NEWS & ARTICLES
Indian regime clamps down on Kashmir on seventh anniversary of annexation as protests are suppressed and BJP rallies march freely
ALLNEWS
The Indian regime has imposed severe restrictions across Indian-controlled Kashmir on 5 August 2026, the seventh anniversary of the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A, deploying additional forces, closing public spaces, and arresting individuals in a coordinated effort to suppress any visible expression of Kashmiri opposition to the annexation.
Multiple groups came out in protest despite the restrictions, including rights organisations, minority groups, disability organisations, and civil society activists, many of whom were physically stopped, their demonstrations forcibly disbanded, and participants arrested. Among those arrested was Iltija Mufti, daughter of PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, on allegations of assaulting a police officer during a protest.
Kashmir Conflict notes the Iltija Mufti arrest in its proper context. She is being groomed to eventually succeed her mother as the face of the PDP's brand of managed opposition within the Indian regime's political framework. An arrest on a protest anniversary is useful political theatre for a family whose entire history in Kashmir is one of opening doors for the Indian regime while performing occasional resistance for the cameras. The PDP and NC dynasties, the Muftis and the Abdullahs, are the political families that built, sustained, and legitimised the administrative structures through which the Indian regime tightened its grip on Kashmir across decades. Their protests today are performances. The groundwork they laid is permanent.
While Kashmiri protesters were arrested and disbanded, BJP cadres were permitted to conduct rallies across Indian-controlled Kashmir, waving Indian flags, holding celebratory events, and projecting the narrative of Kashmiri acceptance that the Indian regime requires for international consumption. Kashmiri media was instructed not to cover the protests in any meaningful way, though limited coverage emerged regardless. The contrast between what was permitted and what was suppressed on 5 August states the Indian regime's position without ambiguity. Celebration of the annexation is protected. Mourning it is a criminal act.
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