Good news! It’s not a “conspiracy theory” anymore. The media finally understand that government policies affect demographics and that demography matters – but only in non-white countries.
The Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir, known as Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), is the only majority-Muslim state in Hindu India. When India became independent in 1947, Article 370 of its constitution granted special rights to J&K so that it could maintain a Muslim majority.
Suggesting that loss of local population control could lead to “ethnic cleansing” sounds like an unhinged conspiracy theory. Mr. Ward himself, in a piece praising Pete Buttigieg’s plan to combat “white extremism,” said the idea “that white people are being replaced” is a “white nationalist” idea promoted by murderers such as the Christchurch shooter.
Even the New York Times now understands the great replacement:
Human rights activists said that the moves to change Kashmir’s status were only the first steps in a broader plan to erode Kashmir’s core rights and seed the area with non-Kashmiris, altering the demographics and eventually destroying its character.
The Washington Post also gets it: “Critics” reportedly say the Indian government’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party wants to “dilute the concentration of Muslims there and further its project to enshrine the Hindu identity of the nation.” The author also compared the “ethnic and religious undertones” to those in the West Bank, another area where media outlets mysteriously understand the importance of demographics.
The Atlantic worried that without the rule “dating back to colonial times” barring non-Kashmiris from settling, “the demographic balance of the state could shift — and with it, the idea that a vibrant democracy must take special efforts to protect the status of minority communities.”
Should the “status” of the white minority in South Africa be protected? No, said an Atlantic article in 2018. Worrying about the survival of white farmers is a “thinly veiled white supremacist cause.”
Bloomberg’s editorial board said India had made a “mistake.” It wasn’t making Kashmiris “feel like full citizens, in control of their lives and their destinies.” “Democracies as large and heterogeneous as India cannot escape internal tensions,” it said, “but the way to relieve such pressure is to decentralize power and give citizens a greater stake in their governance, as well as more control over local resources.”
That same day, Bloomberg argued for increased federal power in America. “The U.S. needs better intelligence-gathering and more effective preemptive action against domestic terrorists,” it said. Bloomberg also called for more gun control and an intensified fight against “white supremacy.”
When Kashmiris demonstrated against revocation of Article 370, India sent in troops and declared a curfew. Now the BBC even appears to be sympathetic to terrorism in the name of ethnic identity. In an article called “Inside Kashmir’s lockdown: ‘Even I will pick up a gun.’ ” it quotes without editorializing an angry young man who says of his toddler, “He’s too small now, but I will prepare him to pick up a gun too,” in order to fight what Kashmiris call “dictatorial power.” The article did not call for “gun control” or “tolerance.”
The Associated Press warned that “for many, India’s decision is a breach of trust and an attack on Kashmir’s identity.” Another AP story quoted a local man: “Maybe slowly our identity will disappear.” The AP did not call him “racist,” “far-right,” or “nativist.”