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Kashmir

At a glance

  • Who: Kashmiris, including a Muslim-majority population in the Kashmir Valley, plus diverse communities across Jammu and the region
  • Where: Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (a union territory since 2019)
  • Nature of harm: Political disenfranchisement, militarisation, mass arrests and detention practices, restrictions on civic space, periodic communications shutdowns
  • Status: Ongoing

Activists demanding an end to human rights violations in Kashmir during a protest in central London

Photo by Alisdare Hickson Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

What is happening

In Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, political life and civil liberties have been reshaped by a heavy security presence, restrictive laws, and limits on public organising and expression. Periods of unrest and militancy have been met with intensified crackdowns that affect daily life, media, and civic space.

The result is a long-running dispute where ordinary civilians experience the conflict not only through violence, but through control over movement, speech, assembly, and political participation.

How it started

The Kashmir dispute dates back to the 1947 partition of British India and competing claims by India and Pakistan. The region has since been divided among India, Pakistan, and China, and has remained a recurring flashpoint, including multiple wars and an armed insurgency.

How it is enforced

Commonly documented mechanisms include:

  • Security governance: large-scale deployments, raids, and coercive policing practices during periods of unrest
  • Detention and legal powers: allegations of arbitrary detention and limited accountability for abuses raised in UN human rights reporting
  • Communications control: extensive internet and mobile shutdowns, including the major shutdown following August 2019, with phased restoration through February 2021

The human impact

Impacts described across credible reporting include:

  • fear and uncertainty during raids, crackdowns, and cycles of violence
  • disruption to education, work, healthcare access, and family life during shutdowns and curfews
  • chilling effects on journalism and civil society activity

What the world says

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has published reports on human rights concerns in both Indian-administered and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, citing issues such as excessive use of force, arbitrary detention, and impunity concerns, while also noting constraints on access and verification.

UN OHCHR Kashmir human rights reports (2018 and 2019 update)

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

Internet Society documentation on the 2019 to 2021 shutdown period
Background reporting on the dispute and 2019 constitutional change

Reuters

What is denied or distorted

Patterns that often hinder accountability or public understanding include:

  • reducing the issue to “security” alone, without addressing political rights and civic freedoms
  • treating communications shutdowns as routine public order tools rather than exceptional restrictions with wide civilian impacts
  • erasing plural identities within the region by speaking as though all Kashmiris share one view or one experience

Current status

The region remains politically contested and periodically volatile. While authorities cite improvements such as increased tourism and declining violence, deadly attacks still occur and can trigger renewed security measures and restrictions.

Why it matters

Kashmir is a long-running test of whether civilian rights, political self-determination claims, and security governance can be reconciled without permanent exceptionalism. The tools normalised here, particularly detention practices and communications shutdowns, also set precedents far beyond Kashmir.

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