Indian-administered Kashmir – Kashmiris are set to vote to elect a local government for the first time in a decade, five years after India’s Hindu nationalist government suspended the state legislature and brought the Muslim-majority region under New Delhi’s direct rule.
The elections come weeks after New Delhi expanded the powers of its hand-picked administrator in the region, drawing criticism from mainstream Kashmiri parties as well as India’s main opposition Congress party. They say the government step has “disempowered” the region’s legislature.
