N Thursday, India gave final shape to the condemnable steps it had initially taken on Aug 5 by formally bifurcating Indiaheld Kashmir into two union territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. This ill-advised move has drawn strong criticism from Pakistan and China, as both states have territorial stakes in what is an internationally recognised dispute. `No step by the government of India can change this,` said the Foreign Office, referring to the disputed status of the region, while adding that an `iron curtain` remains in place in IHK. The Chinese reaction has been equally blunt, with Beijing saying that `India is challenging China`s sovereign rights and interests by unilaterally revising domestic law. However, it is unlikely that such firm reactions from two of its neighbours will change India`s attitude, considering the rigidity displayed up till now by its government in New Delhi.

Clearly, the Indian establishment seeks to subsume the Kashmiri identity and replace it with a new demographic reality. This is reflected by the fact that the Kashmiri flag has been done away with, and now people from outside the region can buy property in IHK. Yet Narendra Modi`s government is actively promoting the farce that `all is well` in the occupied region, despite the fact that hundreds of men remain incarcerated many under the draconian Public Safety Act and a curfew-like situation persists. Moreover, a recent junket was arranged in which right-wing members of the European Parliament toured IHK to lend credence to the fiction that the situation in the region is normal. Many of these lawmakers represent parties that have been described as neo-Nazi; however, this is not surprising, considering that early leaders of the RSS the BJP`s ideological parent were unabashed fans of Nazism.

Interestingly, the EU distanced itself from the visit, while a Liberal Democrat lawmaker said he was stopped from joining the trip to IHK when he demanded unfettered access to the region. `I am not prepared to take part in a PR stunt for the Modi government,` Chris Davies told the media.

The fact is that despite New Delhi`s best efforts to spin the situation in IHK, the truth is bound to emerge. This country has, of course, played a big part in making sure the voice of the Kashmiris is heard around the world, and such active diplomacy has certainly helped paint a true picture of what is happening in the troubled region. However, many of the states that claim to be champions of human rights are strangely silent when it comes to publicly censuring India`s behaviour in IHK. They are quick to point fingers at geopolitical rivals, yet remain mostly silent where the Modi government`s excesses in occupied Kashmir are concerned. This hypocrisy should end and India must be told in clear terms that the brutal siege of Kashmir is unacceptable.