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October 26 was once again observed in J&K by the government as a holiday to mark the day Kashmir acceded to India in 1947. It was on this day that Maharaja Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession. However, the accession was considered politically complete only after it received the endorsement of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, the popular leader of the time. This move was welcomed by Kashmiris, who felt that India wanted to take them along by respecting their aspirations rather than imposing its will on them.

Unfortunately, relations between Sheikh Abdullah and the Indian leadership soon soured, for reasons best known to them. Sheikh Abdullah later changed his stance and began advocating self determination under the auspices of the United Nations. This turn of events not only led to Kashmiris being increasingly viewed with suspicion but also provided ammunition to Hindutva forces in India, who regarded Kashmir’s special status as an obstacle to its complete integration with the Union. Eventually, in 2019, after securing the required parliamentary majority, they succeeded in abrogating Article 370, a move widely challenged as unconstitutional.

Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty.

Seven years later, despite the Bharatiya Janata Party’s assumption that this move would alter global attitudes, Kashmir continues to figure in international discourse as a dispute yet to be resolved. At the recent session of the United Nations General Assembly, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan once again referred to Kashmir. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif reiterated his country’s familiar position that the issue should be resolved through dialogue in accordance with relevant United Nations resolutions. Separately, on the sidelines of the UNGA, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s Contact Group reaffirmed its “support for the right to self-determination of the people of Jammu and Kashmir”.

India, of course, maintained that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral and inalienable part of the country and that the matter is an internal affair in which no external party has a locus standi.

And so the familiar diplomatic ritual concluded. Each side reiterated its established position, claimed to have made its point and returned home. But in Kashmir, nothing has changed .The speeches ended, but the lived reality of its people did not.

Nearly eight decades after accession, Kashmir remains one of the most heavily militarised regions in the world. Security forces guard its roads, towns and villages, and their presence permeates everyday life. While military deployments along international borders are intended to guard against external threats, the extraordinary security presence within Kashmir is experienced by many of its inhabitants as a constant reminder that they are themselves treated as potential threats and live under a constant cloud of........

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