Five Scroll Articles On What Kashmir Looks Like In The Fourth Month Since Special Status Was Revoked scroll.in

It has been four months since August 5, when the Centre announced it was going to strip Jammu and Kashmir of special status under Article 370 and divide the state into two Union Territories. It also revoked Article 35A, a law that allowed the Jammu and Kashmir state government to define “state subjects” and reserve certain rights and privileges for them, including the right to own land in the former state.

As Union Home Minister Amit Shah made his announcement, Kashmir was flooded with troops and placed under an unprecedented lockdown – a complete communications blackout, restrictions on movement, mass arrests, with almost the entire political leadership of the Valley locked up. Reports from South Kashmir spoke of torture and crackdowns by security forces. Across the Valley, minors were detained by the police, some for a day, others for weeks, often with no formal paperwork.