April 2025

Dear brothers and sisters of Kashmir, and the Ummah worldwide,

Assalamu Alaikum

As the blessed day of Eid dawns upon us, I extend my warmest greetings to you. Eid Mubarak to you all! To the sons and daughters of this sacred soil, who stand tall amidst the storms of oppression, your resolve is living proof of the spirit of the Moomineen, the believers, whom Allah has praised: “Those to whom hypocrites said, ‘Indeed, the people have gathered against you, so fear them.’ But it only increased them in faith, and they said, ‘Sufficient for us is Allah, and He is the best Disposer of affairs’” (Quran 3:173). This Eid, we celebrate with joy and the pride of our unshakable faith.

Our hearts and prayers turn to our kin in Palestine, whose blood waters the path to Al-Aqsa’s freedom, and to every corner of the Ummah where tyranny seeks to extinguish the light of justice—from the valleys of Kashmir to the plains of Palestine. We pray Allah, the Mighty, the Exalted, to grant victory to the oppressed, to heal the wounds of our martyrs’ families, and to shatter the chains that bind our lands. May He unite us as one body. Aameen

Eid is a gift to the believers and a moment to reflect on our purpose. We must ask ourselves: have we not faltered? The lust for worldly power, the chase for hollow comforts, and sectarian divisions have crept into our ranks, leaving us weak when we must be strong. The Quran warns, “And the worldly life is not but amusement and diversion; but the home of the Hereafter is best for those who fear Allah” (Quran 6:32). Our responsibility is clearly to rise above these fleeting temptations, to shield our youth from despair, and to wield our faith as both sword and shield in this sacred struggle.

The occupier’s might may loom large, but our will is mightier still. The struggle for liberation burns bright, and with every dawn, we draw closer to freedom’s light. This Eid, let us renew our oath: we will not rest, we will not bow, until the flag of freedom and justice— not one of some deceptive development—flies over Kashmir’s peaks.

The dawn is near, my people. Victory is Allah’s promise, and we shall see it together.

Eid Mubarak,

Syed Salahuddin Ahmad

UJC Chief and Supreme Commander of Hizbul Mujahideen

Banning Frenzy Continues in Kashmir

Syed Suhaib Abdullah

Now the Indian government has banned Ittihadul Muslimeen (JKIM) led by Masoor Abbas Ansari and Awami Action Committee (AAC) led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq for the next five years for indulging in “anti-national and subversive activities” and posing a threat to the “unity and integrity of Bharat”. It is pertinent to mention that JKIM is considered as a prominent Shia organization in the valley while as AAC led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq comprises of members from the Sunni Sect mostly. The colonizer has little need to distinguish between Sunni and Shia, except when it serves their immediate interests. The larger project of Hinduizing Kashmir does not rely on such distinctions. In their eyes, anyone who upholds Islam in the region—no matter how moderate or seemingly insignificant—is a threat and will inevitably be targeted. The mere presence of Islamic identity, in any form, stands as an obstacle to their grand vision of a Hindu totalitarian integration.

However, the colonizer has always tried to pit the two communities against each other especially in recent years after the developments of 2019. For years, Indian authorities have deliberately propagated the narrative that Kashmir’s pro-freedom struggle is an exclusively Sunni-led movement, shunned by the region’s Shia and other minority communities. They have always tried to pit Sunni and Shia against each other and exploit sectarian differences to fracture the resistance from within. By portraying the struggle as sect-centric, India has attempted to reduce its political and historical significance, turning it into an internal religious dispute rather than a fight against occupation. At times, they have gone even further in painting all Shias as pro-India and portraying them as a persecuted minority in a Sunni-majority land, a narrative designed to sow discord and weaken the collective voice of Kashmiris. This manufactured fault line has been repeatedly weaponized by the Indian state to serve its own vested interests, yet, in recent years, young Shia men and women have increasingly rejected this imposed division. Many have become vocal about their political rights and openly aligning themselves with the broader resistance, thereby shattering the myth of sectarian disengagement and reaffirming that Kashmir’s struggle is not one of religious factions but of a people united against occupation. While the ban on religious and resistance organizations—whether Shia or Sunni—does not necessarily require us to focus solely on sectarian issues, it is important for all of us, regardless of ideological differences, to recognize a deeper reality. The mere fact of being a Musalmaan is seen as a threat by the occupier, and the war being waged is not just against political aspirations but against the very faith of Kashmiris. The assault is on multiple levels, targeting religious identity, cultural heritage, and collective consciousness. Understanding this larger design is essential to resisting the political subjugation and the erasure of our spiritual and cultural existence.

The crackdown on Islam did not start with the ban on Jamaat-e-Islami and will surely not stop there. Since the war is against the religion, every organization having religious leaning or one simply formed to spread the glorious message of Islam and resist Indian occupation will face a ban in the first phase and eventually stop at its members being killed or put in dungeons until death.

Covering the Masajid, Uncovering the Agenda: The War on Islam in India Continues

Idrees Bhat

Almost a dozen Masajid, including the historic Shahi Jama Masjid in Uttar Pradesh, were covered in tarpaulin sheets ahead of the Hindu festival Holi, which coincided with congregational Friday prayers. The images of these Muslim places of worship, draped in plastic like crime scenes, were haunting and dystopian. It is perhaps the first time that the Hindutva government in India has desecrated Masajid in such a brazen manner. But, this should not come as a surprise when the Indian state has already been bulldozing centuries-old Masajid across the country without so much as issuing a legal notice.

Hindutvadi forces have long been targeting the Shahi Jama Masjid in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal district, where last year, at least five Muslim men were killed for protesting a so-called survey aimed at justifying its demolition. The government has been systematically conducting such surveys to falsely declare Muslim places of worship as being built upon Hindu temples, fabricating a pretext for their destruction. Senior police officers in Sambhal, along with the terrorist monk-turned-chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, have explicitly ordered Muslims to stay indoors during Hindu festivals, as if they are prisoners in their own land.

The 250 million Muslim population in India have been relegated to the status of second-class citizens and treated worse than animals. The othering of this minority community is systemic, calculated, and accelerating at a terrifying pace, with the Indian state using every resource at its disposal to erase their identity.

Bulldozing and covering Masajid’s, however, are not the only tools of oppression. Hindu nationalist mobs, emboldened by state protection, have stormed Masajid during religious processions, set ablaze Holy Qurans, beaten worshipers, and desecrated places of worship across the country. Muslim men have been lynched on mere suspicion of storing beef in their refrigerators or transporting cattle. Hindutvadi forces have weaponized their religious festivals as a show of dominance, a spectacle of humiliation to remind the oppressed of their ‘place’ in this fascist order.

There is a great lesson for Kashmiris here. It is only a matter of time before they come after us in the same way. The only thing holding them back is that they are not a demographic majority in our homeland yet. But India has been systematically working to change that. It has been issuing domicile certificates to thousands of its citizens and allocating land for their settlement in Kashmir. Recently, we learned how these domiciles were issued to outsiders in Budgam district, central Kashmir. But these are only the figures that the puppet administration has made public. The actual numbers are far more staggering.

The blueprint is clear. What is happening to Indian Muslims today will be the fate of Kashmiris tomorrow if we do not resist. They are not merely settling outsiders in our land; they are laying the groundwork for demographic erasure, for the complete Hinduisation of Kashmir. Every stone they place, every document they sign, and every law they pass is a step toward turning Kashmir into another Gujarat, another Uttar Pradesh—where Muslim blood stains the streets and Masajid stand as silent graves of a vanished people.

We must understand that this is the occupation of land, identity, faith, and of existence itself. And if we do not stand now, there will come a day when the call to prayer in Kashmir will be drowned out by the same chants that preceded the demolition of Babri Masjid. That day, history will not remember those who remained silent. It will only remember those who fought.

Gulmarg to Hazratbal: Cultural Genocide and the War on Faith in Kashmir

Gowhar Bhat

We have been writing it time and again that there is a war on the religion of Kashmiris. We have been telling you as to how they have first started to domesticate our religion in various forms only to push for the complete de-islamization of our land. The war is directly on our Muslim identity, values, culture and everything we hold dear and everything that defines us in our homeland – Muslim, a Muslim Kashmiri or Simply a Kashmiri! So, the incidents like Gulmarg nude fashion show are part of the war on Islam in Kashmir! Opening of alcohol shops, supporting and sponsoring immorality, financing Bhagva love trap in Kashmir, transformation of tourist destinations into hubs of moral corruption, gaining control of mosques and shrines and dictating the syllabi in our educational institutions are all part of this war.

To understand this war, one needs to be no scientist for this is no rocket science. The only hidden thing about it is the official declarations. Everything else is evident and any sane person with a working brain can feel, see and realize it. Since the occupying state cannot declare it officially, boost about success results and deploy troops in its name, it always carries different preliminary tests before launching the major offensives. Even if the results are not in their favour, they do not stop the war. The war continues in different ways. Gulmarg nude fashion show, I believe, was a test to see the reaction of Kashmiris. They first gained control of mosques, controlled waqf board, banned religious organizations and hounded religious leaders. I don’t know whether the response was too weak to be registered or whether the climate of fear made Kashmiris to delay their reaction or forced them into silence. But one thing is clear: emboldened by the lack of substantial resistance, the occupiers have now grown more blatant in their actions. They are aware that even if Kashmiris react, they hold the upper hand, fully equipped to suppress any dissent on the ground.

Nude fashion shows, in any part of Kashmir and in any month – whether in Ramadhan or otherwise – are not mere cultural provocations; they are direct attacks on our faith and identity. Even as I write this, another video has surfaced where Indian women can be seen dancing in front of Dargah Hazratbal. And on top of it, the police has now decided to take action against those who spread “misinformation” claiming that it was old! Their justification? That the video was “old.” Old as in December 30, 2024! As if something despicable, once it crosses a certain expiration date, ceases to be offensive. Had they not recorded a video of the despicable act and uploaded on social media, perhaps it would have gone unnoticed. But the fact that such acts are recorded and deliberately circulated on social media shows the intent behind them. And these are only the ones we manage to see. How many such incidents go unnoticed? Such incidents have become a new normal in Kashmir.

This is the new normal they want to impose on Kashmir. A land where Islam is pushed to the margins and sanctity is desecrated in the name of ‘modernity’ and ‘progress,’ where the occupier decides what is acceptable and what is obsolete. A slow, systematic erasure, where every passing day inches us closer to a reality where our religious and cultural existence becomes a mere footnote in our own homeland. The question is not whether this war is happening. The question is how much more must they strip away before the weight of it becomes unbearable?

Drunk on Power: Kicking the Grieving Mother

Muhammad Junaid

After receiving the dead bodies of their loved sons who had gone missing a month ago in Kulgam, mothers and other family members were wailing and demanding a probe into mysterious deaths of their loved ones two of whom were siblings. On February 13, three laborers—Showkat Ahmad Bajad, his brother Riyaz Ahmad Bajad, and Mukhtar Ahmad Awan—vanished without a trace while traveling to a relative’s home in Ashmuji for a family gathering. They set out for the occasion but never arrived and thus their fate was shrouded in uncertainty. On Sunday night, their family members blocked the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway in Kulgam district, demanding a police investigation into the case. They called for swift action against those whom the victims’ families suspect to be responsible for the deaths. A report published in an Indian news portal The Wire mentioned that the bodies of the deceased bore torture marks. “It looked as if boiling water had been poured on his head which had no hair in the center. His face was unrecognizable. There were blisters on his abdomen and injury marks around his neck” Sadiq, one of the family members told The Wire.

Sadiq told the news reporter that one of the deceased Awan’s uncle was involved in some financial dispute and Awan was asked by a military informer that a senior puppet police official had summoned him on the fateful day. Now most of us, Kashmiris, know what a call from the men in uniform means. It has been a deliberate move in the long play of state-sanctioned terror that has gripped Kashmir for decades. One can easily imagine why the relatives of the deceased were protesting on the road.

And then came the ultimate act of savagery—the moment that will forever remain embedded in the collective conscience of the people. Instead of addressing the family’s plea for justice, a uniformed stooge—drunk on power, desperate to prove his loyalty to his masters—kicked the grieving mother of the deceased. In a viral video, the so-called officer is seen storming towards the mourning woman and, with sheer arrogance, kicking her in the stomach as she sat with other relatives for a protest.

What kind of monstrosity does it take to dishonor a grieving mother in this way? What level of servitude must a man descend to in order to trample on the dignity of the very people he was born among? This is an attempt to break the soul of an entire nation. They believe that by disgracing our mothers, they will crush our spirit.

These uniformed mercenaries—these traitors who wield their boots and batons against their own people—should not mistake this momentary power for permanence. They stand on borrowed time. Their masters may reward them today, but history will not absolve them. The day will surely come when they will stand before the people and indeed stripped of their impunity. Every act of treachery will be accounted for. Every crime against our sons, our daughters, our mothers—each and every drop of blood—will be avenged. Eik eik khoon k qatray ka hisaab liya jayega.

The winds of justice may seem slow, but they are coming. And when they turn, they will sweep away these stooges, these collaborators, these enemies of their own land.

Reservation Policy: The Systematic Disempowerment of Kashmiri Muslims

Mir Muhammad Afzal

Before we begin analyzing the logic behind the reservation policy imposed by India in Kashmir through its installed governor administration, we must know that there are dozens of disenfranchisement programs already in place. Whether it is lowering import duties on Washington apples, almonds, and walnuts to undermine Kashmir’s economy, halting the transport of Kashmiri apples to Indian markets, constructing roads and railway tracks through fertile agricultural lands or converting dense forests into military firing ranges, India has long been executing a well-planned strategy to disempower and economically strangle the Kashmiri population.

Thus, the reservation policy that disproportionately affects the ethnic Kashmiri-speaking population is not a policy error but a deliberate move to weaken and marginalize those who have historically been at the forefront of resistance against Indian rule. So the recent data on job quotas distribution between the Kashmir Valley and Jammu region exposing a glaring imbalance must be viewed as part of this broader agenda of disenfranchisement and suppression. Otherwise, how is it that while reservations in India are capped at 50%, in Jammu and Kashmir, they have been set at 70%? What is beneficial for them in India can surely not be the same in Kashmir, for Kashmir is an illegally occupied territory, and to tame and break the people’s will against this unholy integration – kept alive through brute force – they have been actively framing policies to disenfranchise Kashmiris, especially the valley’s Muslims.

This policy has been carefully crafted to disempower valley-based Muslims while favoring the Hindu-dominated Jammu region, which the Indian state views as a “political” stronghold. For decades, India has used Jammu as a vote bank, ensuring that the Hindu-majority region remains politically dominant while actively working to disenfranchise Kashmiri Muslims through numerous policies. This reservation policy is merely an extension of that strategy.

The truth is that no “electoral” process in Kashmir – no matter how much it is rigged or stage-managed – can ever substitute the plebiscite promised by the Indian government itself. The fundamental right of Kashmiris to determine their own future has been violated at every turn, and these policies of economic and political suppression serve only the purpose of breaking the will of the people and force them into submission.

Therefore, while it is important to raise our voices against this unjust reservation policy, we must also diagnose the root cause and work towards its eradication. Our struggle is not merely against an administrative injustice but it is against an oppressive colonial system that seeks to erase our identity, displace our people, and dismantle our resistance. No matter how difficult the circumstances become, we must remain steadfast in our struggle for liberation and educate our people about the true nature of our oppressor’s designs.

India’s Relentless Land Heist Continues in Kashmir

Jaffar Rather

The colonial project in Kashmir advances unabated. In a written response, the puppet administration has openly admitted that over two thousand kanals of land have been allotted to foreigners under the guise of “investment” in just the last two years. Reports indicate that vast swathes of land have been handed over to outsiders—often at throwaway prices or even for free—in a move to lure foreigners into the region. It is a demographic warfare and a deliberate effort to engineer a Hinduized Kashmir, erasing every marker of its distinct cultural, linguistic, and social identity.

The Revolutionary Resurgence has repeatedly exposed India’s settler colonial project in Kashmir, a meticulously crafted plan to redraw the region’s demographic and political landscape. India’s intentions are far from ambiguous—this colonial enterprise remains its foremost priority. The architecture of settler colonialism is well understood. It does not merely aim to seize indigenous land but to eliminate the indigenous people who resist dispossession. Thus, as non-Kashmiris flood the region with state-sponsored support, we must ask ourselves—how long before we become foreigners in our own homeland?

Land allocation has always been a defining feature of settler colonial regimes. From Palestine to Kashmir, colonial states have wielded land as a weapon and uprooted indigenous populations and replaced them with loyal settler communities. India’s colonial aspirations in Kashmir are no different. The state justifies this land grab with the usual rhetoric—‘development’ and ‘counter-terrorism’—terms historically weaponized against anti-colonial resistance movements. For decades, colonial powers have branded liberation struggles as terrorism, a deceitful ploy to delegitimize the just cause of the oppressed. India parrots the same narrative, painting Kashmir’s freedom movement as a security problem while simultaneously altering the demographic composition of the land.

Beyond feigned denials, the Indian state has all but confessed its desire to execute a demographic coup in Kashmir. The Muslim-majority character of the region and its defiant struggle for freedom remain a festering wound in the psyche of the so-called largest democracy in the world. To address this ‘problem,’ the Indian regime has unleashed an unholy trinity of oppression—unchecked extrajudicial killings, the mass settlement of Indians in Kashmir, and the arbitrary issuance of Kashmiri domiciles to Indian citizens, particularly members of the occupational forces. Psychological warfare complements this physical dispossession—Kashmiris are subjected to systematic intimidation, economic strangulation, and cultural erasure in an attempt to either force them into exile or break their will to resist.

This is an existential war without any doubt. The settler-colonial project in Kashmir is designed to permanently alter the reality of who belongs and who does not. With each new settler, with every stolen piece of land, the noose tightens around the indigenous people of Kashmir. The time for complacency is long past. The struggle for our land is the struggle for our very survival.

Battle of Badr and Lessons for the Oppressed Muslims of Kashmir

Ibne Kashmir

Translated By: Idrees Bhat

Muslims were forced to leave their homeland Makkah by the pagans. The generous people of Madina hosted the Prophet Muhamad (PBUH) and his companions where they established an Islamic state. While leaving Makkah, the Prophet (PBUH) looked back with longing before making his way to Madinah saying,

‘How sweet of a land you are, and how beloved you are to me! If it were not that my people expelled me from you, I would not have lived in other than you.’ [Tirmidhi]

The lesson here is that, there may come a time when Muslims will be forced to leave their homelands. As our beloved Prophet (PBUH) looked back with a longing for Makkah, obviously, everyone loves the homeland where he is born. However, Prophets (PBUH) love for Makkah was not because of the land, property, clan, his memories etc. It was solely because he wanted to establish Islam in this land which was now lost to pagans. The holy Kaaba had become a place of Shirk, which was once built by our forefather Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH). The Prophet (PBUH) did not want to leave this holy place to the idol worshippers. Moreover, Allah says in the Quran,

“O you who believe! Ward off yourselves and your families against a Fire (Hell).’ [Al-Tahrim:6]

The philosophy behind this verse from the Quran is simple, the foremost responsibility of a Muslim is to protect himself, then his family, then the responsibility expands to your relatives, friends, and whosoever is living in your locality. Eventually, it then expands to the society of believers which we call country or state in modern terminology. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) adopted the same strategy as he invited his family, clan and the whole of Makkah to Islam. When the hardships increase beyond your capacity, then you are permitted to do Hijra as Prophet (PBUH) did.

Kashmiri Muslims may face the similar situation in future and there may arise a situation when everyone can not do jihad against the oppressor. However, that should be the last choice of a believer. The reason for this is the same as was for the Muslims of Makkah. Every land where Islam was spread becomes a entrust for the believers. In Kashmir, thousands of our forefathers worked tirelessly to purify the land and people from Brahmin pagan worshipping. Over the centuries, Muslims put a lot of efforts to protect Islam in the land. An assault is underway which may overpower us. And under such circumstances the battle of Badr serves as one of the best lessons to seek inspiration. Let us go through the battle of Badr and its context.

It begins when the Prophet (PBUH) receives the news that Abu Sufiyan is leading a caravan which composed of many Camels, goods, money from the people of Quraish. Thecaravan was arriving back from Syria. Prophet (PBUH) decides to intercept and attack the caravan and take what this caravan was carrying to avenge for his people. In particular for what the Quraish had done to the Muslims in Makkah. They had taken their wealth, occupied their homes and properties and even killed many of them. So, the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) marches out of Madina with 313 companions. It is important to mention that the Prophet (PBUH) had no intention to wage a war, therefore they did not have proper arms or one can say equipped well enough to fight a war. The maximum equipment one of the companions had was one sword and one shield. And the entire 313 companions had only two horses, 70 camels. Initially the caravan was composed of 60-70 people. Therefore, Prophet (PBUH) had no intention to wage a war. However, Abu Sufiyan got to know about the attack and he informed the Quraish to send assistance in the form of an army. It is reported that Abu Jahal who was very vindictive and filled with hate towards the Prophet (PBUH) prepared 1300 men to fight. Abu Sufiyan managed to escape and he sent a word to Abu Jahal that there was no need to leave Makkah as the caravan is safe. However, Abu Jahal insisted that he will face the Prophet (PBUH) at the well of Badr and crush the companions of Prophet (PBUH).

Another challenge that Muslims faced was that they had to confront their own kith and kin often brothers, sons or fathers in battle. In addition to the physical odds, the Muslims faced this huge psychological challenge as well. This is where a clear distinction emerges between those committed to Allah and His Prophet (PBUH) and those that take only worldly issues into account. Throughout history, earlier Prophets had to abandon their mushrik relatives. Nuh (AS) was told to abandon his mushrik son, while Ibrahim (AS) abandoned his mushrik father. And Lut (AS) was commanded to leave his deviant wife behind. Untested in battle, some Muslims were apprehensive. This was even reflected in the tearful dua the Prophet (PBUH) offered beseeching Allah’s help in this critical hour.

  “O Allah, if these few servants of Yours are defeated today, there will be nobody left to proclaim Your name.”

Allah was not going to let His beloved Prophet down on this crucial day. The Prophet (PBUH) and his companions had suffered grievously for many years in Makkah and shown great patience in adversity. The Makkan mushriks, supremely arrogant in their numbers and weapons, assumed that they would soon finish off the rag-tag band of a few hundred Muslims. Allah, however, had other plans. He had willed that the two groups meet to establish the power of Islam on earth.

  “[Recall] when in your dream, Allah showed them to you few in number. And if He hadshown them to you many in number, you would have been demoralized and would have disputed in the matter, but Allah saved (you)…and when, at the time you met each other, He showed them to you few in number in your eyes, and reduced your number in their eyes, so that Allah might accomplish what was destined to occur.” [8: 43-44]

The Battle of Badr established a fundamental Islamic tenet: the outcome of a battle is not solely dictated by material strength, but rather, it is the faith (Imaan) and resolve of the combatants that determine victory. This lesson from Badr has been witnessed in several places, where devout Muslims, even when faced with mighty rivals, have managed to hold their ground and emerge victorious. Examples include the persistent struggle of the Palestinians against the Zionist forces and their allies, the Afghan resistance first against the Soviet invasion (1979-1988) and later against American invasion (2001-2021), and Hezbollah’s successful confrontations with the Zionist forces in 2000 and 2006.

Kashmiri Muslims are also facing a mighty enemy with no resources to fight. However, as mentioned the choice is whether to die as martyrs or as slaves. The enemy has employed our own kith and kin against us and they have been doing their job with utmost loyalty. Just like our Prophet (PBUH) and his companions confronted their own clan, families and friends, we and our clans are not any special. We do not need any scholarly fatwa to do jihad against Kashmiri Muslims who are serving the kuffar to Hinduise and de-islamize our land. It is a entrust bestowed upon us by our forefathers who brought Islam to this land. As mentioned, the purpose of our Prophet (PBUH) was to attack the caravan of Abu Sufiyan and loot the belongings in response the loot and plunder which the Makkans had done to Muslims. India has plundered our properties and families and our so-called Kashmiri Muslims in the form of police, bureaucrats, tehsil dars, patwaris, socio cultural organizations, religious clerics have been at the forefront to assist and aid our oppressor. We will act against them InshaAllah. Although we find it extremely difficult to arrange our resources, however, our spirits are high. We seek inspiration from events like Battle of Badr and InshaAllah, Allah will aid us through multiple ways just like HE aided the mujahideen before us.

Ibne Kashmir is commanding a cadre of Hizbul Mujahideen in North Kashmir

(This article appeared in the April Issue of RR last year)