SRINAGAR: Several prominent organizations in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), including the Jammu and Kashmir National Front, Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen Jammu and Kashmir, and Jammu and Kashmir Salvation Movement, have called upon the people of the region to observe August 15, Indian Independence Day, as a Black Day in protest against India’s forcible occupation of Kashmir.
In separate statements issued in Srinagar, these organizations emphasized the need for Kashmiris to mark India’s Independence Day as a somber occasion, reflecting their strong dissent against India’s presence and control over their homeland.
A spokesman for the Jammu and Kashmir National Front stated that observing India’s Independence Day as a Black Day serves as a powerful protest against India’s usurpation of Kashmir and its denial of fundamental rights to the Kashmiri people. He emphasized that India, which has occupied Kashmir against the will of its people, has no moral grounds to celebrate its own independence.
Indian Independence Day as Black Day
Similarly, the spokesman for Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen Jammu and Kashmir reaffirmed the sentiment, highlighting that India’s presence in Kashmir has been against the wishes of the local population. He underlined the historical practice of observing India’s Independence Day as a Black Day in IIOJK, further reiterating that the Kashmiri people will continue to do so.
Altaf Ahmed Butt, Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Salvation Movement, condemned India’s celebration of Independence Day, particularly within the context of the unresolved Kashmir dispute. Butt strongly emphasized that India’s observance of its Independence Day in IIOJK is both inappropriate and unjust, asserting that it contradicts principles of justice, international law, and the basic rights of the Kashmiri people.
As the people of IIOJK prepare to mark India’s Independence Day as a Black Day, their protest underscores the enduring resolve of Kashmiris in demanding their right to self-determination and their rejection of India’s control over their homeland.
