The Himalayan region of Kashmir will not get its special status back as a semi-autonomous region. This was decided by the Supreme Court in India. This is a success for Prime Minister Modi – a setback for the population.
Several years after the controversial withdrawal of the partial autonomy of the Indian Kashmir region, the highest court in India confirmed the withdrawal of the special status. The court justified its decision by saying that the special status was only intended to be temporary. At the same time, it called for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir to become a federal state with the same status as all other Indian states “as quickly as possible.” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the verdict as “historic.”
The former state of Jammu and Kashmir is the only Muslim-majority area in India that the government wanted to integrate more closely into the predominantly Hindu country by withdrawing partial autonomy. The special status gave the Himalayan region its own constitution and extensive political powers.
High symbolic value for the population
Among other things, the state of Jammu and Kashmir was entitled to have its own constitution. Additionally, only Kashmiri people were allowed to purchase land and settle in the Himalayan Valley. Even though the state’s autonomy has been increasingly eroded in recent decades, it has had enormous symbolic value for the population. The special status was seen as a clear commitment to a secular India, which the state’s founders and independence fighters such as Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru had advocated.
By repealing the special status, Prime Minister Narendra Modi fulfilled an election promise in 2019. In order to prevent protests, soldiers were deployed to restrict the freedom of movement of people in the Kashmir region. Internet and telephone connections also barely worked there for a long time. Many in Kashmir, which is predominantly inhabited by Muslims, fear that the region will be “Hinduized” with the abolition of its extensive autonomy.
New crisis with neighboring Pakistan
The move had also sparked a new crisis with neighboring predominantly Muslim Pakistan, which also claims the area. Both states control parts of Kashmir.
The Kashmir conflict has existed for more than 70 years – since the former colonial empire of British India became independent and was divided into India and Pakistan. The nuclear powers were already waging wars over the region. As a result of the revocation of the special status, politicians and activists, among others, submitted applications to the court to review the constitutionality of the step.
Tailwind for Modi
The decision is likely to strengthen Modi’s Hindu nationalist party, the BJP, ahead of next year’s elections. The judges also ordered the election commission on Monday to hold regional elections in the Himalayan region next September.