What does "Azadi" mean to Kashmiris?In the early 90s, explains Sanjay Kak, there was a certain agreement on what Azadi (freedom) meant - ''secession from India and possibly a kind of relationship with Pakistan.'' As the world transformed, the idea of Azadi transformed, along with subsequent events in the broader Islamic world. Therefore, he says, the questions ''Kashmiris are confronted with - so what do you want, do you think you can be an independent country?...It's asking them a question which even they're not raising.'' Occupation does not allow questions of self-determination to be answered clearly, so, before asking about Azadi, ''I think we have to...as Indians...we have to first ask ourselves, when will we return democracy to Kashmir?''
Sanjay Kak is an award-winning Kashmiri documentary filmmaker. You can visit his blog on the making of his latest, Jashn-e-Azadi (How We Celebrate Freedom), a feature length documentary on Kashmir.
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