Kashmir Black Day 2025: India’s Denial of Humanitarian Access Deepens Crisis

Kashmir Black Day 2025: India’s Denial of Humanitarian Access Deepens Crisis


Every year on October 27, Kashmiris across the world observe Kashmir Black Day to mark the beginning of India’s illegal occupation in 1947. The day symbolizes decades of oppression, dispossession, and denial of basic rights to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. This year, the observance carries even greater weight as India continues to block international humanitarian organizations from accessing the region, leaving millions of Kashmiris isolated and vulnerable.


Since the revocation of Article 370 and 35A on August 5, 2019, the situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) has drastically worsened. India has turned the territory into a closed-off military zone, preventing global relief bodies, including the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch, from providing aid or monitoring the situation. Foreign humanitarian workers are routinely denied visas, effectively cutting off international support for victims of violence, detention, and displacement.


The denial of humanitarian access is not accidental but part of a larger strategy to conceal the grave human rights violations taking place in IIOJK. India’s refusal to allow relief organizations to operate exposes its intent to suppress evidence of enforced disappearances, custodial killings, arbitrary detentions, and widespread torture. Families of detainees are left without assistance, while thousands of political prisoners remain locked away in far-off Indian prisons under harsh conditions.


Organizations like the ICRC, which once played a critical role in supporting released prisoners and their families, have been completely barred from resuming their humanitarian missions. The same goes for welfare groups like Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir, which previously provided education, medical aid, and relief during natural disasters. Their ban since 2019 has stripped the local population of much-needed community-based support systems. The Modi-led BJP government continues to tighten its grip on Kashmir by using strict laws, widespread surveillance, and militarization while silencing any dissent. By restricting the entry of global humanitarian bodies, India ensures that the world remains unaware of the scale of suffering faced by ordinary Kashmiris.


As Kashmiris prepare to observe another Black Day, the international community faces renewed calls to break its silence. For decades, India has used legal, political, and military tools to isolate Kashmir from global attention. Denying humanitarian access not only violates international humanitarian law but also deepens the humanitarian crisis caused by prolonged conflict and occupation. This year’s Black Day serves as a reminder that Kashmiris continue to fight for justice, dignity, and freedom, even as India attempts to erase their identity and silence their voices. Global intervention and accountability are urgently needed to end decades of systematic oppression and restore the basic rights of millions living under occupation.

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