How do we explain what is happening in Jammu and Kashmir?
The problems have their origins in the British partition of India in 1947. The people of the region were promised a referendum by the United Nations in 1948 to decide whether it should be part of India, part of Pakistan, or completely independent. This vote never took place and the region was divided between India and Pakistan (China also controls some northern mountainous areas). There has been a long-running insurgency over the current state of affairs with over 40,000 people being killed.
In 2019, Indian Premier Narenda Modi, leader of the hard right Hindu chauvinist party,(BJP) revoked Article 370 of India’s constitution and removed Kashmir’s special autonomous status. This status recognised that many Kashmiris do not want to be part of India. In elections held last October, the BJP were defeated by the Congress Party and its allies in the province, an indication that the revocation of Article 370 is not very popular.
It seems that Modi's government is intent on changing the demographic balance in Kashmir by allowing Hindus from outside the region to settle there. Responsibility for the dreadful attack has been claimed by a group calling itself “Kashmir Resistance” who say they are opposed to any further Indian settlement in the province.
How do we explain what is happening in Jammu and Kashmir?
The problems have their origins in the British partition of India in 1947. The people of the region were promised a referendum by the United Nations in 1948 to decide whether it should be part of India, part of Pakistan, or completely independent. This vote never took place and the region was divided between India and Pakistan (China also controls some northern mountainous areas). There has been a long-running insurgency over the current state of affairs with over 40,000 people being killed.
In 2019, Indian Premier Narenda Modi, leader of the hard right Hindu chauvinist party,(BJP) revoked Article 370 of India’s constitution and removed Kashmir’s special autonomous status. This status recognised that many Kashmiris do not want to be part of India. In elections held last October, the BJP were defeated by the Congress Party and its allies in the province, an indication that the revocation of Article 370 is not very popular.
It seems that Modi's government is intent on changing the demographic balance in Kashmir by allowing Hindus from outside the region to settle there. Responsibility for the dreadful attack has been claimed by a group calling itself “Kashmir Resistance” who say they are opposed to any further Indian settlement in the province.