India changes status of disputed region with Pakistan: Kashmir's political future remains uncertain

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced that Jammu and Kashmir, which had its special status revoked on August 5, 2019, and was turned into a 'Union Territory' under the central government, will be granted 'state' status.

According to a report by The New Indian Express, Prime Minister Modi held a rally in the city of Srinagar as part of the legislative elections that began yesterday in Jammu and Kashmir and will conclude on October 1.

At the rally, Modi stated that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which he leads, would restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, which had its special status revoked on August 5, 2019, and was converted into a Union Territory under federal administration.

Following the unrest in the region in 2019, India had deployed troops to Kashmir

'WE ARE BEING GOVERNED BY PEOPLE WE DO NOT KNOW'

Criticizing the Indian National Congress (INC), the People's Democratic Party (PDP), and the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, Modi accused these parties of disappointing the people of the region.

Modi did not make a statement regarding whether the special status of Jammu and Kashmir would be reinstated.

Voters in the region who spoke to the press emphasized that they were expressing their reaction to the Indian administration's decision on August 5, 2019, by casting their votes and that they wanted to bring local representatives into office.

Shakeel Ahmed, a resident of the Shopian region, stated, 'Since August 2019, we have been governed by people we do not know and who are not sympathetic. There are many problems that we hope our own representatives can solve.'

The Indian-administered part of Kashmir frequently appears in international media with allegations that 'Muslims are being oppressed'

ELECTIONS HELD AGAIN AFTER 10 YEARS

Voting for the legislative elections in Jammu and Kashmir, held for the first time after a 10-year hiatus, began yesterday.

In Jammu and Kashmir, where the first phase of the elections was completed yesterday, voting will also take place on September 25 and October 1. Election results are expected to be announced on October 4.

In the three-phase legislative elections, more than 8.7 million voters will cast their ballots for 90 seats.

The party that wins 46 or more seats in the elections will secure a majority.

SPECIAL STATUS REVOKED AFTER COALITION COLLAPSED

The last legislative elections in Jammu and Kashmir were held in November-December 2014. At that time, when Jammu and Kashmir was a state, Modi's BJP and former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and PDP President Mehbooba Mufti had formed a coalition government.

Prime Minister Modi's BJP withdrew its support for Mufti, and the coalition collapsed on June 19, 2018. Since that date, Jammu and Kashmir has been governed directly by New Delhi.

After August 5, 2019, the region's special status was revoked, and the state was turned into two union territories under the central government.

Following a series of 'civil disobedience acts' in the 2010s, the Indian army began to operate frequently in the region

IS KASHMIR'S DEMOGRAPHY BEING CHANGED?

The Indian administration revoked the constitutional provisions that had granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir for more than half a century on August 5, 2019, reducing the region to the status of a 'Union Territory' directly ruled by the central government. Following the decision, the government began settling Hindus in the region, which is predominantly Muslim.

Subsequently, the region's territory was officially divided into two on October 31, 2019: Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, both under central administration.

The citizenship law of Jammu and Kashmir, which had prohibited foreigners from settling and acquiring property in the region since 1947, was also repealed. For this reason, Muslims are concerned that the central government is changing the region's demography by settling a Hindu majority there.

News Source: AA