Kashmir has never been integral part of India: Roy

SRINAGAR (Agencies) - Noted Indian human rights activist and booker prize winner, Arundhati Roy on Sunday dropped a bombshell stating that Indian-held Kashmir has never been an integral part of India.

She also advocated the right to self-determination for the people of Kashmir, She said that in 1947, British imperialism was replaced with Indian colonialism which has been in place to subjugate and oppress the people of such states which demand "azadi" (freedom) from India.

"Kashmir has never been an integral part of India. It is a historical fact," Arundhati said.

She said India after getting independence from British emerged as a "new colonizing power".

"India fought in Nagaland, Manipur, Punjab and Kashmir. It projects itself as the biggest democracy in the world and emerging economic power but at the same time it oppresses its states and the people of diverse cultures," she added.

Speaking at a seminar titled "Whither Kashmir: Freedom or Enslavement", organized by the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society, headed by the local rights activist Pervaiz Imroz, at a hotel here, Arundhati asked Kashmiris to ponder on the type of society they have in mind for themselves.

"Imperial colonialism is being fast replaced by corporate colonialism and Kashmiris would have to make a choice whether or not they wanted the Indian oppression to be replaced by a future corporate oppression of the local masses," she said.

"Your struggle has increased the consciousness in India about the oppression you face, but you must decide what type of society you have in mind once you are allowed to decide your future," she said.

"Any kind of resistance makes the people stronger and more mature. Kashmiris have been fighting Indian occupation and they should understand what they have achieved and what they have lost," the writer said.

Attacking the Indian government for the "oppression of the Kashmiri people", she said India has been using Kashmiris recruited in the army and paramilitary forces to suppress the voices of dissent in the Northeast and vice versa.

"Kashmiris themselves should avoid being the part of oppressing machinery. They should avoid being the part of police and paramilitary forces."

Besides Arundhati Roy, human rights activist Gautam Naulakha and Delhi-based trader unionist Ashim Roy also strongly voiced their support for the freedom movement of the people of Kashmir.

No mainstream or Hurriyat politician was present at the seminar although many local journalists and members of the civil society attended it.

Among the other speakers at the seminar were assistant editor of the Economic Times in Delhi Najeeb Mubarki, a Srinagar based senior journalist Parvaiz Bukhari, and a film maker Sanjay Kak.