People of occupied Kashmir observed India's Republic Day on January 26 as Black Day to convey the message across the world that they do not accept India's illegal occupation of their territory and also to reiterate their right to self-determination.
The call for observing Black Day on January 26 was made by All Parties Hurriyet Conference and the veteran Kashmiri Hurriyet leader Syed Ali Gilani besides the Jammu and Kashmir Bar council. A crippling strike marked the day with road traffic coming to a halt and all offices and educational institutions remaining closed. The Kashmiris have rejected India's hegemonistic control and want fulfilment of the pledges made to them by the United Nations, which India also accepted. India's first Prime Minister Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru on numerous occasions stated that future of Kashmir will be determined in accordance with the wishes of the people of Kashmir. In a statement in the Indian Parliament on February 12, 1951 he said, “We have given our pledges to the people of Kashmir and subsequently to the United Nations. We stood by it and stand by it today. Let the people of Kashmir decide.” In an All India Radio Broadcast Pandit Nehru on November 3rd 1947 said: “We have declared that the fate of Kashmir is ultimately to be decided by the people. That pledge we have given not only to the people of Kashmir but also to the world. We will not and cannot back out of it.” But despite these un-equivocal and solemn commitments India reneged from its promises. The people of Kashmir in the meanwhile have been suffering immensely at the hands of Indian forces stationed in occupied territory. Extras judicial killings, arrests intimidation, harassment death and destruction has been the order of the day in Kashmir. More than seven lac troops have been stationed in the occupied territory, which is the largest peace time deployment of armed forces anywhere in the world. The basic human rights of the people are being suppressed and even their religious rights are trampled upon. Thousands of innocent Kashmiris have been disappeared during custody and thousands others are languishing in jails across Kashmir and India. Hundreds of unmarked graves have been discovered in which the disappeared people were buried by the army. There is hardly a home in occupied Kashmir, which has not lost one of its family member to the atrocities of the troops. The sufferings of the people of Kashmir know no bounds. Their only redemption lies in getting their freedom from foreign occupation. The people of Kashmir have waged a relentless struggle for their right to self-determination and have sacrificed more than hundred thousand of their fellow beings at the hands of Indian troops. There have been many efforts at the international level to bring India to the negotiations tables to help resolve the Kashmir issue but India's intransigence thwarted all these efforts. Pakistan, one of the main stakeholder in the dispute has been making all out efforts to help find a peaceful solution but India remained adamant to its traditional policies on Kashmir and refused to budge from its non-compromising position. Pakistan has made many proposals to find a breakthrough but India has been unresponsive. Kashmiris have been continuing their epic peaceful struggle for their right to self-determination and observance of January 26, as Black Day is a manifestation of their resolve to remain sincere in their quest for achieving the ultimate goal of liberation from India's stranglehold.
