India Leaves Risky Political Vacuum in Kashmir
India Leaves Risky Political Vacuum in Kashmir by Vibhuti Agarwal and Preetika Rana – Wall Street Journal
India’s decision to sideline Kashmiri political leaders as it enforces a military lockdown has left many locals wondering how their Muslim-majority state will mesh with an increasingly Hindu-dominant India.
Saqib Rehman, a political science student in Srinagar, Kashmir’s biggest city, joined a college debate on Kashmir’s future just one month before New Delhi stripped the region of its semiautonomous status to bring it fully under central government control. Back then the 21-year-old aspired to work in government. No more.
“There is nothing left for us,” he said.
On Friday, tensions rose in Srinagar after Muslim prayers when protesters hurled brick pieces and rocks at the security forces, who responded by firing lead pellets. The streets remained largely desolate, with only a few hospitals and pharmacies open…