PEACE IN SOUTH ASIA — CERAS STATEMENT
CERAS (Centre sur l’asie du sud) condemns in unequivocal terms the killing of 26 civilians in Pahalgam, Kashmir on 22nd April 2025. While there are still a lot of unknowns, the attack in an already febrile environment was bound to escalate tensions. If that was their objective, the perpetrators have succeeded.
India occupied Kashmir is one of the most militarized sites in the world with a ratio of 10:1 in terms of civilians and army and paramilitary personnel. Human rights abuses committed by the security personnel, include killing, torture, arbitrary arrest and collective punishment of entire neighbourhoods. In the wake of the 22nd April attack these personnel are carrying out ‘anti-terror operations’, often a euphemism for some of the above.
Over the years there have been different groups who have sought self-determination for Kashmir. Some of them have taken up armed struggle towards that end. The demand for self-determination is located in the history of the region, which is claimed by both India and Pakistan. In the wake of a UN brokered ceasefire in 1948 there was to be a plebiscite in which the people would indicate if they wished to accede to India or Pakistan. The plebiscite was never held.
Further escalating the issue, in August 2019, the government of India amended the Constitution, revoking special status or autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir (Article 370).
More recently, in May 2024, Omar Abdullah* had presciently noted that treating Kashmir as a “security problem” ran the risk of exposing tourists to attacks, something the government of India acknowledged when, in the wake of the April 2025 attack, at an all-party meeting they held on 24th April 2025, they admitted to ‘security’ lapses. Equally telling, when India’s home minister Amit Shah had held a security review meeting on 8th April 2025, two weeks prior to the Pahalgam killings, Omar Abdullah, now chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, was not invited.
Unsurprisingly, in India, like many of the issues concerning Kashmir, the attack of 22 April 2025 has been communalized, with the attackers being framed as violent Muslims attacking peaceful Hindus. As the attack was happening and in its wake, Kashmiri Muslims came to the aid of the injured and dying, one of them losing his life in the process.
In the aftermath, Hindutva** groups are using social media to sow hatred and division among Indians and fan the flames of Islamophobia with lethal consequences outside Kashmir. A Muslim man was shot dead in Agra by a Hindu supremacist. Muslims in several Indian states such as Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra and Uttarakhand are being attacked and threatened. Kashmiri Muslims have been evicted from their homes, and some are in hiding, vendors have been assaulted and at least in one instance a Muslim patient was denied care by Hindu doctors.
In contrast, across Kashmir there have been spontaneous mass mobilization of people across religions, many holding placards with “Not In My Name” written on them. On Friday, following prayers there was a two-minute silence at the Jamia Masjid in Srinagar.
Meanwhile, the war drums are beating and some kind of military action by India against Pakistan is feared. Indian prime minister Narendra Modi promised “punishment beyond imagination” for the attack in Kashmir. As tensions mount, Pakistani and Indian nationals are being expelled from India and Pakistan, tearing families apart in heart-wrenching separations.
In this climate, CERAS calls for immedite scaling back and de-escalation. Peace between India and Pakistan should be the pre-eminent focus and goal, along with Hindu-Muslim amity. Otherwise both nations and their peoples will be the losers.
CERAS supports peace and people-to-people efforts epitomized by initiatives like the Pakistan-India-People’s– Forum-for-Peace-and-Democracy (PIPFPD) started in 1995 and Aman ki Asha started in 2010. The former has brought together human rights activists, cultural workers, trade unionists, feminist rights groups, lawyers, teachers and businessmen, representing a wide spectrum of civil society from India and Pakistan in what is known as ‘Track 2 diplomacy’. The PIPFPD has engaged common people in these countries in peace efforts to overcome war hysteria and military conflicts engineered by the rulers. Aman ki Asha has been a media focussed initiative calling for dialogue, soft borders and allowing people-to-people contacts to advance this process. Like the PIPFD, Aman ki Asha is premised on the firm belief that letting people meet, travel and trade will have economic benefits, reduces misunderstanding, and put the kibosh to violent extremism.
CERAS (Centre sur l’asie du sud, a forum in support of peace, secularism and democractive development in South Asia). cerasmontreal@gmail.com
*Omar Abdullah is the Vice-President of the political party, Jammu and Kashmir National Conference in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. He is currently serving as Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.
**Hindutva – a political ideology encompassing the cultural justification of Hindu nationalism and the belief in establishing Hindu hegemony within India. The political ideology was formulated by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in 1922. The current government in India is committed to Hindutva.
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