The mid-August revocation of the special status granted for Kashmir by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is concerning. In practice, the revocation removes the constitutional autonomy afforded to Kashmir for year. The revocation of Article 370 has increased already tense situation Indian-occupied Kashmir. The Indian Government deployed an extra 35,000 troops into major cities and towns and imposed a total communication blackout in the region, in addition to the 500,000 troops already based in Kashmir.
Prime Minister Modi used the Independence Day Anniversary to rally support for his move, citing Article 370 as a stumbling block in the development of the region. Modi argued that his actions would boost economic development, fight corruption, and end gender, caste, and religious discrimination in the erstwhile state. While some opposition parties expressed dissatisfaction, their responses were largely subdued due to the strong parliamentary majority of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Internationally, Modi’s move received strong criticism from Pakistan and China, with both countries asserting that that Modi’s actions would threaten regional peace. Pakistan has also downgraded diplomatic ties with India in response to the revocation. In the United States of America, there has been largely negative coverage: A spate of news stories and op-eds have highlighted the quashing of Kashmiri human rights, the risk of war between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan, the threat to Indian federalism and democracy, and the rise of a muscular brand of Hindu nationalism hostile to Islam. Five members of the U.S. Congress, including Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Ilhan Omar, have publicly called on India to lift its communications blockade.
Despite international opposition, the BJP’s huge majority in Parliament guarantee that Modi is unlikely to change direction or take a softer-stance on longstanding issues he has wanted to address. For people living in Kashmir, the human-security and human-rights situation is likely to remain concerning for the foreseeable future.