Disempowered but not discouraged, Kashmiris vote in record numbers
| Srinagar, Pulwama, and Handwara, India
Kashaf ul Khair returned to her native village in Pulwama district of India鈥檚 Kashmir region May 13 to cast her vote in India鈥檚 national elections 鈥� a first, for the young doctor.听
鈥淲e need voices that can speak for our rights, for our identity,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 believe even one vote makes a difference.鈥�
Jammu and Kashmir 鈥� a disputed, majority-Muslim territory that鈥檚 long grappled with anti-India protests and armed militancy 鈥� is represented by five members in India鈥檚 543-seat parliament. In 2019, voters elected three members from regional parties and two from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). But just a few months later, India鈥檚 central government unilaterally revoked the region鈥檚 autonomy and downgraded its status from a state to a federal territory, governed directly by Delhi.
Why We Wrote This
A story focused onIn the first election since Delhi revoked their regional autonomy, Kashmiris are hoping to reclaim some sense of agency.
The move, which was followed by a months-long communications blackout, marked a new era in Kashmir, one with less violence but also fewer rights. Critics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi have been imprisoned on terror charges, and independent media outlets shut down.
Now, Kashmiris are fighting back with their ballots. Voter turnout has reached the highest in decades, with 39% in Central Kashmir and 60% in North Kashmir. This weekend,听54.3% of voters hit the polls in South Kashmir taking the overall voter turnout across all five parliamentary constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir to 58%.
As in 2019, the BJP has no candidates running in the Kashmir valley, only in Jammu constituencies. Yet even candidates from local and regional parties have had to fend off accusations of BJP alliances, which could prove a political death knell in these elections.听
鈥淧eople are feeling disempowered because the administration is run by bureaucracy mostly drawn from New Delhi,鈥� says political analyst Noor Ahmad Baba. 鈥淣o state in India鈥檚 federal system would want to be completely deprived of democratic process.鈥�
Kashmir鈥檚 transformation
For the past five years, Jammu and Kashmir has been run by a Delhi-appointed lieutenant governor and a battery of bureaucrats. The Supreme Court of India has upheld the government鈥檚 decision to revoke Article 370, which granted the region its special autonomy, but has also demanded that the government hold local assembly elections by September 2024. The delay of those elections means that India鈥檚 weeks-long general election 鈥撎齱hich ends June 4 and will determine whether Mr. Modi gets a third term in power 鈥� is Kashmiris鈥� first opportunity to exercise their democratic rights since 2019.
The BJP attributed the record turnout to the Modi government鈥檚 efforts to integrate disgruntled populations within India. Mr. Modi鈥檚 close aide and home minister Amit Shah said that it鈥檚 obvious that the 鈥淢odi government鈥檚 endeavors to ensure peace and development in Kashmir have strengthened people鈥檚 trust in democracy.鈥澨�
It鈥檚 true, locals say, that Delhi has been pouring money into regional infrastructure and there appears to be less support nowadays for armed resistance. Aman Manzoor Bhat, who hails from what was once a hub of political demonstrations in Srinagar鈥檚 downtown area, says Kashmir has changed massively since 2019.听
鈥淓verything is different,鈥� he says. 鈥淎rticle [370] was revoked, nobody protests or throws stones anymore. 鈥� So it is better to vote and move on with life.鈥�
But Mr. Baba says the BJP鈥檚 claim of success is premature, noting that BJP candidates are facing much tougher contests in Jammu and the neighboring Ladakh region than they did in 2019. 鈥淏ut we will have to wait how regional parties who are against the BJP will perform 鈥� either it will be approval of BJP鈥檚 policies or opposite,鈥� he says.
Frustration with the BJP is a major driver in the race for Central Kashmir鈥檚 parliament seat, where Agha Ruhullah Mehdi from the National Conference was locked in a close contest with Waheed ur Rehman Para from the People鈥檚 Democratic Party.
鈥淲e could feel that the people wanted to vote against the abrogation of Article 370 and the BJP,鈥� says Mr. Mehdi, who has been a strong opponent of the BJP鈥檚 policies in Kashmir. 鈥淥ur campaign was 鈥� requesting people use this opportunity to speak, and speak democratically, against those decisions.鈥�
Voting as an act of protest
In north Kashmir, where 1.8 million people were eligible to vote on May 20, one prominent candidate was missing from the campaign trail.
Heading a small political party, Abdul Rashid Sheikh has been in prison for the last five years on terror funding charges. In his absence, his two sons have been campaigning with the slogan 鈥淛ail ka badla, Vote se,鈥� which translates roughly into 鈥淩evenge for prison by voting.鈥� Their work has turned this race into a close contest between Mr. Rashid, former chief minister Omar Abdullah of the National Conference, and former minister Sajad Ghani Lone of the People鈥檚 Conference.听
In a polling station in Handwara, 44 miles from Srinagar, first-time voter Aamir Abdullah, an environmental science masters student, says voting for Mr. Rashid is a way of protesting the government鈥檚 use of security laws to stymie dissent. 鈥淧eople are not voting because Kashmir has changed [for the better] in the last few years, as claimed by the BJP,鈥� he says. 鈥淧eople are angry against the BJP鈥檚 policies and that is shown through votes in this election.鈥澨�
Many Rasheed supporters are young, and have only become eligible to vote in this election. That includes 19-year-old Abiro Tanveer, from Rasheed鈥檚 hometown in the Langate area of Handwara.
鈥淢y family has never supported any candidate,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut today [my vote] is for humanity. Since [Rashid鈥檚] campaign has started, we support him. He is in jail for people of Kashmir. Everyone deserves it to be free, and we have faith he will represent us once he wins.鈥澨�
Regardless of who they back, voters seem eager for change. On the day of elections, long queues were seen outside polling stations across Kashmir, even in the areas that had previously heeded anti-India parties鈥� calls for election boycotts.
Among the throngs was shopkeeper and first-time voter Suhail Ahmad Ahanger.
鈥淒evelopment and dignity will come with our vote,鈥� he says.听
