Why has the support for Kashmir died down; they are still being silenced.

As an Indian, I have never felt so helpless and DISGUSTED about being an Indian before. it is our duty as the media to raise awareness of issues of injustice, but I am saddened to see that the support Kashmir should be getting is decreasing.

Some people hear of Kashmir and think of the incredible views of hills and mountains or the beautiful sound of the rivers flowing through the valleys. But now all you hear is silence and drowned voices of kashmiri citizens! Why?

Let's me break down the events that have lead us up to this:

1) On August 5, the Indian government announced plans to revoke Kashmir's special status, called Article 370, which allows the state to have special status and autonomy. The Article 370 was first established in the 1949, and allowed the state to have it's own constitution and independence.

2) India revoked the special status, causing civil unrest in Kashmir. The Indian Military have forced citizens to stay in their homes, cutting them off from internet and any contact from the outside world, people being arrested and tortured as reported by Al Jazeera.

3) This is the current state of the Kashmiri people right now!

How social media can be a way to give the voiceless a voice

The power of social media incredible, which was demonstrated during Sudan's fight for liberation. The support and solidarity that was shown through millions of Instagrammers changing their profile picture to blue, created a movement which couldn't be ignored. It created such momentum, that it dominated many worldwide headlines, like BBC and Sky News. Why are we not creating the same momentum and support for Kashmir, who suffering the same fate, where their voices are being silenced, preventing them from speaking out about the injustices they face.

As I have mentioned before, the media obtain great power in their words and are able to change the way people think. However, this becomes threatened when the very journalists who report in the name of the public interest refuse to report about the whole truth, not just one side of the coin. This ideology is followed by many Indian News platforms, which simply desire a catchy headline, views or well, just plain bias. The divide of Kashmir has been one of the greatest ongoing political matters of Indian and Pakistani history. News platforms in India continue to take an 'patriotic' stance on the situation in Kashmir, but fail to report the humanitarian flaws the decision to strip Kashmir of it's autonomy has on the Kashmiri people. As a result this media bias has caused many Indians to take a one sided opinion on the situation in Kashmir, as well as drowning out the already drowned out voices of the Kashmiri people.

There is a time for being for your country's accomplishments and understanding that what our country is doing has real effects on the people who are being oppressed, which can be shown in situations like America's occupation of Afghanistan and other occasions of country's occupying territories that belong to the people that live there.

An important take away from this article, would that there are still many Kashmiri people who want to be heard, but are not, due to a lack of coverage they receive. Therefore, it is our duty, as a part of humanity, to make sure that their voices are heard. Many voices are better than one! We should count ourselves lucky, that we are able to speak with freedom!

We have not forgot you, people of Kashmir!

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