Qaisar Mansoor
21st January is remembered as the darkest day in the history of Kashmir. It is being marked as the 32nd martyrdom anniversary of Gaw Kadal massacre. Back in 1990, on the fateful day (January 21) at least 50 Kashmiris were killed on-the-spot when Indian forces opened indiscriminate fire on a peaceful procession at Basant Bagh locality of Srinagar city.
Despite lapse of around 32 years, the victims of Gaw Kadal massacre are still yearning for justice, which has become an elusive dream for them as it was state-managed and the Indian authorities have never shown any intention to bring the culprits to justice .
Investigation reports submitted to the government had established the Indian army’s direct involvement in these horrendous incidents of the violence but no action whatsoever was taken against the perpetrators.
Now International community should play its much-needed role to hold the Indian government accountable for the crimes its troops have committed against Kashmiris.
Kashmiris across the Line of Control (LoC) remember the martyrs of Gaw Kadal every year and pay rich tributes to them for sacrificing their lives for the sacred cause of freedom.
This year too, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) has given a call for complete shutdown on January 21 in the Srinagar district to observe the day and pay tributes to the martyrs.
The illegally detained APHC Chairman Masarrat Aalam Butt, in a message from New Delhi’s Tihar Jail, has paid rich tributes to the martyrs, appealing to the people to organize congregational prayer meetings on the auspicious day of Friday and register peaceful protests against the genocide of innocent people, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, custodial disappearances, change of demography and imposition of Hindutva ideology by the Indian occupation forces in the territory.
The Kashmiris, had always been victim of Indian barbarism. However, the tragedies like Gaw Kadal, Bijbihara, Sopore and Handwara had further strengthened their resolve that there was no way out without complete independence from India.
World community was deliberately neglecting the Kashmir issue despite the fact that it was an internationally recognized disputed territory. However, peace in South Asia could not materialize without resolving the issue.
“31 one years ago today, Indian forces killed 52 Kashmiris on “The bridge of no return” brutally. Abdur Rauf Wani took 32 bullets to his chest, from a very close range, to shield his brethren. He saved many lives as he took his own last breaths Broken heart,” writes another Twitterati, Bea.
