The Revocation of the Special Status of Indian Kashmir – Internal and External Factors

Abstract

After its victory in the 2019 general elections, the Hindu nationalist government of India started to accomplish one of the oldest dreams of the Indian right-wing organisations: the elimination of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir State. Practically, this meant the coup-styled annulment of the constitutional amendments, which guaranteed the wide ranged autonomy of the Kashmiri society. Before this, the central government has declared a state of emergency in the area. The leaders of the main Kashmiri Muslim parties and organizations were taken into custody. The hardliner organizations of the Hindu majority and some of the political parties welcomed the government’s action, as an example of the brave and forward looking policy-making. Others, like the Indian National Congress saw it as a violation of the basic principles of the Indian constitution. This paper aims to analyze the internal and external factors of the revocation the autonomy of Indian Kashmir.