US Vice President Kamala Harris
News Time
Residents of Indian-administered Kashmir say the election of Kamala Harris, a critic of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as US Vice President has raised some hopes in Kashmir. According to a recent report in Arab News, Kamala Harris, who took over as US Vice President Joe Biden last week, criticized the Indian government’s discriminatory policies against the country’s Muslim minority and the partition of Kashmir in 2019. Indian-origin Kamala Harris intervened internationally to remind Kashmiris that they are not alone in the world after New Delhi ended the special status of Kashmir under its administration in 2019 and divided it into two Union Territories.
In addition to Kamala Harris in the US administration, the appointment of Kashmiri nationals Samira Fazil and Ayesha Shah in Biden’s team has given some hope for change in the region. Gohar Gilani, a Srinagar-based political analyst, told Arab News that Kamala Harris had spoken openly on the Kashmir issue. Now there is hope for this front. However, he added that hope is not as high as expected. Srinagar-based lawyer Diba Ashraf is also somewhat optimistic. Especially in resolving the Kashmir issue between Pakistan and India, which both countries demand sovereignty of the region but to some extent also rule here. Lawyer Diba Ashraf said, “Now we have some hope. Biden has a positive outlook for all. Due to his legal background, he can better understand the Kashmir issue and put pressure on both the countries to resolve It.” BJP spokesman Sudesh Verma told Arab News that it did not matter if Biden was here or Trump was here. He said that India-US relations are based on past experiences for the smooth functioning of democratic systems and for the benefit of the people of both the countries. The Biden government should not fall prey to the false propaganda that is part of the interests of NGOs. Citing the strong ties between Washington and New Delhi, experts also see little room for change.
Manoj Joshi of the Observer Research Foundation of New Delhi disagreed with the hope that they do not care about human rights and that entire if they think that India is important for their welfare then they are against minorities and human rights. Concerns related to can also be ignored. Kamala Harris is a popular leader of the Democratic Party and this is the first time a black woman has been elected vice president.
