Indian PM Modi visits Kashmir for first time since special status revoked

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday made his first official visit to Kashmir's main city since New Delhi stripped the region of semi-autonomy and took direct control of it in 2019.

Addressing a crowd in a soccer stadium in Srinagar, Modi announced development projects, and said previous governments had misled people over the region's now-scrapped special status.

"The success story of Jammu and Kashmir will be the center of attraction for the world," he said, saying that the region has prospered since the 2019 move. "I have always said that the hard work I am doing is to win your hearts. I will work towards winning your hearts further,” Modi told the crowd.

Modi and his party have accused Kashmir’s pro-India parties of being corrupt, misleading Kashmiris and promoting separatism in the region. Kashmiri politicians, who say their special status was a constitutional guarantee, have called Modi divisive and anti-minority.

Narendra Modi speaks during a rally, as his bodyguard looks on at the Bakshi Stadium in Srinagar. Reuters

Thousands of armed paramilitary troops and police in flak jackets maintained extra vigilance across the Kashmir Valley. Modi’s two previous visits to Kashmir after its status was changed were to the Hindu-dominated city of Jammu.

Modi did not mention plans to hold elections in the region or to restore its statehood, both demanded by Kashmir's pro-India political parties. The last election for the regional legislature were held in 2014, but the government elected then was dismissed in 2018.

In 2019, Modi’s Hindu-nationalist government revoked the region’s semi-autonomous status, annulled its separate constitution, split the area into two federal territories — Ladakh and Jammu-Kashmir — and removed inherited protections on land and jobs. The Muslim-majority region is now run by unelected government officials and bureaucrats.

India's powerful home minister, Amit Shah, has repeatedly promised that the region would be regain statehood after elections.

In December, India’s Supreme Court upheld the 2019 decision and asked the government to conduct state polls by September.

HEAVY SECURITY

Ahead of Modi’s visit to Srinagar, government forces laid razor wires and erected checkpoints on roads leading to the venue. They randomly frisked residents and searched vehicles, while navy commandos in motorboats patrolled the Jhelum River that snakes through the city.

Authorities ordered thousands of government employees, including teachers, to attend the meeting, and most schools in the city were closed for the day.

Thursday’s event is seen as part of Modi’s campaign ahead of national elections scheduled in April and May.

Kashmiri politicians who opposed revocation of special status criticised Modi's visit. "This visit is only meant to ... drum up support amongst the BJP's core constituency in the rest of India for the upcoming parliament elections," Mehbooba Mufti, a former chief minister and former BJP ally, posted on social network X.

Associated Press