongside them were Saudi Arabia who continue to show their allyship with China. [1]

Kashmir is the new Guantanamo

Former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Mehbooba Mufti, starkly compared Kashmir to Guantanamo Bay, and warned,

“If you visit Kashmir today, you will see that the place which was converted to an open-air prison (following the abrogation of Article 370) has been converted into Guantanamo … Even houses have been taken over. Homes have been taken over. There is three-, four-, five-tier security … Everything at home is being turned upside down.” [2]

Mufti also accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of hijacking the event by emphasising the party as opposed to the country. [2]

Analysis

Hosting the event in occupied Kashmir was a distasteful attempt at promoting “tourism” in the area, particularly given the Indian government’s crackdown in the region since 2019.

In August 2019, the BJP-led Indian government abrogated Article 370 of the constitution, which was a special clause that protected Kashmir’s semi-autonomous status. [3] This move is believed to have been lobbied for by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) – the right-wing Hindu nationalist group – for years before it was finally implemented by the BJP.

Author and expert analyst of the alliance between India and the Zionist state of ‘Israel’, Azad Essa, compared India’s neo-colonial move in Kashmir to the apartheid state’s occupation of Palestine:

“Revoking Article 370 paves the way for a full settler-colonial project in Kashmir, much like Jewish settlements in the West Bank.” [3]

Pressure the British government into action

The removal of Article 370 was followed by a military crackdown on Kashmir’s media and civil society; this resulted in arbitrary arrests, torture, and extra-judicial killings. [4]

How should the British government be responding to an event which is taking place in a region where human rights abuses have been widespread for decades?

Is it not time for them to sanction the BJP, a political party that has authorised and promoted the persecution of Muslims and other minorities in India?