Prime Minister Modi’s government in India has revoked the state of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status from the temporary provisions of the Indian Constitution. This status had long guaranteed more autonomy than other states for the only Muslim majority state in the Indian Union. This perilous step was promised by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) before the 2019 Indian elections had begun, much earlier than the 2019 July meeting between Pakistan PM Imran Khan and his American counterpart after which President Trump, to everybody’s surprise, claimed he had been asked by the Indian PM to arbitrate between India and Pakistan on the issue of Kashmir. The Indian government is also now planning to reorganize the state by dividing it between Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh, a move which is poised to have both serious domestic consequences for Pakistan and India, as well as the wider region.
About the Author:
Ömer Aslan is an Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Forum and an assistant professor of International Relations at Yıldırım Beyazıt University. He received his Ph.D. from Bilkent University. His current research interests are military and politics in the Sharq region, radicalization, and foreign fighters.