India scraps Kashmir’s special status raising fears of ‘catastrophic’ unrest

The move had been a long-held promise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party

Many fear New Delhi wants to change the restive region’s demographics by allowing non-Kashmiris – mostly Hindus – to buy land locally

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Security personnel stand guard on a street in Jammu. Photo: AFP

Published: 2:07pm, 5 Aug 2019Updated: 10:39pm, 5 Aug 2019

The Indian government’s move on Monday to scrap the special status of the part of disputed Kashmir that it administers could have “catastrophic” consequences, opposition figures warned, as fears were raised of further violence in the Muslim-majority Himalayan region.

A presidential decree rushed through by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party – which holds the most seats of any party in both houses of India’s parliament – removed from the country’s constitution Article 370, which had granted special autonomy to the region and prevented non-natives from purchasing property or holding government jobs there.

It also moved a bill proposing Jammu and Kashmir, as the Indian-administered part is known, be divided into two regions directly ruled by New Delhi. Unlike the presidential decree, which stands unless overturned, this bill needs to be ratified by parliament.

Ahead of the announcements, tens of thousands of extra Indian troops were deployed to the area, and a security lockdown was imposed overnight on Sunday with all telecommunications cut.

New Delhi has said the sweeping clampdown was needed because of the “prevailing law and order situation”.

All phones, internet services and cable networks went down at midnight following days of soaring tensions. Only residents with a “curfew pass” were allowed on the streets.