Labour Day in Indian Occupied Kashmir

Nothing has changed in Kashmir except the increase in intensity of brutality and oppression against the labour of Indian occupied Kashmir. 

Today, Labour Day is being observed across the globe. You are showing solidarity with the labour, but you hardly know how badly and brutally the labour is treated in Indian occupied Kashmir. 

We have some facts from the history and few recent incidents to share with you which show the inhuman treatment of the labour of Kashmir at the hands of ruling authorities. 

We have some facts from the history and few recent incidents to share with you which show the inhuman treatment of the labour of Kashmir at the hands of ruling authorities. #LabourDay2020

— Legal Forum for Kashmir (@lfovkofficial) May 1, 2020

The labour in occupied Kashmir has too long history of injustice and oppression. Only the tyrants changed from time to time. 29th April is an important date from the history which can never be forgotten. 

In 18th and 19th century, shawl industry was the biggest industry of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. This single paragraph of Justice Yousaf Saraf's book speaks about both the brutality of Dogra Raj and helplessness of poor weavers. “The result was that after working from morning to night a shawl weaver could get no more than 4 annas in wages per day. A weaver could thus earn 7 or 8 rupees per month out of which he paid Rs 5 in tax which left him 3 rupees to live on. The lazy and sickly weavers could not pay the tax and thus became a debtor of the government.”

After Gulab Singh's death, Rambir Singh took the reins of government and proved a bigger tyrant than his father. This led to famous Shawl Weaver's uprising of 29th April in 1865.

Today's occupied Kashmir is witnessing the worst form of brutal treatment of the labour at the hands of Indian forces in the valley. The labour is forced to pay high taxes, the drivers are ordered to report to army camps. Their vehicles are used for army's movement and Indian forces pay nothing in turn. 

Being a labourer has become a crime in Kashmir. The people related to labour often get beaten up by the Indian forces. They are treated as terrorists. The poor labour is striving for food in Indian occupied Kashmir. 

29th April of 2020 has witnessed another incident of oppression against the poor labourers of occupied Kashmir. Altaf Dar, who is resident of Bandipora North Kashmir, has been working as caterer in Jaipur. 

He and his group of twenty five people were short of money. He, with his roommate, went out in search of ration in the evening of 29 April during the relaxation hours, but they were severly beaten up by the police. 

From 29th April of 1865 to 29th April of 2020, nothing has changed for the labour of Kashmir. On this #LabourDay, we urge International Labour Organization and other international humanitarian organizations to stand with the labour of Indian occupied Kashmir.