Mowahid Hussain Shah, attorney-at-law, author, and Member of the District of Columbia and U.S. Supreme Court Bars, has said that jailed Kashmiri leader Muhammad Yasin Malik stands tall, unafraid, and remains undefeated in the cause of Kashmir.  Mowahid Hussain Shah, who also served as Of Counsel to the late U.S. Senator James Abourezk and authored the book Will & Skill, made the remarks while speaking at the site of the Gandhi statue in front of the Indian Embassy in Washington. 

He lauded Gandhi’s legacy of struggling against racial injustice and oppression in South Africa for 21 years and recalled visiting Birla House in Delhi, where Gandhi was assassinated on January 30, 1948, by Nathuram Godse—a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), widely recognized as a hate group inciting violence against Muslims and minorities.  Highlighting the irony, Mowahid noted that the very ideology that killed Gandhi is now ruling India, pointing out that Narendra Modi was and remains a member of the RSS.

He recalled that Modi was banned from entering the United States for 10 years because the U.S. State Department had direct evidence of his complicity in the Gujarat anti-Muslim pogroms and massacres when he was Chief Minister of Gujarat.  Mowahid welcomed D.C. mayoral candidate Rhonda Hamilton and her campaign manager, Beatrice Evans, who attended the event. He drew parallels between the legacy of Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali’s never-quit attitude, and the resilience of Yasin Malik, with whom he said he was honored to share a Capitol Hill panel on July 20, 2006. 

Mowahid emphasized that many within Indian civil society remain ashamed and deeply worried about Modi’s policies. Paying tribute to Yasin Malik, Mowahid reiterated that he remains fearless and undefeated in the Kashmir cause. He recalled the guidance of his father, Col. Amjad Hussain Sayed, who advised on his deathbed always to speak Kalma-e-Haq. He urged all advocates of humanity and justice to openly demand Yasin Malik’s release and raise their voices for Kashmir without hesitation. 

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)