World News | Jakarta Hosts Seminar to Commemorate Kashmir Carnage of October 1947

Jakarta [Indonesia], October 25 (ANI): The Muhammadiyah University in Jakarta held an international seminar on the theme 'Remembering Kashmir Carnage of October 1947' at the Kasman Singodimedjo Hall on Tuesday.

On October 22, 1947, Kashmir witnessed a horrific turning point when the Pashtun tribal militia, accompanied by the Pakistan Army, launched "Operation Gulmarg" to occupy a large portion of J&K.

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Djoni Gunanto, Deputy Dean 2 when delivering his speech and officially opening the international seminar, said the students of the Political Science Study Program, especially those concentrating on International Relations, need to know and understand global phenomena.

He said, "We ask students to be enthusiastic about enriching their knowledge. For Indonesia, things that are contrary to humanity are also contrary to the Constitution."

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Among the dignitaries attending the seminar were Veeramalla Anjaiah, journalist, Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Sanjay Kulkarni, former Director General of Infantry, Indian Army, New Delhi, Utpal Kaul International Coordinator of the Global Kashmir Pandit Diaspora (GKPD), New Delhi, Ashwani Kumar Chrangoo, writer and activist from Jammu and Kashmir, Lia Nathalia, journalist, Ali Noer Zaman, MA. Political Science lecturer at FISIP UMJ, and Debbie Affianty, M.Sc. Director of LIGS.

All speakers explained the history of the Kashmir tragedy on October 22, 1947 --the Gulmarg Operation which claimed more than 35,000 lives.

The operation was launched by the Pashtun tribal militia accompanied by the Pakistan Army to occupy most of Jammu and Kashmir.

Not only were there casualties but thousands of people were kidnapped and sold as slaves in Pakistan, as well as massacres of Hindus and Sikhs in Pooch and Mirpur. Kashmiri Muslims who refuse to join Pakistan are not spared from being targeted and are considered traitors by Pakistan.

To enhance economic development and create an environment of peace, the Indian government decided to remove Article 370 and Article 15 from the constitution on August 15, 2019. The deletion resulted in the status of Jammu and Kashmir being made equal to all other states and union territories.

Debbie Affianty, director of the Laboratory of Indonesian and Global Studies FISIP UMJ, explained several impacts of peace in Kashmir, including a decrease in the number of people killed, terrorist recruitment and arson, as well as an increase in the number of terrorist arrests.

Veeramalla Anjaiah explained that the reconstruction of Jammu and Kashmir is currently being carried out within the scope of humanitarian assistance, crisis management, social infrastructure, development projects and economic infrastructure.

The speakers emphasised that the international community needs to hold Pakistan responsible for what happened in October 1947 in J&K.

At the end of British colonial rule in August 1947, there were 562 princely states in the united India. Britain used to have control over these states but never interfered in their internal matters. They were ruled by local kings or nawabs.

At the time of independence, these states were given the option to join India or Pakistan or remain independent. Most of them joined India, while some joined Pakistan. Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir was one of those princely states which delayed its decision to join either of them.

J&K ruler Maharaja Hari Singh, a Hindu, did not make a decision to join India or Pakistan until October 1947. Pakistan was impatient and wanted to seize the state by any means. That's why it launched "Operation Gulmarg" to occupy J&K.

When Srinagar faced a direct threat from Pakistani invaders, J&K ruler Raja Hari Singh asked for India's help and signed the accession treaty on October 26, 1947.

Indian troops entered J-K, which is now an inalienable part of India, on October 27, 1947, and liberated the Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh regions.

Pakistan was able to hold its authority in the area now called Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK) as well as the Gilgit-Balitistan region after the establishment of the Line of Control (LOC), which separates the Indian side of Kashmir and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

It is a fact that India acquired J&K through legal means while Pakistan took control of some portion of Kashmir through illegal and violent means, the speakers noted at the seminar. (ANI)

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