Student Organizations Rally In Support Of Kashmir After Indian Occupation

A coalition of campus organizations gathered on Sproul Plaza on Wednesday to raise awareness of current government relations between India and Kashmir and to demand the divestment from India by colleges throughout North America.

The conflict between the two regions escalated in August when India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party revoked Article 370 from the Indian Constitution, which allowed Jammu and Kashmir to create its own constitution and the freedom to make its own laws. Since then, the region has faced increased military presence and a communications blackout.

“The removal of Article 370 and 35A of the Indian constitution comes after decades of state repression, extrajudicial killings, murders and kidnappings of the Kashmiri people,” according to a statement released in August by the UC Berkeley Sikh Student Association. “(We) believe we have a responsibility to stand in solidarity with the groups and peoples striving for their right to self-determination.”

More than 100 people participated in the “Rally for Kashmir,” according to an organizer for the rally, who requested to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation against their family. The organizer added that the rally sought to raise questions regarding student strategies for prevention and re-assessing the relationship between campus and “enablers” of the Kashmirian occupation.

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