What’s Happening in Kashmir? A Guide to One of the World’s Most Militarized Zones

In the wake of the recent Pahalgam attack, more people are beginning to seek out the deeper story of Kashmir, a story too often missing from the world’s headlines crowded with crises, wars, and political upheaval. Kashmir remains one of the world’s longest unresolved conflicts and occupations. Despite being a flashpoint between two nuclear-armed rivals, and occupied by the world’s most populous country, and despite having one of the highest concentrations of military force on the planet, its plight rarely garners sustained international attention. Behind this manufactured silence is a region that has endured decades of occupation, repression, and the systematic erasure of its identity.

Where is Kashmir and Why Does It Matter?

Kashmir is located in the northernmost part of South Asia between China, Pakistan and India. Kashmir’s landscape is abundant with lush valleys, snow capped peaks, and glistening lakes, it’s a region of breathtaking scenery. Kashmir is a geopolitical crossroads, strategically, between South Asia, Central Asia and East Asia. Controlling this area has considerable influence over vital water supplies originating from the Himalayas, strategic military positions, and serves as a crucial regional commercial route. Moreover, because Kashmir shares borders both with China and Pakistan, countries with their own maze of ties and mutual antagonisms toward India, it is a fairly sensitive fault line in which issues can easily spin off into a more regional or even global confrontation.

A Brief History: Partition, Accession, and Abrogation

Kashmir’s modern day turmoil was seeded in 1947, when British India was partitioned into India and Pakistan. Jammu and Kashmir, which were princely states, were given such a choice — to join India, to join Pakistan, or to remain independent. The then Maharaja Hari Singh acceded to India under disputed conditions, which was a Muslim majority population that was otherwise in favor of joining Pakistan, especially due to tribal incursions and later internal revolts.

As a result, India and Pakistan went to war, UN mediated ceasefires, and the Cease Fire line was drawn, dividing Kashmir. As time moved on promises of a UN mandated plebiscite for Kashmiris to work out their fate became an impossibility.

On August 5, 2019 when India unilaterally revoked Article 370 and Article 35A of the Constitution of India, which gave Jammu and Kashmir limited autonomy. The state was bifurcated and New Delhi controlled over one as a federally controlled territory and the other as two such. Kashmiris, however, saw this move as killing off what little remained of their political and cultural rights, both as narratives of the Indian government described it as a step toward ‘integration’ and ‘development’.

To learn more about the in-depth history of Kashmir and the abrogation, you can explore our past blogs, which cover these topics in greater detail: part 1 and part 2.

The Myth of “Normalcy” Versus Reality

Since the abrogation, Indian officials have been eager to portray Kashmir as “normal.” Carefully curated media tours, hosting international events like the G20 meetings in Srinagar, and sanitized headlines all work together to paint a picture of peace and prosperity returning to the valley. But the reality of the ground is completely different.

Kashmir is home to the longest internet blackout in a democracy till now. After the 2019 abrogation, the region was subjected to unparalleled communication lockdown for months. Internet shutdowns are still being used as a weapon to silence dissent, atomize communities, curtail counter-narratives. Statista reported hundreds of shutdowns imposed, trapping the area in silence, disconnection from the world and shutting down education, entrepreneurship, and healthcare.

As of today, Kashmir is still one of the most militarized zones around the globe: over 500,000 to 700,000 Indian troops in the valley. Streets are patrolled by soldiers, checkpoints are manned, search operations are conducted and, sometimes, civilians are killed, unlawfully detained and the fear runs high. There are credible concerns that India is attempting demographic changes to alter Kashmir’s Muslim-majority character. Over 80,000 domicile certificates were granted to non-Kashmiris, raising fears of an organized settler-colonial project. Experts such as Gregory Stanton, founder of the Genocide Watch group, have also warned about the impending trajectory toward genocide, especially against Muslims in the region.

Under the Public Safety Act and Act (UAPA), the detention of a person without charge or trial for prolonged periods of time is permitted since these laws exist. Being critical of the government or pro-Kashmir can land journalists, activists, students and one of their counterparts in prison.

Without changing the residency laws, non-Kashmiris are being made eligible for domicile rights, a deliberate ploy to dilute the Muslim majority and consequently the character of the region, which is being presented as integration through a settler colonial prism.

More and more, Kashmir’s unique language, traditions, art forms are pushed further into the shadows and being erased. The state’s once official language of Koshur has been downgraded and promotion of Hindu nationalist symbolism ensues. The erosion of language compounded by demographic manipulation is an assault on the Kashmiri identity. Kashmiris are further alienated from their heritage because cultural institutions are co-opted, or dismantled.

Why It Matters Globally

The Occupation of Kashmir is no longer a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan, but a test for international standards of human rights, the self-determination of peoples and the rule of law. If powerful nations get away with rewriting borders and suppressing dissent, neither Kashmiri nor anyone else can be safe from such actions.

This also has broader security consequences for Kashmir. In both India and Pakistan, nuclear arsenals sit, and any flare up, whether intentional or accidental, could very easily escalate into a calamitous confrontation.

The story of Kashmir is a story of resistance to repression, gentleness to induce dehumanization, and identity to eradicate existence. From under the shadow of occupation, Kashmir’s tragedy deepens, not just for people living under the condition, but a world that claims to be for justice, and turns its back when justice is most needed. The world that is supposed to be standing for justice and freedom, human dignity must not be sides away from Kashmir. This is a silent but critical front in the global fight for human rights