India keeps tight lid on Kashmir on anniversary of revoking semi-autonomy

REUTERS, 05TH AUGUST, 2020 - With a heavy deployment of troops and curbs on public movement, Indian authorities kept a tight lid on potential protests in the disputed region of Kashmir on Wednesday, the first anniversary of the revocation of its semi-autonomy.

Local politicians were not permitted outside their homes, most likely to prevent them from calling street demonstrations or even from holding meetings, in the strictest lockdown seen in months. Last August, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government stripped Jammu and Kashmir - India’s only Muslim-majority state - of its special rights and split it into two federally administered territories.

The government said the change was necessary to develop the revolt-torn region and integrate it with the rest of India, but it infuriated many Kashmiris as well as neighbouring Pakistan.
Kashmir is claimed in full by India and Pakistan, which have gone to war twice over it, and both rule parts of it.

“One year later the authorities are still too afraid to allow us to meet, much less carry out any normal political activity,” former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir state Omar Abdullah said on Twitter.

“This fear speaks volumes about the true situation on the ground in Kashmir.”

Modi’s move last year was accompanied by a total communication blackout and mass detentions. Some rights groups have been critical of the government’s handling of Kashmir, particularly ongoing internet curbs.

“This has been compounded by a censored media, continuing detention of political leaders, arbitrary restrictions due to the pandemic with little to no redressal,” Amnesty International said in a statement on Wednesday. New Delhi has long accused Pakistan of assisting militant groups in Kashmir - a charge that Islamabad denies, saying it only provides moral and diplomatic backing to Kashmiris seeking self-determination.

On Wednesday, militants hurled grenades at security forces in south Kashmir’s Shopian in two separate attacks, police said. There were no casualties.