Srinagar: Modi will preside over a ceremony to observe Panchayati Raj — a day that honours grassroots democracy in the territory. It will be the first public event in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir since New Delhi imposed a security clampdown over two years ago on Sunday.
With an eye toward consolidating its control over the predominantly Muslim state of IIOJK, Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist administration has attempted to crush a decades-long liberation movement there.
When many were detained and the internet was shut down for the world’s longest period in 2019, New Delhi negated the area’s limited sovereignty.
More than 500,000 Indian army and paramilitaries are stationed in the area, making it India’s most militarised region.
Security is tight for Modi’s visit to Palli, but tens of thousands of people are expected to greet him at an event organised by his government Bharatiya Janata Party, which he heads.
Located in Jammu, the Hindu-dominated southern half of the province, the community celebrates the establishment of direct authority by Delhi as a deterrent to the Indian freedom struggle.
They detained thousands of people in Kashmir following the abolition of autonomy in 2019. There is an absence of an elected regional administration in Kashmir since 2018, when the BJP abandoned its ruling coalition and the New Delhi-appointed governor stepped in.
During the clampdown, its last chief minister was arrested and was freed more than a year later.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said Sunday’s ceremony will see Modi lead the area “into a new era of prosperity.”
‘Atmosphere of fear’
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration claims its decision to revoke Kashmir’s limited autonomy in order to bring peace and investment to the turbulent area was motivated by the desire to end the decades-long conflict.
To put it another way, the upshot has been the creation of a Draconian security architecture, which opponents claim has put a grip on civil liberties.
There have been over 2,300 arrests in India under poorly worded law that permits police to label anybody as a terrorist and places the burden of proof on those being charged.
International human rights organisations have slammed the restrictions.
In the hilly area of Kashmir, Indian security forces have been extensively deployed, cracking down on demonstrations and conducting operations against separatist armed organisations. Local journalists are often called by counterinsurgency police and interrogated about their work, with three being detained under preventative detention rules in the past several months.
Journalism in Kashmir is “like walking and living on the razor’s edge all the time,” an Indian daily journalist told AFP, declining to be named for fear of retaliation from his own government.
“There’s a lot of anxiety in the air.”
Since Kashmir’s status was changed in 2019, police have reported a decrease in violence.
Many people have died, and young men are still joining gangs that have been fighting Indian control for over three decades.
According to sources, Modi’s weekend plans do not include a visit to the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley, where most of the violence has occurred.
He will make his first official public appearance in the region on Sunday, but he has made many informal excursions to celebrate Hindu religious holidays with troops stationed near the de facto border with Pakistan.
It made several formerly reserved rights for permanent residents of Kashmir available to all Indians because of the reforms made in 2019.
Commentators have compared the action to “settler colonialism” since they claim they have made it to strengthen the Hindu community in the disputed territory.
AFP quotes historian and political expert Siddiq Wahid as saying the visit was “pandering” to a populace that was already on board with Modi’s objectives.
Nevertheless, he warned, “it will be difficult to do that and divert attention away from the broader territorial question. “
