Srinagar: The Kashmiri community is voicing grave concerns regarding what they perceive as an aggressive campaign by India’s Modi administration to dilute their cultural identity and turn the Muslim-majority populace of occupied Jammu and Kashmir into a minority.
According to Kashmir Media Service, leaders associated with the Hindutva movement have publicly expressed aims to erase the region’s Muslim cultural heritage and revive a pre-Islamic Hindu civilization. This declaration is part of a broader strategy led by the BJP and RSS to fully integrate the disputed territory with the rest of India, imposing a Hindu nationalist ideology.
Observers cited in the report argue that the repeal of Article 370, which offered special autonomy to the region, has facilitated the influx of non-Kashmiri settlers. Such moves are seen as paving the way for settler colonialism, potentially leaving native Kashmiris without jobs and land rights in their homeland. In response, many Kashmiris have vowed to resist these changes, even at great personal risk.
The community has called on the international community to step in and protect their cultural and territorial integrity. There is a pervasive fear among Kashmiris that without intervention, their distinct language, music, and traditions might be irreversibly lost.