What’s behind Modi’s surprise talks with Kashmir leaders? Pakistan, China and the US, to name a few
- The meeting comes two years after India stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its autonomy and detained thousands amid a harsh lockdown
- Experts say bonhomie with Islamabad, the military stand-off with Beijing and pressure from Washington may all be considerations for New Delhi
During the meeting, Modi promised to hold polls in Jammu and Kashmir and indicated his government would permit and observe local elections in the region, a major reversal of his policy since August 2019. Modi, however, did not specify when these polls would be held.
There was no official announcement about the Thursday meeting’s agenda, but Modi tweeted after the meeting that his government was looking to conduct polls in the region soon “so that J&K gets an elected government”.
Modi called the meeting “an important step ... towards a developed and progressive Jammu & Kashmir”. His aide and Home Minister Amit Shah said an exercise to fix boundaries of constituencies and elections were “important milestones in restoring statehood, as promised in Parliament”.
In August 2019, Modi placed hundreds under house arrest overnight and downgraded Jammu and Kashmir’s semi-autonomous status, moving it under central rule. The government then announced the state’s bifurcation into two federally administered provinces – Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
For months afterwards, the region remained under a communications blackout with a heavy security presence, while the Modi administration tried to introduce controversial laws that critics said were aimed at bringing about a demographic change.