SRINAGAR, India — India corralled politicians in their homes and bolstered security on the streets of Kashmir's main city of Srinagar on Wednesday to prevent violent protests on the anniversary of the government's revocation of the Himalayan region's autonomy. Police have been told to ensure that no political leader be allowed to leave their homes, officials and politicians said, and residents out in Srinagar were turned back by police vans fitted with loud-speakers. The government stripped Jammu and Kashmir, its only Muslim-majority state, of its special rights last August and divided into two federally administered territories in an attempt by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to draw the region closer to the rest of the country and spur its development. Kashmir is claimed in full by both India and Pakistan, which have gone to war twice over it, and both rule parts of it. India’s portion, which had enjoyed autonomy for decades, has been plagued by separatist violence since the late 1980s.

Source: International New York Times August 05, 2020 04:57 UTC