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Agence France-Presse

Reuters

Indian-administered Kashmir’s assembly passed a resolution on Wednesday demanding New Delhi restore the disputed Muslim-majority territory’s partial autonomy, cancelled in 2019 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government.
New Delhi cancelled Jammu and Kashmir’s special status in 2019, a sudden decision accompanied by mass arrests and a months-long communications blackout.
It has been ruled by a governor appointed by New Delhi since.
But last month, the territory also elected its local legislative assembly, with voters choosing a government in opposition to Modi’s Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

“This assembly calls upon the Government of India to initiate dialogue with elected representatives of [the] people of Jammu and Kashmir for restoration of special status,” the resolution read, passed by a majority vote.
The 29 BJP members in the 90-seat house opposed the non-binding resolution, which requires the approval from the federally appointed governor.
“The assembly has done its job,” chief minister Omar Abdullah told reporters.
The resolution said it “reaffirms the importance of the special and constitutional guarantees, which safeguarded the identity, culture and rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir”.


Only the federal government can restore Kashmir’s special status. Modi’s government is expected to definitely reject the demand, as the scrapping of special status was a key BJP plank for decades.
There was no immediate reaction from the federal government on the resolution.
Kashmir has been divided between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan since their partition at the chaotic end of British rule in 1947, and both countries claim the territory in full, and have fought two of their three wars over the region.
About 500,000 Indian troops are deployed in the region, battling a 35-year insurgency in which tens of thousands of civilians, soldiers and rebels have been killed, including dozens this year alone.


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India

A member of Jammu and Kashmir’s legislative assembly holds a poster in support of a resolution to restore the state’s special status during a session in Srinagar on November 6. Photo: AFP

A security personnel patrols a deserted road in Srinagar in August 2019 after a security and communications lockdown was imposed following the decision to strip the region of its autonomy. Photo: AFP

Pakistan watches China-India border thaw with mixed feelings over Kashmir

Indian and Chinese soldiers greet each other along the Line of Actual Control near Karakoram Pass on Thursday. Photo: AFP

Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the 16th Brics summit in Kazan, Russia, on October 23. Photo: Xinhua

India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. Photo: Reuters

The Gurez Valley, near India’s disputed border with Pakistan in Kashmir. Photo: SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Indian soldiers stand guard along a mountain pass that connects Srinagar to Ladakh, near the border with China. Photo: AFP

Indian Kashmir votes out Modi’s BJP in first election since autonomy stripped

Supporters of National Conference party shout slogans as they celebrate early leads in the election for a local government in Indian controlled Kashmir on Tuesday. Photo: AP

National Conference party leader Farooq Abdullah, centre, wearing black cap, is surrounded by journalists as the party celebrates early leads in the election for a local government in Indian controlled Kashmir on Tuesday. Photo: AP

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attends a concert with China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of last month’s Brics summit in Russia. Photo: Brics-Russia2024.ru via Reuters

A Sikh protester holds up an effigy of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a rally in Vancouver last month, days after Canada expelled six Indian diplomats, linking them to the murder of a Sikh separatist leader. Photo: Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during last month’s Brics summit. Photo: AFP

11 injured in grenade militant attack in India’s Kashmir

Indian police and paramilitary soldiers stand guard near the site of a grenade explosion in Srinagar, Kashmir on Sunday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Indian paramilitary soldiers guard the site of a grenade explosion at a marketplace in Srinagar, India-controlled Kashmir on Sunday. Photo: AP

An Indian paramilitary soldier near the site of a grenade explosion at a marketplace, in Srinagar, India-controlled Kashmir on Sunday. Photo: AP

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Asia

South Asia

The resolution, opposed by PM Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, calls for dialogue with elected representatives to restore autonomy


The resolution, opposed by PM Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, calls for dialogue with elected representatives to restore autonomy.


Narendra Modi

Religion

Kashmir

Pakistan