Alwaght - Indian government detained at least 75 Kashmiri political leaders and activists allegedly to forestall political unrest after an alliance of Kashmir’s regional political parties won a local election, Reuters reported.
The District Council election, concluded early this week, was the first such exercise since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government last year revoked the special status of the Muslim-majority, Indian-controlled region. New Delhi then cracked down on the opposition and rounded up hundreds of people to preempt protests and violence.
Victorious candidates and supporters perceived the win as a victory of people’s verdict against what they call BJP’s propagandist narrative on Kashmir.
The new detentions, including separatist leaders and members of the Jamat-e-Islami group, were for preventive custody, said a senior police official, who asked not to be identified in line with official policy.
India and Pakistan have claimed all of the Kashmir region since the partition of British-ruled India into Muslim Pakistan and Hindu-majority India in 1947. Two of the three wars they have fought have been over the Himalayan region.
