The Lancet, a leading medical journal, has published an editorial where it has denounced India’s recent decision abrogating Article 370. It has termed India’s administrative decision regarding its internal matter an attempt to subjugate the people of Kashmir.
Editorial: “PM Narendra Modi vows that his decision to revoke autonomy will bring prosperity to #Kashmir. But first, the people of Kashmir need healing from the deep wounds of this decades-old conflict, not subjugation to further violence & alienation.” https://t.co/88LrtruCAP pic.twitter.com/3NYJWY5e84
— The Lancet (@TheLancet) August 16, 2019
In its statement, The Lancet wrote, “Despite decades of instability, developmental indicators suggest that Kashmir is doing well compared with the rest of India. In 2016, life expectancy was 68·3 years for men and 71·8 years for women, which are greater than the respective national averages. However, protracted exposure to violence has led to a formidable mental health crisis.”
Interestingly, for a state that has seen so much violence at the hands of Islamist terrorists sponsored by Pakistan, an ethnic cleansing of Hindus, and collapse of the local body governance system, the ‘better than the national average life expectancy’ is the only argument provided by the article to denounce India’s decision to strip Article 370 and make the region a Union Territory.
The journal has also failed to acknowledge the fact Radical Islam has been waging Jihad against the Indian State and people of other religions for decades. It also failed to mention the horror Kashmiri Hindus had to endure in 1989-90. The Lancet’s statement considers Jammu & Kashmir to be a monopoly of Kashmiri Muslims. People of Ladakh and Jammu find no mention in its account of events.
The Lancet also conceded that people of Kashmir are faring better than the rest of India. However, it notes, “it is unsurprising that people in the region have increased anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.” However, it fails to mention how rampant radicalisation by Islamist groups and the open mainstreaming of the terrorist mindset by separatists and jihadis have contributed to it.
It also betrays a certain cognitive dissonance on the part of the journal. If people of Kashmir are scoring better on developmental indices, then why is the region reeling under Islamist radicalism, young men joining terrorist groups and children being taught to join Jihad so they can go to Islamist heaven? The Lancet does not mention the menace of terrorism that Kashmir has been facing at all. It appears they consider Radical Islamic terrorism as a ‘liberation struggle’ as well.
The editorial also grossly misinterprets the stripping of article 370. The government of India has stripped the article and made the Indian constitution prevalent in the region. The editorial insinuates that PM Modi’s decision means ‘alienation’ of Kashmir’s people. It offers no explanation as to how exactly giving a people equal rights as the rest of Indians means ‘alienation’.
This isn’t the first time either when The Lancet has made controversial political statements. In its “open letter for the people of Gaza” earlier, it condemned Israel in the strongest possible terms but made no mention of the atrocities committed by Hamas. The authors of the letter were extremely problematic individuals who held extremely problematic opinions. Eventually, during his visit to Israel, the editor of the journal apologized profusely for publishing the open letter. He stated that he “deeply, deeply regrets” publishing the letter.
People on social media are perplexed that a supposed medical journal is making political statements. However, the Progressive Empire mandates that there is no such distinction. “The personal is political,” is the foundation on which progressivism operates on. Therefore, it isn’t really a surprise that The Lancet is poking its nose where it doesn’t belong.
