Kashmir is one of the most militarized places on Earth and serves as a laboratory and testing ground for crushing dissent, protest, and free press. Unfortunately, it inspires budding fascists around the world, including Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu, who are extremely chummy with Narendra Modi, India’s Prime Minister and an avowed Hindu supremacist.
India and Pakistan, two nuclear-powered countries, are currently on the brink of another war due to a tragic terrorist attack in occupied Kashmir earlier this week that killed 26 civilians. Since 1947, both countries have fought three wars, three of them over Kashmir, which has suffered intense repression during Modi’s regime. Although no party has claimed responsibility and investigations are still underway, India has pointed the finger at Pakistan and vowed to retaliate by pulling out of the Indus Water Treaty in place since 1960. Pakistan has declared this an “act of war” considering the blockage of water would devastate the country’s economy and agriculture.
Some might ask, “Why should America care about what’s happening in South Asia?”
First, both countries are critical to global security and the economy, threatening to unravel existing alliances and stability. Second, Kashmir remains occupied and is often erased or dismissed from the narrative. India’s crackdown on Kashmiris, who are still fighting for their self-determination, threatens to impact American freedoms under this “quid pro quo” corrupt Trump Administration. Just look at how pro-Palestinian activists and allies are being attacked, detained, and kidnapped. Meanwhile, Trump is paying Nayib Bukele of El Salvador to imprison immigrants without due process and is open to sending citizens there as well.
In this important Chai Talk, I invite Zaki Barzinji, co-founder of “Americans For Kashmir” and a former Obama liaison to Muslim American communities, to connect the dots and explain why Americans who care about protecting our democracy should pay attention to India’s occupation of Kashmir and the dangerous, escalating crisis between India and Pakistan.
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