The evolution of the Kashmir Global Movement (KGM) is inseparable from the political awakening of its founder, Salman Khan, whose journey from a young South African radio presenter to an internationally recognised Kashmiri rights advocate reflects the trajectory of modern global activism itself. In a recent interaction with the Director of the Strategic Institute of Kashmir and interaction with the a researcher at Centre for International Strategic Studies Azad Jammu and Kashmir (CISS-AJK), Khan retraced this long arc of struggle, sacrifice, and institution-building that ultimately culminated in the creation of KGM — now represented across five continents.
Origins: A Political Awakening in Post-Apartheid South Africa
The roots of KGM stretch back to 1998, when Salman Khan founded the South African Kashmir Action Group (SAKAG). At the time, Khan was a young presenter on Voice 95.4 FM (today UJFM), hosting a segment on South and East African affairs. It was in this dynamic environment — a space shaped by the intellectual and moral authority of anti-apartheid veterans — that Khan underwent his political awakening.
He worked closely with a formidable network of activists, academics, and journalists including Naeem Jinnah,Iqbal Jassat, Ibrahim Vawda, Dr. Firoz Osman, Ashraf Patel, Sahreena Patel, Ebrahim Fakude, Hassan, Lorgat, Yusuf Saley, Abu Karolia, Ashraf Garda, Nazlie Jada, Basit Bulbulia,Azia Sheikh, and many others. Their activism, while increasingly centered on Palestine in the post-1994 era, created the political atmosphere in which Khan began questioning why Kashmir — another long-standing site of occupation, repression, and human rights abuses — was virtually absent from the South African public discourse.
This silence became his call to action.
SAKAG: Building a National Voice for Kashmir (1998–2010)
Khan used his radio platform to introduce South African audiences to the Kashmir conflict, its historical foundations, and India’s intensified militarisation of Jammu and Kashmir. Shortly thereafter, he formally registered SAKAG — South Africa’s first structured civil society platform dedicated to advocating for Kashmiri human rights and self-determination.
Over the next two decades, Khan’s activism took on an unprecedented scale:
- Over 90 marches, rallies, and pickets
- More than 900 radio and television interviews
- Over 100 published articles
- More than 50 conferences, symposiums, and pictorial exhibitions
- Engagement with scholars, diplomats, NGOs, youth movements, and religious organisations across the country
His growing impact did not go unnoticed. Indian diplomatic officials repeatedly pressured him to halt his activism, arguing that India “commanded respect” in South Africa and that his work exposed the “dark side” of Indian state policy. These pressures escalated into death threats, culminating in the assassination attempt of 23 May 2008, when Khan was shot multiple times at point-blank range. Though he survived, the attack left him blind in one eye.
But instead of deterring him, it forged an even stronger resolve.
Continental Expansion: The Kashmir Centre for the African Union (2010–2018)
Recognising the absence of Kashmiri advocacy structures across the African continent, Khan expanded his work beyond South Africa. In 2010, he founded the Kashmir Centre for the African Union (KCAU), establishing representation in several African countries. Through public education programmes, diplomatic engagement, civil society mobilisation, and academic outreach, KCAU repositioned Kashmir as an African concern — linked to broader continental debates on decolonisation, human rights, and international law.
A Global Vision: The Birth of KGM (2018)
By the mid-2010s, Khan had identified a structural weakness in global Kashmiri activism:
fragmentation, lack of coordination, and absence of a unified global voice.
The 2016 extrajudicial killing of Shaheed Burhan Wani, which triggered mass uprisings in Kashmir, solidified Khan’s belief that the struggle needed a coordinated, transnational front.
In 2018, he formally established the Kashmir Global Movement (KGM) — a global network spanning all five continents, dedicated to cohesion, unity, and strategic mobilisation for Kashmiri rights. Under his leadership, KGM became a pioneering platform connecting activists, scholars, policymakers, and diaspora communities.
Notable Global Achievements
Among the hundreds of initiatives spearheaded by KGM and SAKAG under Khan’s leadership, several stand out for their historic impact:
1. Opening of the First War Crimes Case Against a Sitting Indian Prime Minister (2019)
During Narendra Modi’s 2019 visit to South Africa, KGM filed a landmark war crimes case, forcing Modi to seek presidential immunity. This represented one of the first legal challenges of its kind against a serving Indian leader.
2. Reopening of Proceedings (2023 BRICS Summit)
The case resurfaced during Modi’s 2023 visit for the BRICS Summit, again compelling the South African state to invoke presidential immunity.
3. New 900-Page Dossier Submitted During G20 Summit (2025)
In 2025, SAKAG and KGM submitted an extensive 900-page dossier to South Africa’s NPA and DPCI, reopening the war crimes case yet again. Modi was once more shielded through executive immunity — but the global legal precedent had been undeniably strengthened.
These cases placed Kashmir firmly on the international legal agenda, challenging the impunity of powerful states and opening new avenues for transnational accountability. The case is under investigation with fresh affidavits and over 250 FIRs, once the certificate of prosecution is issued by NPA then we will be seeking UN member countries to provide referral for ICJ and ICC.
Scholarship and Intellectual Contribution
Khan holds an MA in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Johannesburg. His dissertation —
“Nelson Mandela on Kashmir: Kashmir Quagmire and South Africa’s Foreign Policy?” —
has since been published as a widely circulated book and remains one of the most referenced works on South African foreign policy toward Kashmir. It is available on Amazon-Kindle and is frequently consulted by policy analysts, think tanks, and academic institutions in South Africa, Africa, and beyond
Conclusion: A Movement Rooted in Conviction, Built on Sacrifice
The making of the Kashmir Global Movement is not simply an organisational history — it is the story of a relentless personal commitment shaped over 27 years of activism, scholarship, and advocacy. From the small studio of a Johannesburg community radio station to the global stage of the G20, Salman Khan’s work has demonstrated how one individual, armed with conviction and clarity of purpose, can build a transnational movement that challenges silence, indifference, and power.
Khan reiterated that his activism is not against India or her people it is against the state policies especially under BJB, RSS leadership of Modi and the oppression in Indian illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and the repression against minorities and religious group in India. He hopes that one day honest and noble Indian scholars, academia and activist will join his call for justice and freedom in India illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
As KGM continues to expand its global footprint, its founding ethos remains unchanged:
unity, justice, accountability, and the unwavering right of the Kashmiri people to self-determination.
More information is available at www.kashmirglobalmovement.com. Salman email: salkhan1@yahoo.com
Author: Duke Salman Khan, Founder and Chairperson, Kashmir Global Movement (KGM).
