Investor Presentaiton
Raising the Stakes in Jammu and Kashmir
Crisis Group Asia Report N°310, 5 August 2020
Page 9
B. The Crackdown
Likely aware that revoking the state's special status and residents' privileges would
face strong opposition, just ahead of 5 August the government deployed tens of
thousands of additional military and paramilitary police into what was already a
heavily militarised region. On 2 August, Indian authorities started asking tourists
and pilgrims to leave immediately, citing "terrorist threats".42 Public gatherings were
banned. Security forces barricaded neighbourhoods with barbed wire and blockades,
and New Delhi cut off all communication links - including telephone, internet and
cable television networks - thus imposing the severest communication blackout ever
witnessed in the disputed territory. The authorities justified the blackout in the name
of "national security".43
Telephone connections were gradually restored after 70 days, starting with land-
lines, but the internet ban continued for seven months and was only reinstated in
a phased manner from March 2020. Even then, users were only able to load a list of
government-approved websites; social media remained blacklisted. Several reports
highlighted that the government's snapping of communication services led to a num-
ber of lives lost in medical emergencies. 44 Schools and other educational institutes
remained shut, with students unable to take online classes. 45
While dozens of Kashmiri separatist leaders were already in prison or under house
arrest, security forces arbitrarily arrested thousands in the run-up to and after 5 Au-
gust, including political leaders, activists, journalists, business leaders, academics
and students, some of them minors.46 Many were detained under the draconian Pub-
lic Safety Act (discussed later). Among them were two ex-chief ministers, the title
given to Jammu and Kashmir's head of government when it was a state, and argua-
bly the region's two most prominent politicians, Mehbooba Mufti from the People's
Democratic Party (PDP) and Omar Abdullah from the National Conference. The
latter's father, Farooq Abdullah, also a former chief minister, was arrested on 16 Sep-
tember 2019.47
Defying the clampdown and the overwhelming security presence, hundreds of
local protests occurred in the aftermath of 5 August, albeit sporadically, with scores
injured in clashes with law enforcement personnel. One year on, security checkpoints
continue to bar free movement, India continues to block high-speed internet access
42 "India orders tourists to leave Kashmir over 'terror threat"", BBC, 3 August 2019.
43 "Internet necessity, but national security paramount': Amit Shah on restrictions in Kashmir",
Outlook India, 20 November 2019.
44 "In Kashmir, a race against death, with no way to call a doctor", The New York Times, 7 October
2019; "Many may have died at home': amid communication blackout, heart attack cases rise in
Kashmir", Outlook India, 12 September 2019.
45 Kashmiri children have hardly attended school since August 2019, as the initial lockdown was
almost immediately followed by another one on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, disrupting the
entire school year. "In Kashmir, school children have barely gone to classes for nine months", Scroll,
23 May 2020.
46 "Thousands detained in Indian Kashmir crackdown, official data reveals", Reuters, 12 September
2019.
47 The younger Abdullah was chief minister from 2009 to 2015. Mufti held the post from 2016 to
2018, up until the last dissolution of the regional parliament. "Farooq Abdullah arrested under dra-
conian act", Telegraph India, 16 September 2019.View entire presentation