MT Desk: Sequel to its illegal act of undoing the special status of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) on August 5, 2019, India imposed Civil Services Decentralization and Recruitment Act (Act No.XVI of 2010) in April 2020.As per this Indian Act, ‘any person who has resided in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) for certain duration would be able to get domicile of the state.

As defined by Jammu and Kash-mir Civil Services (Decentralization and Recruitment) Act, a domiciled person is one, “who has resided for a period of 15 years in the territory or has studied for a period of seven years and appeared in class 10 or 12 examinations” in the educational institutions situation in IIOJK.Later in October 2020, through another amendment, India allowed non Kashmiris to buy the land of IIOJK.

Through these unacceptable and illegal amendments, land of IIOJK has been kept for sale, increasing the sufferance of Kash-miri masses especially poor and smaller land owners.Despite Indian oppression, the people of IIOJK are constantly resisting these laws and demographic changes being made there.

As per available data more than 4.5 million non-Kashmiri Hindus have been given Kashmiri domiciles from April 2020 to April 2025.This is worst form of exploita-tion and human rights violation of Kashmiris by India.Indian Government is settling millions of non-Kashmiri Hin-dus in IIOJK for changing the demography of the state.

Besides, Indian authorities have started diluting Kashmiri identity; the culture and civilization through various means.In the wordings of Professor DrSaibaVarma, “Given the history of Indian state intervention in occupied Kashmir, there are efforts to destroy the local, distinctive cultural identity of Kashmiris and forcibly assimilate Kashmiri Mus-lims into a Hindu, Indian polity.”

Professor DrSaiba Varma is professor of cultural and medical anthropology at the University of California, San Diego.India is using four methods for making demographic changes in IIOJK.One: establishment of Sanik colonies in various parts of the IIOJK where retired officers and soldiers of Indian Army and its paramilitary forces are being settled.

These officers and soldiers and their children from various parts of India are being issued with Kashmiri domicile based on their service in IIOJK.Two: 17000 kanals of land was allotted for mak-ing fortified colonies for the Kashmiri Pandits who were forced by Indian Army and Governor Jagmohan in the 1990s to migrate to India so that Muslim Kashmiris can be punished with clarity and total impunity.