Why Indian PM Modi's Kashmir visit failed to 'win hearts'

In his first visit to India-administered Kashmir since his right-wing government scrapped the state's semi-autonomous special status in 2019, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought to "win hearts" among the local population.

The effort comes as his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seeks to consolidate itself in India-administered Kashmir before the 2024 Indian general elections in May, in a region where the party's policies have been controversial.

According to Modi, the revocation of Article 370 of the Indian constitution has helped bring development and prosperity to the local population. But with the former state now split into two territories directly ruled by New Delhi, Kashmiris are not convinced that they are better off.

Modi is unlikely to change their minds. Here is why:

Ahead of national elections, the first since India-administered Kashmir's special status was revoked, Modi has made tall promises about economic prosperity. His speech at a rally in the capital Srinagar included an announcement of development projects worth $777 million that are geared at boosting the local agro-economy and promoting tourism.

Yet the PM conveniently ignored the incontrovertible reality that Kashmir’s grievances are not as much economic as they are political, with an emphasis on self-determination.

What the Modi-led government in India has done is annex the region and convert it into a union territory instead. This move took place despite the fact that since the independence of both India and Pakistan in 1947, Kashmir has always remained a disputed territory.

Three wars have been fought over the territory, with Pakistan maintaining that the fate of the region must be decided by a United Nations-held referendum, a proposal India has continued to ignore. Kashmiri freedom fighters have also sought to resist Indian rule and attempt to annex or incorporate the region into Indian territory.

It should then come as no surprise that Modi’s description of "India seeing the smiling faces of the Kashmiri youth" did not resonate with young Kashmiris. Many of them were either witness to or were brutalised by India's crackdown after the revocation of special status in 2019. Modi's failure to bring up the restoration of statehood and democracy in Kashmir during this month's visit thus resulted in widespread disappointment.

In truth, Modi’s toxic brand of hardcore Hindu nationalism coupled with lofty claims of economic prosperity cannot detract from harrowing realities that have unfolded in India-administered Kashmir since his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came into power.

The 2019 revocation of special status resulted in the loss of constitutional guarantees in India-administered Kashmir, its flag and its criminal code. The region was bifurcated into two so-called union territories- Ladakh and J and K, which has fueled anger, resistance and resentment.

Popular uprisings have been met with state-sponsored clampdowns, internet blackouts and sweeping restrictions on human rights activists and local politicians - actions that rights groups consider to be unlawful repression.

Examples include the detention of former chief ministers of J and K, Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah, as well as the arrest of prominent Kashmiri activist Khurram Pervez under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Journalist Fahad Shah also underwent confinement for 600 days.

Then comes the Modi regime’s attempt to change the demographics of India-administered Kashmir following a similar strategy to the one to proliferate Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine, which are illegal under international law.

Recall that in 2019, the Modi regime also scrapped Article 35 A of the Indian constitution, which banned outsiders from owning property, settling permanently or gaining employment in local government jobs in India-administered Kashmir.

This change allowed the Modi government to institutionalise demographic shifts by introducing a new India-administered Kashmir domicile law. Under this law, anyone residing in the valley for a period of 15 years or studied there for seven years becomes eligible for permanent residency.

This law complements Modi’s Hindu majoritarian agenda, which gives zealots such as Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh members a legal pass to inundate the Kashmir Valley and potentially evict members of the Kashmiri Muslim population from their residences.

Such mobilisation of Hindutva fundamentalists is not a novel phenomenon in India. Recall that as Chief Minister of Gujarat, Modi empowered Hindu militias during the 2002 Gujarat riots. This led to statewide massacres of the Muslim population.

These militias were also visible during the 2020 Delhi riots, when former US President Donald Trump paid a visit to the Indian capital. That violence resulted in 53 predominantly Muslim deaths.

Alongside egregious human rights violations in India-administered Kashmir is widespread internet censorship, which has stifled freedom of thought and expression among the population.

As documented by digital rights watchdog Access Now in its 2022 report, 84 out of 187 internet shutdowns worldwide were done by India alone, out of which more than half of them took place in India-administered Kashmir.

Such blackouts stifle popular opinion and provide lesser coverage of the Kashmiri freedom struggle championed by dissenting voices to Modi’s rule. This includes incarcerated Yasin Malik, who is cut off from the rest of the world. Internet clampdowns also suggest that India is attempting to prevent its human rights violations from becoming part of the mainstream international discourse.

Hindu supremacy, state sponsored violence, egregious human rights violations, an illegal annexation of a disputed territory, and denial of the Kashmiri right to self-determination characterises Narendra Modi’s profile in India-administered Kashmir.

Winning hearts is not possible.