India Republic Day becomes Black Day 

January 26 is commemorated as India’s Republic Day, the date on which the Constitution of India came into effect in 1950 replacing the Government of India Act (1935) as the governing document of India. Every year, this day is celebrated with pomp and splendour with a great military parade in the capital New Delhi being the hallmark of the event. Each year, Kashmiris observe this day as Black Day since India’s illegal occupation, tyranny and oppression of Jammu and Kashmir continues unabated. Following Narendra Modi’s August 5, 2019 illegal action of abrogating Article 370 and 35A of its own Constitution, rescinding the autonomy given to Illegally Indian Occupied Kashmir (IIOK) and annexing Kashmir and Ladakh into Union Territories, caused the Kashmiris to observe the Indian Republic Day as a truly black day. To stop the people of IIOK from protesting, Jammu and Kashmir has been in a state of lockdown since August 5, 2019. Its people are incarcerated in their homes with no access to internet and communications, limited movement and orders to shoot on sight if any protest rallies are organized. To make matters worse, India shot itself in the foot by introducing the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) towards the end of 2019. The NRC demanded Indian citizens to register themselves but the Muslims of Assam and elsewhere were barred from it so that they remain outside the reach of registration, deprived of their basic rights and if deemed necessary, forced to leave India or detained in concentration camps. Tragically, instead of accepting its own shortcomings in mishandling the crisis, Indian hardliners are busy blaming Pakistan for sponsoring the Sikh’s protest rally. Recently India has been shamed and named in a massive exposé by European Union DisinfoLab of a deception campaign, titled “Indian Chronicles.” The shocking disclosure revealed India’s clandestine operations using fake hardcore and social media platforms to denigrate Pakistan. On India’s Republic Day, a landmark development took place, when the first hearing in the EU about DisinfoLab was held. European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Interference in all Democratic Processes in the EU, including Disinformation (INGE) held a hearing on disinformation activities and tactics originating from India at the European Parliament, Brussels. Executive Director of EU Disinfolab Alexander Alaphalippe and Managing Director Gary Machado briefed the Committee on India’s disinformation campaign, “Indian Chronicles.”

Kamran Khamiso Khowaja

Sujawal