Sun 01 September 2019:
Campaigners are furious over the scrapping of Article 370 and they called for freedom in city centre march – one of a series of protests taking place in the city this week
More protests took place in Birmingham city centre today (August 31) by pro-Kashmiri independence campaigners.
The rally, which happened in New Street , was once again over the issue of India revoking a Article 370, a law which had given the disputed state of Kashmir semi independence via a certain amount of autonomy. This follows thousands of noisy protesters chanting against Boris Johnson in Victoria Square today too.
The Indian government has argued that Article 370 had to be scrapped to integrate Kashmir and put it on the same footing as the rest of India. It means Kashmir will no longer have a separate constitution but will have to abide by the Indian constitution.
Zubeda Khan, from the Daughters of Kashmir group, said: “Since August 5, India has violated the human rights of the residents of Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK).
“We are requesting our local MPs bring the IOK matter forward in the Parliament and The United Nations General Assembly so we can bring an end to this brutality.”
She added: “We want to put a stop to this before things escalate any further. We need your support to highlight the issue and the UK government to intervene to resolve the humanitarian crisis so we can show the world that UK is a country which supports humanity and justice.”
Campaigners chanted ‘Freedom now’ and ‘Shame on you’ as they walked along New Street on a busy Saturday.
Today’s rally follows a month of protests outside the Indian Consulate in the Jewellery Quarter
Previous pro-Kashmiri rallies in Birmingham have attracted thousands of people. There are believed to be around 150,000 Kashmiris living in the city.
Protests are held in Victoria Square every July to mark Kashmir Martyrs’ Day, the anniversary of the deaths of 22 Kashmiris died in an uprising in 1931.
All Indian laws will be automatically applicable to Kashmiris, and people from outside the state will be able to buy property there.
Kashmiri campaigners in Birmingham claim scrapping Article 370 is a move by India to break up the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
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