Indian home minister begins first Kashmir visit since autonomy scrapped
Govt in 2019 scrapped Articles 370 and 35A of the country’s constitution
Security has been tightened in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Saturday as Home Minister Amit Shah began his first visit to the region since the abrogation of its autonomy in 2019.
On Aug. 5, 2019, India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party scrapped Articles 370 and 35A of the country’s constitution that granted special autonomous status to the Jammu and Kashmir region, a move which divided the state into two federally administered units.
Shah, the most powerful government official after Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, has been seen as the main architect of the 2019 developments.
His visit comes in the wake of increased violence in the region. In October alone, 11 non-Muslim civilians have been killed by suspected anti-India rebels. According to local media reports, an additional 50 companies of paramilitary forces have been deployed to Kashmir ahead of Shah’s trip. They will bolster the approximately 800,000 troops already stationed in the region.
“The Jammu and Kashmir Police are working diligently to realize the new J&K that Modi has envisioned,” Shah said in a tweet during the first day of his visit.
Upon arrival, the minister presided over a high-level security meeting in Srinagar, Kashmir’s main city.
“The narrative ... is that Jammu and Kashmir is safe for everyone but these killings prove minorities and outsiders are not safe,” TV channel NDTV said, quoting Home Ministry officials. “This is a big concern for the government. So, a strategy to further reassure people was discussed.”
Kashmir’s former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti urged the Indian government to initiate confidencebuilding measures in the region. After Shah’s arrival, she tweeted that Modi’s government should be “lifting the siege that J&K has been put under since 2019.”
Political experts in Kashmir believe the minister’s visit could inspire a reconsideration in New Delhi’s strategy towards the region.
“They should rethink the strategy in Jammu and Kashmir like they have done in Afghanistan. Previously, New Delhi was opposed to engaging with the Taliban, now they are talking to them,” Prof. Sheikh Showkat Hussain, a Srinagar-based law expert at the Central University of Kashmir, told Arab News.
“The same kind of rethinking is needed in the case of Kashmir instead of ignoring the reality and trying to create an illusion of normalcy.”