India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, has made his first visit to Kashmir since the government revoked the region’s autonomy in 2019, claiming the state was finally “breathing freely” despite allegations of systematic repression.
Thousands of police and paramilitary officers were mobilised before Modi’s first rally there for more than five years, held in the state’s largest city, Srinagar.
Speaking to the crowds, Modi proclaimed a new era of peace and development in the region. “It is the new Jammu and Kashmir that we have been waiting decades for,” he said.
Modi’s speech hailed an era of development after his government decided overnight to revoke article 370 in the aftermath of the 2019 elections. The statute had given the Muslim-majority state a unique form of autonomy, including its own constitution and protections over legislation, land and culture for more than 70 years.
The move stripped the region of its statehood and instead split it into two union territories of Jammu and Kashmir under the control of the central government. Tens of thousands of troops were moved into the state and in the following months a fierce crackdown was implemented. The internet was shut down for more than 18 months and all the political leaders in the region were detained.
The move fulfilled a longstanding Hindu-nationalist pledge and was widely welcomed across India, but angered many in the territory itself. A report by Amnesty International found that the government had “drastically intensified repression” in Kashmir after the removal of article 370.
Kashmir, India’s largest Muslim-majority region, has been a source of turbulence for decades. It has long been claimed by both India and Pakistan, and since the 1990s Indian-administered Kashmir has been home to a violent militant insurgency with an allegiance to Pakistan.
The decision to revoke article 370 in 2019 was justified by the Modi government on the basis of security and aligning the region with the rest of India. However, it did not have the backing of most Kashmiris, who saw it as a violation of their rights and freedoms by the Hindu nationalist government.
In the aftermath, new rules were implemented that allowed outsiders to buy land in the state for the first time, which many saw as an attempt by the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) to dispossess them from their land and change the Muslim demography of the region.
There was also a crackdown on freedom of the press in the region, with independent journalists interrogated and in several cases arrested and held under terrorism laws. Human rights defenders were also routinely harassed and detained.
Modi’s visit to Srinagar is being seen as a campaign event for elections in a few weeks’ time, where he will be seeking a third term in power. His party, the BJP, which has never won the Srinagar seat, also hopes to make further political inroads into the Himalayan region in the polls.
The government embarked on a delimitation exercise last year to redraw parliamentary constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir, which gave more seats to the Hindu majority areas of the region and was therefore seen to politically benefit the BJP before the 2024 elections.
Kashmir has been without any state political representation since 2018, when the BJP-appointed governor dissolved the state assembly. Political leaders in the region have accused the BJP of a “suspension of democracy” as no state elections have been held for more than a decade.
The supreme court ruled that the state elections must take place by September but no date has been confirmed.
