India Pulls Kashmir’s Autonomy: Washington Post
After little parliamentary debate and virtually no citizen input, the Modi government is scrapping two articles in the Indian constitution that apply to the state of Jammu and Kashmir, splitting the state and administering two sections as a union territory. At the same time, the government increased its troop presence, closed schools and the internet, and placed some leaders under house arrest. Ahsan Butt, a professor with George Mason University, explains the complicated history and the risks of loss of autonomy. “The state, technically independent when British colonization ended, became part of India only in wartime, when Pakistan sought to seize control of the territory in 1947,” he writes. “India’s federal government controls foreign affairs, defense, finance and communications in J&K – but leaves other governance matters to provincial representatives.” Citizens appreciated the status even if autonomy was largely symbolic. Area decisions will be subjected to a central government veto, and there are worries that Hindus may copy Israel in creating settlements in the Muslim-majority area. Pakistan, which supports Kashmiri separatism, has suspended relations with India. The decision will head to India’s courts. – YaleGlobal
India Pulls Kashmir’s Autonomy: Washington Post
The Modi administration ended autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir, its only Muslim-majority state, and risks regional instability
Thursday, August 8, 2019
Read the article from the Washington Post about India ending autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir.
Ahsan I. Butt is an associate professor at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University and a nonresident fellow at the Stimson Center. He is the author of “Secession and Security: Explaining State Strategy Against Separatists”(Cornell University Press, 2017).
The Washington Post
washingtonpost.com © 1996-2019 The Washington Post