India revokes special status of Kashmir
NEW DELHI — India’s Hindu nationalist government on Monday unilaterally wiped out the autonomy of the restive Kashmir region, sending in thousands of army troops to quell any possible unrest the move would bring in a disputed territory fought over by India and Pakistan.
Government authorities severed internet connections, mobile phone lines and even landlines, casting Kashmir into an information black hole that made it very difficult to discern what was unfolding.
For years, India’s Hindu nationalists have wanted to curtail the special freedoms enjoyed by Kashmir, a mountainous, predominantly Muslim territory that has turned into a tinderbox between India and Pakistan, both of which wield nuclear arms.
On Monday, Amit Shah, India’s home minister, announced in a quick speech, which belied years of steady plotting, that the central government was removing the special, somewhat autonomous status that served as the foundation for Kashmir joining India more than 70 years ago.
While international human rights groups swiftly condemned the action, Hindu nationalists celebrated, saying this could bring peace and investment to the war- torn region.
But the voice of the Kashmiris was silenced, as government authorities cut off practically all communication from the area.
Several top Kashmiri politicians were taken into custody. Mehbooba Mufti, a former chief minister of Kashmir, managed to get out a message shortly before she was arrested on Monday night.
“The Fifth of August is the blackest day of Indian democracy when its Parliament, like thieves, snatched away everything from the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” she said.
Her daughter, Iltija Javed, who succeeded in transmitting a message to The New York Times on Monday night, summed up the desperation of many Kashmiris.
“We feel there is an atmosphere of death looming over us,” she said. “We don’t know what to expect. We are not allowed to get out of our houses. Telecommunications are all down. For the first time in 30 years they snapped landline connections as well. So there is no way even ordinary Kashmiris here can like communicate with each other, and know what exactly is going on. Everybody is in a state of absolute shock and panic.”
The Indian consul general in New York said in a statement that the action to revoke Kashmir’s autonomy, which was granted under Article 370 of India’s Constitution, was “purely administrative” and was intended to “improve good governance and deliver socioeconomic justice to the disadvantaged sections of the people in the State.”
The consul general added that restrictions related to Article 370 “seriously discouraged” investment in the region, limited economic opportunities and hurt younger generations.