Curfews, internet shutdowns, house arrest for opposition leaders. It’s the kind of list one normally hears in the world’s great authoritarian dictatorships. But today it is in fact the state of affairs in a part of India, the world’s largest democracy. Today the government of India announced that it was implementing direct rule and integrating the northwestern state of Jammu and Kashmir, one of the world’s hottest flash-points.
The state sits on the border with Pakistan and has been a place of tension since the partition and independence of India in 1947. Ruled nominally by a Hindu Maharaja, the Muslim-majority state tried to avoid partition and declared its independence. The move angered the Muslim tribes in the region who, with Pakistani support, tried to depose the Maharaja. India offered to help the ruler, but only after he agreed to accede J&K into the new Indian Republic. Ever since, the state has been disputed territory between the two countries and has become a regular target for Islamist terrorists.
Until now, Indian-administered Kashmir has existed as an autonomous state within India.
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