The Kashmir conflict

Kashmirkonflikten

Utbredd rädsla för Modis bulldozer-politik i Kashmir

Opposition supporters demonstrate in Kashmir in January. Mukhtar Khan / AP  

The Kashmir conflict  

Widespread fear of Modi's bulldozer policy in Kashmir  

Recently, the Indian government has demolished dozens of buildings in the disputed region of Kashmir. The purpose is to take back state land that is believed to have been used without permission. But locally, the measure is interpreted differently, writes The Guardian in a report.  

Many believe that the "bulldozer policy" is part of a larger plan to expel Muslims from their land in Kashmir, which is the only Indian-controlled area with a Muslim majority. The paper describes that panic is now spreading in Kashmir, but that few dare to protest loudly for fear of arrest.  

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's goal is to create a Hindu state, and since his nationalist government came to power in 2014, bulldozers have been used in similar fashion against Muslim minorities in other Indian states. 

 

People buy supper at a street kitchen in Srinagar in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Mukhtar Khan / AP  

The Kashmir conflict  

The house was demolished without warning: "They have taken our livelihood"  

Many of the property owners in Kashmir who have recently had their houses demolished by the Indian government were informed with very short notice – despite many running businesses for decades, The Guardian reports.  

Suhail Ahmad Shah who runs a car workshop was not notified at all. He was working when he heard the roof smash - and just made it out before the entire building was razed to the ground.  

- Nobody listens to us. We have paid rent. Isn't that cruel? They have taken our livelihood, he tells the newspaper. 

map By Olivia Wikström Published March 19, 11:25 am