Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to chair a gathering in Srinagar, the main city of Indian-administered Kashmir, on Thursday for his first visit since the 2019 revocation of the region's constitutional autonomy.
The government of Narendra Modi has withdrawn this territory, claimed by Pakistan, from its special constitutional status, a measure aimed at placing it under more direct supervision from New Delhi.
The region is now divided into two distinct administrative entities: Jammu and Kashmir, which is predominantly populated by Muslims, and Ladakh, which is predominantly Buddhist.
This decision, widely welcomed in India, aroused the anger of many inhabitants of this very militarized territory.
Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since British decolonization in 1947. Both claim the entirety of the former Himalayan kingdom.
More than half a million Indian soldiers are deployed there and are fighting against rebel groups demanding independence or attachment to Pakistan.
On Thursday, armed police and paramilitary forces were patrolling and new checkpoints were set up in Srinagar, where the Hindu nationalist leader is due to deliver a speech around midday (0630 GMT).
Era of
“
peace and development”
Narendra Modi must in particular announce programs aimed at
“stimulating the agroeconomy”
and tourism, according to a press release published on the social network X prior to his visit.
It will also inaugurate infrastructure around the revered Muslim shrine of Hazratbal.
This visit comes before the general elections in May, the first since the region lost its autonomy.
The last local elections in Kashmir were in 2014. The government of Narendra Modi has claimed that New Delhi's direct rule over Kashmir has ushered in a new era of
"peace and development"
in the region.
A feeling far from being shared by its detractors and many residents who believe that this has led to a drastic reduction in civil liberties and freedom of the press.
On Thursday, security forces patrolled the streets, as well as on motorboats along the river that runs through Srinagar.
Most of the city's schools are closed for the day and authorities have called on civil servants to participate in the rally.
Omar Abdulla, former minister of Jammu and Kashmir, accused the government of arranging buses to bring people to the rally, saying
"almost no one"
would attend voluntarily.