I don't really know the specifics of what's happening in Kashmir, can you explain it to me?

Government has removed Articles 370 and 35A, which basically stood for rules that Kashmiri people get to decide who is a citizen, and any land of Kashmir could be bought by a Kashmiri citizen only.

You see, the people of Kashmir already wanted freedom from India by establishing Kashmir as an independent state, and now that this has happened, it means that India is further expressing force.

Before the article was revoked, a complete communication blackout was exerted by the Indian Govt., so that the people wouldn't even get to know that their land will be up for purchase. There have been riots in Kashmir, and the Indian media (which are all sellouts) denied any occurrence of disturbances in the region. Videos of riots have been leaked showing that the media lied.

Here's an article from the worldnews subreddit to give you some insight

What do you think of the brutal ethnic cleansing/genocide of kashmiri pandits?

"The Hindus of the Kashmir Valley, were forced to flee the Kashmir valley as a result of being targeted by JKLF and Islamist insurgents during late 1989 and early 1990.[4][5] Of the approximately 300,000[6][7][8] to 600,000[9][10] Hindus living in the Kashmir Valley in 1990 only 2,000–3,000 remain there in 2016.[11]"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exodus_of_Kashmiri_Hindus

Edit: thanks for the gold/plat, got mad love for India and our Kashmiri pandit brothers and sisters

Exodus. Yes. I was waiting for this question. It happened before I was born, and I've heard so much about it. It's one of the "tainted histories" of Kashmir, because if we're fighting for human rights, we better take a look at the past to see how big of a fucked up thing extremism can become.

Edit: For people saying I didn't answer the question - I obviously don't condone it. It was fucked up, what happened. I'm looking at other comments are people are telling me that I don't have an opinion about it?! I have an opinion, and I'm expressing it here!

Why can’t India and Pakistan just agree to make Kashmir its own country, that way neither power has control of this valuable region?

You see, this is what the people of Kashmir want. To be left alone.

You'll see Indians making arguments that "Kashmir is an integral part of India yada yada yada" and Pakistan providing arms. But nobody will listen to the people, because the actual news of manslaughter doesn't make it outside the state border.

And why would they give it up? They're both fighting for land, and all they care about is land. Fuck the people, right?

Is there a reason the Kashmir people does not want to claim Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) or China occupied Kashmir (COK) under Kashmir for independence? What is the interest in just the one under Indian control and not the rest? I'm genuinely curious.

Things you should know: COK has mountainous regions and negligible settlements.

POK, also called Azad Kashmir, is a self governed state under Pakistan's control.

The IOK is the Kashmir under India's administration, and speaking plainly, we're too busy trying to get our own freedom from one nation, than to demand the other two nations to release their administered parts.

Whats your opinion on the conflict as a whole?

My opinion is that two countries are just fighting for a piece of fucking land (because they want the resources) instead of leaving us alone. That's petty.

How do you stay hydrated in times like these?

Kashmir has enough fresh water resources. I made sure to fill my bottles before leaving. /s

Following the last attack on security forces by a Kashmiri youth, that led to the areal firefight between Pakistan, I read this account on the Independent from his parents on why he was radicalized:

In trying to explain what led Dar to join up with the militants, members of the family point to two transformative incidents which, they say, left him “changed”.

The first came when Dar was 18. He was walking home from school, the family says, and passing through the village when he came upon a clash between local men, throwing stones, and members of the Indian security forces.

Dar was grabbed and accused of being an agitator. As a public punishment, the family says, armed soldiers made him spit on the ground next to their jeep and then get on all fours, rubbing his nose in the dirt.

“He was embarrassed – his classmates saw the whole thing,” Aarif says.

Some three or four months passed before a second, more serious episode with the Indian CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force). During a protest, Dar’s friend was shot before his eyes. As he went to help him, soldiers again opened fire, this time shooting Dar himself in the leg.

It was this incident, the family says, that silenced any interest Dar had in pursuing his studies. Stuck at home during his recovery and in considerable pain with three steel pins in his leg where the bullet had shattered his bones, he became distant and depressed.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/kashmir-attack-india-pakistan-pulwama-suicide-bombing-tensions-a8813781.html

How common has this kind of behavior been from the Indian military? Have you or any of your friends ever faced this treatment.

What are the sentiments of the youth of Kashmir about the revocation of these articles?

Where do you see this situation going? Will the Kashmiri people quit protesting soon and get on with the process of being merged into India or do you see the conflict escalating?

I’d love a genuine answer to these questions if you are indeed a Kashmiri, I don’t know much about the internet but can you access it if the government has shut off services?

Hi. You're the first commenter :) You've quoted a good source, and here's my answer:

How common has this kind of behavior been from the Indian military?

Speaking the truth, this has been quite common. Actions such as these have caused the Kashmiri people to become rebels. So yep, these military folks are what we people think are our enemies.

Have you or any of your friends ever faced this treatment.

I personally have never faced this treatment. In fact, I've spoken to a few military personnel/guards in my life, and they were very polite. I live in the capital, and these incidents happen sometimes in urban areas, but majorly in rural districts. As for my friends, they have. They hail from rural areas, some of them have experienced it first-hand, others have their friends seen tortured before their eyes.

What are the sentiments of the youth of Kashmir about the revocation of these articles?

Again, I'm gonna be honest here, before this article was revoked, we thought a full-on war would rage if it will ever be revoked. Now that it has happened, the male youths along with people of other ages have taken to the streets to protest in the form of stone pelting (which is a pretty common way of expressing dissatisfaction via protests there). Me and my friends, who are outside the state right now are scared shitless. Most (98%) of the Indian media is cancer in digital form. Till yesterday they said everything was normal (which obviously sounded fishy to me, because no way it was gonna get swept under the rug), but leaked videos from Kashmir are indicating otherwise. This guy is a journalist from Kashmir and he has published a video of riots

Where do you see this situation going? Will the Kashmiri people quit protesting soon and get on with the process of being merged into India or do you see the conflict escalating?

The latter. Here's the thing. There has been periods of unrest after every few years. There was a shutdown for SIX MONTHS in 2011. Another unrest in 2016 when a major rebel was killed. This will go on and on, but the people won't quit protesting. Not until the people will be wiped out.

I’d love a genuine answer to these questions if you are indeed a Kashmiri, I don’t know much about the internet but can you access it if the government has shut off services?

Every form of communication has been banned (even the cable TV). The police officials have satellite phones provided for contacting each other. I'm accessing the internet because I'm not in Kashmir right now, I just left that place a month ago. It's Badi-Eid today, the Muslim equivalent of Christmas, and I can't wish my family. Makes me cry, man.

Which cricket team do you guys support? India or Pakistan?

Everybody supports Pakistani team, but I personally like team India, because they play well. Others reading, please don't make a mountain of this statement, this is just a casual answer.

First of all, I apologize in advance on behalf of ignorant children from both (India and Pakistan) sides. I hope you understand that hot blooded young people on both sides of the fence have been indoctrinated into hating each other, and well, generally not mature enough yet.

Second, Eid Mubaarak! Hope you and your family are well.

I know all the talk is about Article 370 right now, but I would like to ask things beyond that:

1. I've been fortunate to have had company of both Kashmiris and Pakistanis in close quarters. When discussing how the desired autonomous state would function, one thing I invariably disagreed with is the role of Religion in governance. It varied from total Sharia law in Kashmir to "Islamic democracy" ala Pakistan. How religious do you think is a normal everyday Kashmiri?
2. Now that Kashmir is basically governed directly from centre (which has been the case for last year or so anyway, right) what would you say are the biggest civil issues should be addressed? Education? Infrastructure? Environment?
3. Instability notwithstanding, what do you think will be Kashmir's biggest economic driver in future?
4. What should be encouraged, What should be discouraged in Kashmir valley?

Hi. Thank you for your kind words bhai, and I absolutely understand the injected animosity.

Khair Mubarak :)

When discussing how the desired autonomous state would function, one thing I invariably disagreed with is the role of Religion in governance. It varied from total Sharia law in Kashmir to "Islamic democracy" ala Pakistan. How religious do you think is a normal everyday Kashmiri?

Brilliant question. But there's no denying that the governance will be crafted keeping religion in mind. After all, 97% are Muslims in Kashmir. I can't really say which way it'll go, but if I were to guess, it'll go with the Islamic democracy. The average Kashmiri youth can be defined well as one who goes to prayers on Fridays only. This is why I leaned more towards the democratic option. The middle aged and the elderly are towards the heavier portion of the religious spectrum.

Now that Kashmir is basically governed directly from centre (which has been the case for last year or so anyway, right) what would you say are the biggest civil issues should be addressed? Education? Infrastructure? Environment?

I would say education. Education has to develop by leaps and bounds. Saying this because I myself left the state for further studies.

Instability notwithstanding, what do you think will be Kashmir's biggest economic driver in future?

The tourism sector is a pretty strong force of Kashmir's economy. Even in these times, we would have a swarm of tourists visit every year. After that, the freshwater resources. The water coming from the glaciers and mountain tops might be sufficient to create revenue (or so I've heard, need to fact-check myself on this), because there's such an abundance of it.

What should be encouraged, What should be discouraged in Kashmir valley?

No matter which way this turns out in the end, further education should be promoted by families. In rural areas you'll come across people who take education very lightly, and see it as some sort of a burden. We need to go a long way in terms of development, and every single brain should contribute to make up for the gap.

I would love to see Kashmiris protest more in likes of Hong Kong style, without any stone pelting, just people holding boards marching together, to get their point across. We do not want a third side forming hot headedness, two are enough already.

Can you elaborate on what you mean when you say

all communication has been cut off

I’m very curious as to what that means for peoples’ daily life (what is banned, etc), what sort of communication is happening within Kashmir (like, are there people breaking rules and finding ways to communicate), exactly who has cut off communication and what you think the goal/aim/purpose is for doing this? It would be great to just hear your inside account, in conversational style, as opposed to the perspectives of traditional and biased news reporting.

Edit: punctuation

what sort of communication is happening within Kashmir (like, are there people breaking rules and finding ways to communicate)

Up until a day ago, it had gone back to the dark ages in terms of communication. My batchmate friend (who's also a Kashmiri), left to return to Kashmir three days ago, and I haven't heard a word from him since. Yesterday, a number of calling centres (booths in/near Police Station) were set up in different regions where people could communicate to their relatives living outside, so at least some people have that. But their own cellular phones have both incoming as well as outgoing facilities barred.

exactly who has cut off communication and what you think the goal/aim/purpose is for doing this?

Well, it was done on government's orders. The government of India pulled a real shit show when they evacuated all the tourists and students from other states from Kashmir because of a "terrorist threat made to the foreigners", which was a lie all along. This was an elaborate set up to keep the Kashmiri people in dark, without causing any trouble to the outsiders. The aim was to prevent a strong revolt which can cause from spread of information. The communication was cut off before the article was revoked. When it got revoked, the people had no way of knowing what had happened. This whole thing was just a way to suppressing any strong immediate revolts.

What would happen to Kashmir (both the Muslims inhabitants and the land) if suppose India succeeds in taking over vs Pakistan? Furthermore, in your opinion, if you had to pick between India and Pakistan taking over Kashmir, which would be better for the country and people in the long-run?

What would happen to Kashmir (both the Muslims inhabitants and the land) if suppose India succeeds in taking over vs Pakistan?

I'm sorry, I'm not sure I follow. Currently Kashmir (IoK, the area under dispute) is a part of India.

Furthermore, in your opinion, if you had to pick between India and Pakistan taking over Kashmir, which would be better for the country and people in the long-run?

If I had to, I'd personally pick India, given that as time goes on the rights of humans are not violated. Because that's almost the status quo. God knows what Pakistan will do with the land, the resources and the people.

Edit: Put the "had to" in bold, because people might skip it.

What can people outside of the region do to help the people in Kashmir? Is there any reputable charity attempting to send generators and satellite dishes so people can continue to communicate, or food and medical aid? How bad are things currently in the region?

Not OP, but I'd say just encourage Kashmiri trade, and avoid advocating for war in Kashmir.

Kashmir has always had a ridiculous chunk of funding (excluding military) so far from Indian government, but unfortunately got eaten up mostly before it could reach the ground. (Hopefully now the central gov is directly involved that won't be the case), so money isn't the issue.

The communication blockade is not permanent, it's mostly done to avoid rumours spreading which have incited and catalyzed riots, which means it's taken pretty seriously by the government, so there's no getting around that. It should go away once Pakistan cools down

Thank you the first two paras would be by answer as well.

> The communication blockade is not permanent, it's mostly done to avoid rumours spreading which have incited and catalyzed riots

Although you gotta wonder what would cause more rumours to spread - the presence of communication media, or the absence of it. Won't you agree if I said that rumours will spread more if there's no provision to fact check them?

are you discriminated against in school? if so, in what ways?

what languages do you speak?

Before reaching college, a railway official said she'd put me behind bars just because I was a Kashmiri, and that she'd write some reason. Yep. She said that.

Editing this to say apart from this one case, I personally haven't encountered any further discrimination.

I speak Hindi, Urdu (little difference between two when it comes to speaking), English, Kashmiri.

How do you communicate(reddit) if all communication has been cut off?

I'm not in Kashmir currently, I left to go to college a month ago.

Have you ever thought of just leaving the region to live somewhere else in the world where you won't have to deal with this conflict? I'm not saying that's easy or possible, but is the situation severe enough that you would want to do that if you had the chance?

I have. But I also want my family to be safe, and with me. Going to someplace abroad would require a lot of money, and money is a concern for me.

So do you sell drugs or guns?

No trolling please.