Undelivered Promises: Life in Kashmir After Article 370

On August 5, 2019, the Indian government changed the country’s constitution to unilaterally revoke Jammu and Kashmir’s autonomy and declared that Kashmir would be directly administered by the Indian central government. As a result, Kashmir was deliberately rendered far less autonomous than other states within the Indian federation. Muslim-majority Kashmir’s autonomy was scrapped; there are now essentially no locally owned political institutions in the valley.

The move reiterated the ascendance of an aggressive Hindutva movement, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). India’s ruling party, the BJP is closely associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a group of organizations that advocate for a right-wing Hindu political agenda in India.

After Article 370, the part of the Indian Constitution that guaranteed Kashmir’s special status, was rescinded, Indian military troops scurried across the valley. The Indian government instituted months of communication blackouts and curfews. India’s leaders reasoned that these measures were important to deconstruct a system that they claimed bred radicalization, militancy, corruption, and underdevelopment.

Recalling the day when Article 370 was suddenly revoked, Abdul Aziz, a 45-year-old taxi driver, told The Diplomat he had no idea “why there was a curfew. All the cable channels, phone lines, and internet were cut off. We had no food supplies and no income for three months.”

Three years on, what has changed in Kashmir? Has the normalcy that Indian government promised returned to the valley?

Looming Threat of Detention and Torture

The BJP, known for its repressive measures across the country, has increasingly turned to a controversial piece of legislation, the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). The law permits the detention of a suspect without charge for up to six months. Under the UAPA, authorities can detain anyone who challenges the prime minister of India or expresses any sort of critique against the government. There have been stories of individuals being arrested for posting revolutionary poems. As of 2019, reports claimed that the legislation had been used at least 690 times in Jammu and Kashmir.

Sometimes, those detained don’t even know why they are being suddenly imprisoned. Akmal, 32, was driving home when the Indian police stopped him in Sonmarg.

“I didn’t even get the chance to say salam [hello] to anyone, and the police started beating me. I had no idea why was I being beaten up. I was then taken to prison and was kept there for three months. I was regularly tortured there,” he recounted.

“Of course, it has left a huge scar in my life mentally and physically. But what can I do? After I was released, I didn’t bother to find out why was I detained because I didn’t want any more problems.”

If, as it often claims, the Indian government is pursuing these harsh measures to make Kashmir more secure, it is having the opposite effect. People in Kashmir are visibly scared and insecure, and chaos has gripped the valley.

Samira, 23, a female law student, recalls the day the Indian Army raided her house in the middle of the night a couple of years ago. “My father was thrown on the floor while Indian soldiers kept beating him. I haven’t forgotten my mother’s screams and cries. I will never forget them,” she said.

“What India is doing to us is a crime against humanity. They should be held accountable. Where is the international community?”

It is a well-known fact that in Kashmir the Indian police and security agencies operate with impunity without any legal ramifications. This was made explicit by Jammu and Kashmir’s lieutenant governor in 2021, when he said that “security agencies have been given a free hand to take the strictest action against terrorists.”

Aziz summed up the government’s approach to security: “Kashmir may have become safe for Indians, but Kashmiris themselves live under constant threat.”

Disappearances of Critical Voices

“Prominent voices in the Kashmiri diaspora are muzzled routinely under fake terrorism cases. Anyone who raises their voices about concerns and stands against the Indian government for issues pertaining to freedom and rights often face harsh persecution,” said Dr. Inshah Malik, 36, a researcher specializing in political struggles, particularly the role of Muslim women, in the Kashmir conflict.

Many Kashmiris, including another female scholar who would like to remain unnamed, cannot return to Indian-administered Kashmir due to draconian laws that were abruptly implemented against Kashmiris.

The Kashmiri scholar is worried that “if I go back to India, I will never be able to leave again. I can be detained without rhyme or reason. I haven’t seen my family for four years and I don’t know if I ever will. They are also worried about leaving India due to fear of being detained.”

When I met the scholar’s parents in Kashmir, they welcomed me with the customary Kashmiri hospitality. Their house is big but silent. Her father told me, “We are like prisoners in our own homes.” He then laughed and added: “My daughter is one of the volatile voices against the Indian regime and that’s why she had to leave. We have seen a lot of violence in Kashmir.”

The scholar’s mother kept her eyes glued to the floor. She remained quiet. Every time she lifted her head to offer me tea or food, I noticed tears and it was clear that she was trying to hold herself back. The mother and father looked at each other silently for a moment; that is when the mother softly said, “Anyway, what have we done to be treated like this?”

The concerns of Malik and the other scholar are valid. Just on July 2, Kashmiri photojournalist Sanna Irshad Mattoo was due to travel to France to celebrate her work and the award of a grant. She had a valid visa, but she was prevented from traveling and not given a reason.

Taking to Twitter she stated: “I was scheduled to travel from Delhi to Paris today for a book launch and photography exhibition as one of 10 award winners of the Serendipity Arles grant 2020. Despite procuring a French visa, I was stopped at the immigration desk at Delhi airport. I was not given any reason but told I would not be able to travel internationally.”

This is not an isolated case. In October 2019, two months after Article 370 was revoked, human rights activist Bilal Bhat claimed that he was prevented from boarding an international flight to Malaysia at the Delhi airport. Kashmiri journalists and human rights activists have increasingly faced arbitrary arrests, frivolous legal cases, threats, physical violence, and raids since August 2019, The Guardian reported.

More recently, Mohammed Zubair, cofounder of Alt News, a fact-checking website, was arrested by police in New Delhi based on a complaint about a four-year-old tweet of his. The complaint was registered by an anonymous Twitter account with just one follower.

Radicalization and Militancy

In Kashmir, the presence of state security is obvious. Driving through the streets of Kashmir Valley, one would notice heavy militarization in every nook and cranny. Kashmiris are randomly stopped and searched, and the police behavior remains violent.

My visit to Kashmir revealed an anti-Indian sentiment among Kashmiris, as well as the deep sadness that has gripped the valley. Indians largely remain unaware of human rights abuses in Kashmir or choose to ignore it. People in Kashmir are critical of Modi and the persistent military presence.

“We don’t have a problem with Indians but with the Indian government who tortures us. I hate the Indian military,” said Umair, 24. “If you want us to be part of India, why can’t we talk about it peacefully? Why are they [Indian army] using force and violence?”

While we sip our kahve (Kashmiri tea), Shoaib, 35, pointed to a girl going to school. The girl is wearing a white hijab while carrying a school backpack. Shoaib exclaimed, “This shouldn’t be allowed! Girls should be banned from going to school. We should bring Islamic laws and let al-Qaida rule here!”

But Umair shut Shoiab up and suggested that people like him are in the minority. “The majority of us do want to send our daughters to school,” Umair explained, “but yes, I would say we have become more religious. We want our women to be in pardah (the segregation of the sexes, including wearing veils).”

It is not a surprise to encounter an extremist viewpoint like this in Kashmir. Draconian events such as unannounced raids, communication blackouts, and detentions of thousands of innocent civilians have exacerbated extremism among some Kashmiri Muslims. When speaking to Kashmiris it is clear that underneath the surface alienation has swelled since August 2019.

More recently, the Jammu and Kashmir government disallowed the last congregational Friday prayers of Ramadan at the historic Jamia Masjid in Srinagar. Officials claimed it was necessary to prevent the congregation of separatist forces.

Malik has a different view of the ban on prayers at the mosque: “It’s not happening in the name of secularism and democracy. There is Amaranth yatra [a Hindu pilgrimage] going on and Kashmiris are not allowed to pray in the grand Jamia Mosque. They have banned local languages and introduced Hindi as an administrative language. There is a cultural oppression going on.”

She added a note of warning: “Radicalization is a response to Modi’s policies.”

Kashmiris feel more alienated and isolated than before. Even though India is a democracy, in Kashmir exercising the right to protest is considered a crime.

Modi’s promise to integrate Kashmir, the only Muslim majority state, into India is already failing.

There has been a series of targeted killings in the Kashmir Valley since 2019, and Srinagar was the worst hit by violence. One of the biggest attacks took place in the city in December 2021, when a bus carrying police officers was ambushed by militants. Three police officers were killed in the attack and 11 injured.

More recently, sticky bombs or magnetic bombs, which can be attached to vehicles and detonated remotely – an infamous tactic previously used by the Taliban in Afghanistan to assassinate government officials – have entered Kashmir. This highlights a potential link between terrorism in Indian-administered Kashmir and Afghanistan.

Most concerningly, insurgency in one of the most militarized regions in the world, with more troops now than in 2019, has in fact worsened, despite what the official figures suggest.

A tourist guide, Shahir, suggested that “many Indians remain unaware of what is happening in Kashmir, especially South Kashmir. When you go there you will know how bad the situation in Kashmir is.

“And one question you should ask the Indian government is how do Pakistani terrorists come to Kashmir anyway, where they have so many Indian guards at the border? It is [because of] their incompetency and their failure that we still have terrorists in this country.”

Economic Investment: An Undelivered Promise

While security has clearly deteriorated and insurgency is simmering, the economic situation in Kashmir also looks grim. This can be partially chalked up to COVID-19. However, regardless of the cause, the central government’s promise of investment has not materialized. Unemployment is still on the rise, partially thanks to repeated communications blackouts, curfews, and protests that inhibited educational and economic activity, a fact that is irrefutable.

The female Kashmiri scholar who would like to remain anonymous for her own safety asserted: “Most economists have ridiculed Modi’s idea and we are yet to see the promise of foreign investments. We haven’t seen this. Extreme tourism isn’t viable due to environmental degradation.

“On the surface, everything looks perfect but if you scratch the surface there are harsh realities, there is economic instability,” she added. “The Indian government stills fears restoring full internet access.”

“Who is going to benefit from the false promise of economic development? India or Kashmir? We can’t even leave our homes without permission from the Indian security officers and you are asking about the economy. How can we grow in such a horrible environment?”

The mix of political and economic grievances is impacting the country’s economic and political stability, as well as human rights. Kashmiri Muslims have largely been left behind and marginalized by the Indian state. It is clear that the security in the valley is deteriorating for Kashmiris who continue to live in fear under the shadow of occupation, which has fuelled further alienation and resentment.

Three years after the much-hyped abrogation of Kashmir’s special status, there is an insurgency simmering, economic activity is at halt, and the political agenda remains contentious. This all suggests that Kashmir has not become any less volatile. An initiative to consolidate Hindu nationalism is failing at large, and the entire Indian state will have to pay the price.

*Some of the names in this article have been changed to protect sources’ identity.