Kashmiri activist and journalist Yana Mir shot to fame after she hit out at 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and social and education activist from Pakistan Malala Yousafzai for "defaming" India at the 'Sankalp Divas' event hosted in the Houses of Parliament complex in London by the Jammu and Kashmir Study Centre UK (JKSC), a think-tank dedicated to J&K research, to commemorate a historic resolution related to the Indian Union territory.
A senior anchor with Bharat Express News Network, Mir hails from Jammu and Kashmir. She was born and raised in Anantnag.
According to her X bio, she is the vice president of the All JK Youth Society (AJKYS). She is also a TedX speaker, as per her bio.
Mir received the diversity ambassador award for championing diversity in the J&K region during the Sankalp Divas event.
She outlined progress in the region following the abrogation of Article 370, emphasising improved security, government initiatives, and funds allocation.
Hailing India at the event, she said she is free and safe in India. "I am not Malala Yusufzai. I am not Malala Yousafzai because I am free and safe in my country India, in my homeland Kashmir, which is part of India."
"I will never need to runaway from my homeland and seek refuge in your country, honourable MPs. I will never ever be a Malala Yusufzai, but I object Malala Yousafzai defaming my country, my progressing homeland by calling it oppressed," she said.
Further, she asked "all toolkit members from social media and international media" to stop polarising Indians on the grounds of religion."
Claiming that such people have never cared to visit Indian Kashmir but fabricate stories of oppression from there, she said "We won't allow you to break us."
Mir asked "perpetrators living in the UK and Pakistan" to stop maligning India in international media or on international human rights forums.
"Stop unwanted selective outrage, stop trying to polarise Indian society by reporting from your UK living rooms. Thousands of Kashmiri mothers have already lost their sons because of terrorism. Stop coming after us and let my Kashmiri community live in peace," Mir said.
TAKBEER!! https://t.co/ua4lS6gpVH
— Yana Mir (@MirYanaSY) February 22, 2024
The event marked the unanimous resolution passed by both Houses of the Indian Parliament on February 22, 1994, reaffirming India's unwavering stance that the entire region of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India. It emphasised India's right to reclaim Mirpur-Muzaffarabad and Gilgit and Baltistan, areas that fell victim to Pakistani aggression.
