COVER STORY – INDIA: RISING FASCISM
No End to the Kashmiris’ Resolve Cricket heartbreak exposes depth of Hindutva malignancy in India
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ast October 24, all hell broke out for India’s Muslims, and the resi dents of Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, when Pakistan trounced India in the first ICC Men’s T20 World Cup match — the international cricket champi onship for the shortest version of the game. For Pakistan, and indeed for Muslims in South Asia, where cricket is king, this was a major milestone: Pakistan had finally broken its ten-year losing streak against rival India. When Pakistan won, both the Kashmiris living in the occupied state and Muslims in parts of India celebrated this historic victory with unbounded fervor. The festive mood, however, was abruptly ended. The colonial Indian setup, addressing this as an expression of “anti-national” behavior, accused the Kashmiris of “sedition” to apply the feared Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) so many of them could be arrested and tortured. This draconian act enables New Delhi to designate any indi vidual as a terrorist and arrest people under the guise of “protecting” India’s sovereignty and interests. Meanwhile, Indians harassed and attacked Kashmiris, especially in the north ern state of Punjab. Kashmiri students nationwide feared for their lives as they faced threats, harassment and abuse from enraged Indians. Also noteworthy is that cricket is a big betting item. Thus, one can understand the rage when not only betting sites, but also India’s cricketing greats, had predicted an Indian triumph. This is not the first time that such violence has happened. In 2014, 60+ Kashmiri stu dents were arrested for supporting Pakistan in the Asia Cup One-Day [50 overs version] cricket tournament. On April 4, 2017, Kashmiri cricketers of the Baba Darya Ud Din club uploaded a video of them wear ing Pakistani jerseys and singing that coun try’s national anthem; the police promptly arrested them. The Indian Express headline of that day proclaimed “Defiance at play as Kashmiri cricket team sports Pakistan colours, starts match with anthem.” In 2016, Kashmiri and non-Kashmiri
BY HANA AHMED
Assamese News channel PragNews wants to know how much money Shami took from Pakistan. Calls him a Pakistani agent in the Indian team.
students at National Institute of Technology Srinagar clashed over India’s loss to West Indies in the World Twenty20 semi-final. Kashmiri students supported the West Indies, whereas Indians cheered for their home team (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-in dia-35984097). The federal government sent paramilitary forces and ordered the then Indian-installed Kashmir “chief minister” Mehbooba Mufti to ensure the Indian stu dents’ safety in the occupied state. This is the true nature of the Indian state and its people: A violent colonial entity that
20 ISLAMIC HORIZONS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022
enforces oppressive controls through its state apparatus to justify the torture, harassment and killing of Kashmiris over the loss of a single cricket match. Hindutva, the reac tionary fascist version of Hinduism that propelled Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Parishad (BJP; Indian Peoples Party) to power, has resulted in the otherization of Indians Muslims and Kashmiri Muslims, and thereby allowing such horrendous violations of autonomy and political beliefs to occur. At the Bhai Guru Das Institute of Engineering and Technology in Sangrur,
