164 Days: What Led to World’s Largest Democracy Imposing the World’s Longest Communication Blackout
Three men sit as the Kashmir lockdown drags on (Cr: Reuters)
By: Sawera Khan
Lexington — The India and Pakistan conflict is a decades-old feud that has existed since the British ransacked the subcontinent and left it in shambles. It has led to three wars between the two nuclear armed nations and has resulted in over 47,000 deaths since 1989 alone. War and grievance are not something new to the people of Kashmir.
However, in recent months, India has ramped up its presence and interest in the region and has incurred on the sovereign rights of the semi-autonomous state of Jammu and Kashmir.
A Short History of the Conflict
To understand the recent developments in the region, it’s important to look at how Kashmir came to be. When India and Pakistan were created in 1947, Kashmir was a majority Muslim state that bordered Pakistan, India, and China.
The majority of its people wanted to join the newly formed Muslim state of Pakistan; however, the maharaja (leader) of the region chose to unite with India in return for military assistance against invading tribesmen. This divide raised already heightened tensions between India and Pakistan and led to the first war between the two nations, prompting the United Nations to intervene. It was this initial conflict that created the borders that are now seen today.
The UN later suggested the two nations hold a referendum to decide on the issue; however, neither party could commit to a ceasefire that would have allowed for the referendum to be carried out. As a result, no vote took place. India and Pakistan went to war again in 1965 and again, albeit shortly, in 1999, both times over Kashmir.
The region is divided by the Line of Control (LOC), which divides Indian- and Pakistani- controlled territory, and the Line of Actual Control (LAC), which divides Indian- and Chinese-controlled territory. Pakistan controls around 35% of the land, India control about 45%, and China controls the remaining 20%. Divided between three power-hungry, nuclear-armed nations, Kashmir is the world’s most heavily militarized region and the people who suffer most from this feud are the Kashmiri people.
Indian-controlled Jammu and Kashmir Today
Since 1949, Indian-controlled Jammu and Kashmir has held special status. Article 370 of the Indian Constitution granted Kashmir some autonomy and decreed that the region could have its own constitution, flag, and other sovereign liberties — giving it freedom not enjoyed by any other region. Indian citizens who were not from Kashmir were also not allowed to buy land in Kashmir allowing the region to retain its demographics and remain the only Muslim-majority state in India.
On August 5th, 2019, the Prime Minister issued an order which scrapped Article 370 and stated that all articles of the current Indian constitution would now apply to Jammu and Kashmir.
Both houses of the Indian parliament then passed a bill separating the region into two separate territories, Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. This was an unprecedented move but not completely unexpected. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Hindu-Nationalist party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), had run on the platform that it would repeal Article 370.
In 2014, the party won by a landslide and has delivered on its promise to integrate Kashmir into India. By repealing Article 370, Modi has freed Indians to move into Kashmir, buy land, and potentially change the demographics of the region.
Human Rights Violations in Kashmir
In addition to impeding on this autonomy, Indian troops have committed concerning human rights violations in the days following the repeal of Article 370. Kashmir has been on lockdown since August 5th of last year — and until January 15th, has had no access to the internet for 164 days. This is the largest ever internet shutdown, not just in India, but in the entire world. Landline and mobile services were also cut.
However, this type of repression is not unprecedented. In fact, Kashmiris have been subject to human rights violations for decades. In 2012, police fired live bullets at protestors, killing 112 people. Since then, Indian forces have rarely used bullets to regulate protests. Instead, the most common injuries among Kashmiris are caused by pellet guns.
According to Amnesty International, 6,221 people have been injured with pellet guns and 782 of them have suffered some type of eye injury, leaving the victims partially, and sometimes completely, blind. These figures are cited from the Indian authorities in Jammu and Kashmir and Amnesty states the actual numbers are likely to be much higher.
Death and maiming are not the only human rights violations that the Indian army is guilty of. According to Human Rights Watch, Indian troops have also used rape as a method of warfare. Human rights organizations have gone into the region and documented these instances, but the Indian government has done little to hold the aggressors accountable or to discourage troops from committing human rights violations.
In the month following the repealing of Article 370, 4,100 people were detained across Kashmir, 170 of whom were political leaders. People, including multiple children, have been injured and killed.
Indian police officers are also arresting protestors across the country for holding ‘Free Kashmir’ signs.
As of January 15, India has relaxed some of the restrictions in the region. Restricted broadband and 2G services have been restored in some areas but mobile internet and social media remain unavailable for a majority of the people in the region.