Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed on Thursday his "path-breaking" move to strip Kashmir of its autonomy, as his Pakistani counterpart warned of possible "ethnic cleansing". Occupied Jammu & Kashmir has been under lockdown since August 4, with freedom of movement restricted and phones and the internet cut.
A day later, New Delhi scrapped Article 370 in the Indian constitution that had granted Kashmir special autonomy, splitting the occupied state of Jammu and Kashmir in two and downgrading their status to union territories. In a speech from the ramparts of the historic Red Fort in Delhi for Indian Independence Day, Modi said that the decision was one of several "path-breaking" moves by his newly re-elected administration.
He said "fresh thinking" was needed after seven decades of failure to ensure harmony in the picturesque but tragic former Himalayan kingdom, where tens of thousands have died in the past 30 years. "We do not believe in creating problems or prolonging them. In less than 70 days of the new government, Article 370 has become history. And in both houses of parliament, two-thirds of the members supported this step," said Modi, 68.
"The old arrangement in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh encouraged corruption and nepotism, as well as injustice when it came to rights of women, children, (low-caste) Dalits, tribal communities," he said. "Their dreams get new wings," he said. Fearing unrest over India's latest move, tens of thousands of extra Indian troops have been deployed to occupied Kashmir - joining 500,000 already there - turning parts of the main city of occupied Srinagar into a fortress of roadblocks and barbed wire.