Memory to Movement: Political Consciousness in Occupied Kashmir … Dr. Waleed Rasool

o cap the pulse of Kashmir’s political movement—deeply rooted in its mass base—has always remained a top strategic priority for India. From the very outset in 1947, the Indian state deftly shifted the burden of blame onto the Dogra ruler, presenting itself as a liberator rather than an occupier. In a masterstroke of political manipulation, India orchestrated the release of Sheikh Abdullah from prison, winning his trust and drawing him into the fold of Jawaharlal Nehru. What appeared to be a political alliance at the time, in retrospect, proved to be a well-laid trap—now iron shackles for the Kashmiri people.

The Kashmiri struggle to cast off the chains of Indian subjugation is not a linear tale of rebellion but a complex tapestry interwoven with political aspirations, social resistance, religious perseverance, cultural resilience, and psychological defiance of seven decades. What began as a movement for dignity and identity has, over decades, transformed into a multi-dimensional resistance? Today, the strategic landscape has undergone a dramatic metamorphosis.

The movement, once visible in rallies and political platforms, has now been caged in far-flung jails of India particularly the Tihar Jail of Delhi. The space for peaceful political expression—once grudgingly tolerated—is now squarely in the crosshairs of the Indian state. Even the semblance of non-violent political dissent is criminalized, and crushed under the weight of state machinery. This is no longer a conventional political conflict. It is a calculated war against a people’s memory, identity, and future. It is a theatre of oppression where narratives are rewritten, history is manipulated, and political consciousness is targeted for erasure.

And yet, despite the iron grip, the Kashmiri spirit endures—scarred, but not broken; silenced, but not surrendered. Understanding this evolution demands innovative approaches rather than relying on outdated methodologies that once served the movement during earlier phases. India’s post-2019 strategy—characterized by the systematic erosion of political space, increased surveillance, and the targeted use of state agencies such as the National Investigation Agency (NIA)—has transformed the political terrain. The imposition of property seizures, arrests under draconian laws like PSA (Public Safety Act), UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act), and operations by the NIA has created a climate of fear and psychological warfare. In 2023 alone, the NIA seized properties from over 190 individuals ” in Kashmir, a move widely viewed as political intimidation and assault on freedom struggle. Historically, India has used a two-pronged strategy in Kashmir: creating internal fissures within the movement and giving space to political entities. These entities were led to believe that they could sustain a political struggle for autonomy or even independence. This tactic, however, has proven to be a means to absorb dissent into the Indian political mainstream, thus gradually diluting the core demand for azadi (freedom).

This was not new. The rigging of the 1987 elections, particularly targeting the Muslim United Front (MUF), is a textbook case of the suppression of legitimate political voices. This event triggered a mass uprising that later evolved into the formation of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) and an armed resistance in the 1990s. The APHC emerged as a broad political platform representing the collective aspiration for self-determination. However, this too faced state repression, co-option, and internal fragmentation—often engineered by Indian intelligence agencies, according to several scholars and reports.The issue at hand is not merely political suppression; it’s the methodical stifling of a mass-based freedom movement through statecraft. Indian policymakers, with direct administrative control over the territory, enjoy a decisive edge in dictating the rules of engagement. Their strategy is not just physical but psychological—aimed at dismantling the very political consciousness of future generations. Yet, the spirit of resistance has not faded. Despite thousands of killings, incarcerations, and forced disappearances—statistics indicate that even under heavy militarization, with nearly 900,000 Indian troops stationed in the valley, the desire for freedom remains deeply embedded in Kashmiri collective memory.

A significant differentiating factor between the Kashmiri freedom struggle and other movements within India is its internationally disputed status. The United Nations resolutions (1948, 1949) recognize Jammu and Kashmir as a disputed territory with Pakistan as a party to the conflict. This geopolitical dimension, along with Pakistan’s political and diplomatic support, distinguishes it from other secessionist, separatist movements Another distinguishing characteristic was Article 370, which constitutionally acknowledged Jammu and Kashmir’s autonomy within the Indian Union. Its abrogation in 2019 dismantled the last legal safeguard and has triggered what many call a settler-colonial policy in the region. Since then, over 4 million domicile certificates have been issued to non-residents, raising serious concerns about demographic change and the dilution of the indigenous Muslim majority’s political representation. The inter-generational transfer of political consciousness now becomes a critical aspect of resistance. History shows that successful freedom movements—be it Algeria, Vietnam, or Palestine—survive through a strategic continuum of ideological education, cultural preservation, and innovative resistance tactics across generations. In Kashmir, this continuum is under severe threat due to state censorship, curriculum control, and media blackout. Given these challenges, Kashmiris—particularly those outside direct Indian control—must develop a three-pronged strategic approach:1) Political Reorientation and Strategic rethinking 2) Intellectual and Cultural Resistance: 3) Diaspora engagement. Ibn Khaldun’s timeless observation—that states, like human beings, pass through the stages of childhood, youth, and old age—rings profoundly true in the context of contemporary India. Despite its meteoric rise in economic and military spheres, India is grappling with deep internal contradictions: the rigid fault lines of caste hierarchies, the surge of Hindutva extremism, secessionist undercurrents in the Northeast and Southern states, and a dangerous spiral of religious polarization. These simmering fractures, coupled with mounting international scrutiny, gradually chip away at the façade of India’s democratic veneer—regardless of its defiant dismissal of global censure. In this tightening grip of repression, where the political leadership of Kashmir is being systematically silenced, and peaceful voices are met with punitive crackdowns, the inter-generational transfer of political consciousness emerges not merely as a strategy, but as an existential necessity. It is a torch that must be passed—not in haste, but with deliberate care. India may succeed in imprisoning leaders, seizing homes, and sealing political spaces, but it cannot extinguish an idea whose roots run deep in the blood-soaked soil of Kashmir. The struggle endures in the whispered stories of grandmothers, in the poetry etched in prison notebooks, and in the eyes of children who inherit not just the trauma—but the truth. In the face of India’s intensifying authoritarianism, this conscious transfer of political memory and identity is the lifeline of the Kashmiri cause—a quiet rebellion, waged not with weapons, but with wisdom, will, and the weight of generations. In the whispering winds of the Valley, memory is not a passive relic—it is a pulse, a protest, a promise. Occupied Kashmir breathes resistance not only through slogans but through stories carried from one generation to the next. Here, history does not sleep—it marches. Every mother’s lullaby, every child’s question, every funeral procession fuels a rising tide of awareness. What begins as silent remembrance slowly swells into collective defiance. Political consciousness in Kashmir is not born in seminar halls or manifestos; it germinates in graveyards, grows in curfews, and blossoms in the barricaded hearts of its people. This is the journey—from memory to movement
Dr. Waleed Rasool, Assistant Professor/ Director Institute of Dialogue, Development & Diplomatic Studies and can be reached waleed.rasool@gmail .com