ISLAMABAD: On August 15 (Tuesday), as in previous years, people from both sides of the line of control in Jammu and Kashmir State and around the world will observe India’s independence day as a Black Day.
Kashmiris annually mark August 15 as a Black Day to express their enduring resentment against India and to vehemently protest Delhi’s coercive action on August 5, 2019, when it revoked the special status of the internationally recognized Jammu and Kashmir state.
Kashmiris designate all of India’s national days, including independence day, as Black Days to denounce India’s consistent denial of their inherent right to self-determination and to inform the global community about India’s ongoing reign of state terrorism, which has subjected the people of occupied Jammu and Kashmir to the presence of over two million military and paramilitary troops.
India has perpetrated the worst atrocities and state terrorism in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), where the people have been striving for their homeland’s liberation from forced Indian rule for the past 76 years.
Observing India’s scheduled Independence Day as a Black Day also signifies the Kashmiris’ indignation against Indian imperialism for forcibly maintaining unlawful and coercive control over a significant portion of the State for the past 76 years.
According to an AJK government spokesperson, the day will be well-known by anti-India rallies keeping protest demonstrations in all major cities and towns on both sides of the LoC.
Protest rally participants will don black bands on their arms as a symbol of their aversion to India, as planned by the organizers of the special Black Day programs.
Kashmiri protestors on both sides of the LoC will hoist black flags on private buildings.
Anti-India rallies and call the black day
In Azad Jammu and Kashmir, individuals from all walks of life will organize anti-India rallies and processions in small and major cities, including the capital city of Muzaffarabad, as well as district headquarters like Mirpur, Kotli, Bagh, Bhimbher, Palandri, Rawalakot, Haveli, Jhelum Valley, and Neelam Valley, to vehemently oppose Indian imperialism.
However, protest participants will march through the main city streets, displaying black banners and placards to express their animosity toward India. Their collective anger stems from India’s transformation of IIOJK into the world’s largest prison, marked by brutalities and human rights violations since August 5, 2019 – the black day in Jammu & Kashmir State’s history when the despotic and fascist BJP-led Indian government revoked the disputed Jammu & Kashmir’s special status at gunpoint.
In Mirpur, DC Chaudhry Amjad Iqbal conveyed that a significant protest rally, marking Indian Independence Day as a Black Day, would commence from the District Courts premises at 10:30 am on Tuesday, August 15. The event is organized by the National Events Organizing Committee of Mirpur district, which represents various public representative organizations encompassing all segments of civil society.
A multitude of individuals from diverse public opinions will gather, as in previous years, to commemorate Indian Independence Day as a Black Day.