Two months of misery in Kashmir

Children as young as nine detained, protests and tear gas, allegations of torture, businesses shut and no mobiles or internet: it’s now been two months of misery in the Kashmir Valley.

India stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its autonomy on August 5 and said it would split the state in two, after sending in tens of thousands of troops to impose a lockdown and detaining the region’s top politicians.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the audacious move was to end “a vicious cycle of terrorism, violence, separatism and corruption” and make Kashmir a “paradise once more”.

Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since 1947 and has been the spark for two wars between the nuclear-armed foes.

Since 1989 tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, have died in an uprising against Indian rule by militants wanting all of Kashmir to be part of Pakistan or an independent state.

Evidence on the ground suggests that there locals are livid about India’s latest move, with regular demonstrations, business owners refusing to open their premises and children kept out of schools.

The Indian government says that most people in the Kashmir Valley, the main hotbed of resistance to Indian rule, support the move and that opposition comes only from elements backed by Pakistan.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan last week told the UN General Assembly that India could unleash a “bloodbath” in the Muslim-majority region, warning of the risk of nuclear war.

More than 4,000 people have been arrested since August 5, including 144 minors, around 1,000 of whom remain in custody, some under a law that allows suspects to be held for up to two years without charge. Besides injuries and 4 deaths, young Kashmiri men told AFP last month that soldiers tortured them. The military strongly denies this.

JAMMU LEADERS FREED, NOT KASHMIRIS

India has released Jammu-based leaders detained in August ahead of local polls in the region, but it is unlikely that their counterparts in Kashmir will receive similar relief anytime soon.

The J&K administration believes that it was because of preventive action taken against politicians such as National Conference leader Omar Abdullah and Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti that the government was able to prevent a “bloodbath”.

Dozens of political leaders, including three former chief ministers, have been in detention for nearly two months now.