Mehbooba Mufti highlights denial of rights in Kashmir on India’s Republic Day
Srinagar: Peoples Democratic Party President Mehbooba Mufti has said that India’s Republic Day should go beyond ceremonial parades and speeches, particularly in the context of occupied Jammu and Kashmir, where constitutional guarantees have been systematically hollowed out and denied to the people.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Mehbooba Mufti, in a post on social media platform X, said that while August 15, 1947 marked India’s freedom from colonial rule, January 26, 1950 symbolized the constitutional framework meant to ensure dignity, free speech, freedom of religion and the right to vote. She stressed that these rights remain largely illusory for the people of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
Referring to Kashmir, she said the Constitution was meant to create strong institutions to safeguard citizens’ rights, but lamented that these very institutions are now being “weaponised” against the people, enabling repression, political disenfranchisement and erosion of civil liberties in the occupied territory.
Observers say Mufti’s remarks reflect widespread sentiment in IIOJK, where prolonged restrictions, arbitrary arrests, suppression of dissent and continued central rule have deprived Kashmiris of meaningful democratic participation since the revocation of the region’s special status in 2019. KMS-5K
