The Modi administration has intensified its campaign to force Kashmir’s pro-freedom activists into constitutional submission, deploying sophisticated coercive techniques that blend technological surveillance with traditional intimidation. Despite these efforts, Kashmiri resistance persists, challenging India’s narrative of “normalcy” in the troubled region.
Since the 2019 abrogation of Article 370, India has implemented a multi-layered strategy to suppress dissent in Kashmir. Intelligence agencies now monitor social media accounts, encrypted messaging, and even family communications of suspected Hurriyat supporters.
For decades, Kashmiri people have resisted an oppressive state apparatus that seeks to silence dissent through militarization, censorship, and systemic violence. The Indian government has intensified its coercive policies, framing them as necessary for “development” and “security.”
Yet, beneath the veneer of legitimacy lies a brutal reality: a people subjected to what former UN Special Rapporteur on Counter-Terrorism Ben Emmerson termed “constitutional terrorism.” This term captures the paradox of a state using legal and administrative tools to legitimize repression while eroding the very foundations of democracy and human rights.
The Kashmiri struggle is not merely about resistance—it is a fight for identity, self-determination, and the right to exist without fear.
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This militarization is not a defensive measure but a tool of psychological warfare. As scholar Christophe Jaffrelot notes, the Indian state’s strategy in Kashmir mirrors colonial tactics: divide communities, criminalize dissent, and present itself as the sole guarantor of order. The result is a population living in perpetual fear, where even a protest can lead to a bullet or a prison cell.
The Indian government’s control over the narrative is ruthless. It frames dissent as terrorism, painting even peaceful protesters as enemies of the state. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and local assembly elections, Kashmiri voters defied expectations by rejecting the BJP en masse, opting instead for parties perceived as less hostile to their aspirations. This was not an endorsement of the opposition but a silent rebellion against a party that has weaponized Hindu nationalism to justify its policies.
Yet, the state’s response has been to double down. Ahead of the upcoming panchayat elections, occupation forces have intensified raids on activists’ homes, warned families of “disloyal” relatives, and even forced some to publicly denounce their political beliefs. The message is clear: compliance or imprisonment.
The human cost of India’s policies is incalculable. Families are shattered by innocent killings, enforced disappearances and arbitrary detentions, torture and siege and search operations. Children grow up in a climate of fear, their schools patrolled by soldiers. The mental health crisis in Kashmir is epidemic: a 2022 study by the Indian Journal of Psychiatry found that nearly half the population suffers from depression or PTSD.
Consider the case of a young man from Kathua District who, in late February, recorded a video in a mosque denying involvement in militancy. His plea was a desperate attempt to counter false accusations by occupation forces. He took his life, his story echoes countless others: lives crushed by the weight of state violence.
The targeting of women and youth is particularly insidious. Young men are routinely picked up in midnight raids, subjected to “encounter killings,” or held incommunicado for years. Women, often the sole breadwinners after their husbands’ detention, face systemic harassment. The state’s logic is clear: break the family to break the resistance.
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Despite this oppression, the spirit of resistance endures. The Hurriyat Conference, and allied political parties though banned, remain a symbol of hope. Civil society groups, despite surveillance and threats, document rights violations.
India’s policies in Kashmir are unsustainable. Militarization and repression may stifle protests temporarily, but they cannot erase a people’s desire for self-determination. The Modi government’s “development” agenda—new roads, tourism campaigns—ignores the root causes of unrest: the absence of political agency and justice for past crimes and implementation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.
The writing is on the wall. As late A.G. Noorani argues, Kashmir’s future lies in dialogue, not dominance. The Indian state must engage with genuine representatives of the Kashmiri people, not just its chosen proxies. It must repeal draconian laws, release political prisoners, and allow an independent truth commission to investigate human rights abuses.
In the face of overwhelming oppression, the people of Kashmir have chosen to resist. Their struggle is not just about borders or flags; it is about the universal right to live without fear, to have one’s identity respected, and to shape one’s destiny. The Indian state’s coercive policies may silence voices today, but they cannot extinguish the fire of hope.
Until then, the world must amplify Kashmiris’ voices. The international community cannot legitimize India’s occupation through silence. Sanctions on officials responsible for abuses, targeted diplomacy, and support for civil society are essential. Only when Kashmiris are granted the right to determine their own fate—whether through independence, autonomy, or integration with Pakistan—will the cycle of violence end.
Altaf Hussain Wani
The writer is Chairman Kashmir Institute of International Relations.
