India’s Move on Kashmir Will Fuel Resentment: BBC

The special status assigned to Jammu and Kashmir reflects an agreement between India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Kashmir's political leaders. “India's BJP-led government has now unilaterally torn up that special dispensation,” reports Andrew Whitehead for BBC News. “It's the biggest change in Kashmir's constitutional status since the 1950s.” The government also reduced the status from state to union territory. The implications are few in practical terms, Whitehead explains, as Jammu and Kashmir has its own constitution. If the Indian government allows outsiders to purchase property, previously prohibited, demographics and traditions could change over time. The Bharatiya Janata Party led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggests that Kashmir’s integration with India would promote development. Pakistan also claims the territory, and India prepared for the announcement with extra troops, school closures, internet and mobile-phone restrictions, and house arrests. – YaleGlobal