Territorial Identity and Demographic Engineering in a Conflict Zone

Qazi Hussain Asghar

On August 5, the people of Kashmir mark Youm-e-Istehsal, a day of remembrance, resistance, and renewed resolve against India’s ongoing state-led aggression and demographic terrorism in the region. It was on this day in 2019 that the Indian government, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, unilaterally revoked Article 370 of its constitution, stripping Jammu and Kashmir of its semi-autonomous status and opening the floodgates to demographic re-engineering aimed at erasing Kashmiri identity.

The revocation of special status altered legal protections and accelerated demographic changes in the region.

Despite international outcry and condemnation by human rights organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the United Nations, Indian state-sponsored terror continues unabated in the disputed territory. The reality on the ground reveals an ugly truth: Kashmir has become a testing ground for authoritarian control, mass surveillance, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions, and the suppression of freedom of speech.

The Kashmir conflict dates back to 1947, the year of the partition of British India. Under the terms of independence, princely states were given the right to accede to either India or Pakistan, based on geographical and demographic realities. With a Muslim majority population, Kashmir’s natural and popular choice was Pakistan. However, through a controversial and arguably coerced accession signed by the then-Maharaja Hari Singh, India occupied Kashmir, igniting the first of several wars with Pakistan and planting the seeds of an enduring conflict

India promised the people of Kashmir a plebiscite under UN supervision..an assurance enshrined in numerous United Nations Security Council resolutions, including Resolution 47 (1948). More than seven decades later, that promise remains unfulfilled. Instead, India has transformed Kashmir into the most militarized zone in the world, stationing over 900,000 troops in a region with fewer than 13 million people.

The revocation of Articles 370 and 35A was not just a constitutional betrayal; it was a strategic maneuver to enable demographic colonization. Article 35A had prohibited outsiders from purchasing land or permanently settling in Jammu and Kashmir. With its removal, New Delhi opened the region to non-Kashmiri Hindus, aiming to dilute the Muslim majority and undercut the indigenous freedom movement.

Since then, India has issued over 3.4 million new domicile certificates to non-residents, as per local media reports, a demographic shift that many observers call settler colonialism. The fear among Kashmiris is that they are being reduced to a powerless minority in their land, reminiscent of the Zionist policies in Palestine.

Local resistance persists through cultural assertion and civic engagement despite severe constraints.

The human rights violations in Indian-occupied Kashmir are systematic, well-documented, and brutal. According to the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society, over 100,000 civilians have been killed since 1989. More than 10,000 have disappeared; many believed to have been dumped in mass graves scattered across the valley.

The Armed Forces Special Powers Act gives Indian troops near-total immunity from prosecution, allowing them to kill, arrest, and detain with impunity. Amnesty International has repeatedly condemned AFSPA, calling it a tool of “institutional impunity” that facilitates extrajudicial killings and torture.

In its 2023 report, Human Rights Watch documented continued use of arbitrary detention, restrictions on internet access, and crackdowns on civil society organizations in Kashmir. The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) published two scathing reports in 2018 and 2019, highlighting serious human rights violations, including excessive use of force, use of pellet-firing shotguns that have blinded hundreds of civilians, and suppression of peaceful dissent.

Journalists, lawyers, activists, and even children are not spared. In March 2024, Kashmiri journalist Irfan Mehraj was detained under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, a draconian law often used to silence critics of the Indian state. The Committee to Protect Journalists has called India one of the most dangerous places for reporters, particularly those covering the Kashmir conflict.

Educational institutions are tightly monitored, and the curriculum is being restructured to align with a nationalist Hindu ideology. Mosques are surveilled, religious leaders are harassed, and even traditional Kashmiri expressions of grief like funeral processions are restricted or violently suppressed.

Despite growing evidence, the global response has been largely muted. Strategic partnerships, arms deals, and trade relations have largely shielded India from serious international censure. Western democracies that claim to uphold human rights appear reluctant to pressure India, a rising economic power and counterweight to China.

Militarization and surveillance have deeply impacted everyday life and civil liberties.

However, international watchdogs continue to ring alarm bells. In a 2023 statement, Amnesty International called India’s policies in Kashmir a “brazen assault on the rule of law.” The UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues also raised concerns over the “erosion of Kashmiri identity” and India’s “demographic manipulation.”

Despite relentless repression, the Kashmiri people remain resilient. From civil disobedience to cultural preservation, from international advocacy to grassroots activism, the spirit of resistance continues to burn.

Youm-e-Istehsal is not just a commemoration of loss; it is a declaration of existence. It reminds the world that Kashmir is not a piece of real estate, it is the homeland of a people with a history, a culture, and a dream of freedom. India’s attempts to rewrite that reality through demographic terrorism and state violence will not erase the will of Kashmiris to determine their destiny.

International responses remain inconsistent despite documentation of widespread rights violations.

Kashmir is not for sale. Its people are not statistics. As the world celebrates democracy and freedom, it must also acknowledge the ongoing apartheid in Kashmir. The silence of powerful nations may serve short-term interests, but history will remember who stood for justice and who chose complicity.
Until then, the Kashmiris’ cry for freedom will echo through the mountains, rivers, and valleys of the besieged land. And no matter how loud the guns of repression roar, truth and justice will not be silenced.

Qazi Hussain Asghar is an Islamabad-based international relations analyst and PhD scholar.