JAMMU AND KASHMIR: SIX YEARS AFTER ANNEXATION, NORMALCY REMAINS ELUSIVE
Rohinee Singh / Sapan News
New Delhi: More than six years after the abrogation of Article 370 that led to the downgrading of Jammu and Kashmir from a full-fledged state to a Union Territory, the promise of peace, prosperity, and political normalcy remains largely unfulfilled, according to a report released in December 2025 by the Concerned Citizens Group, a voluntary, self financed civil society collective in India.
Based on a fact-finding visit to Jammu and Kashmir last October, the report sharply challenges official claims that the region has entered a new era of stability. Instead, it documents growing alienation from New Delhi, intrusive state control over religious life, pressure on the media, economic anxieties in both Kashmir and Jammu, and a worrying drift among the youth toward drug addiction and radicalisation.
The four-member delegation comprised former External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha, Executive Secretary of the Centre for Dialogue and Reconciliation Sushobha Barve, retired Air Vice Marshal Kapil Kak, and senior journalist Bharat Bhushan.
The Concerned Citizens Group, formed in October 2016, is not affiliated to the Government of India or any political party, and aims to be a bridge between the people of Jammu and Kashmir and Government of India.
Group members travelled to Jammu and Kashmir 20-31 October 2025 and met a wide cross-section of society, including political leaders, religious figures, journalists, traders, students, and civil society members across the Kashmir Valley and the Jammu region.
Curbs on religious freedom
One of the most disturbing aspects highlighted in the report relates to restrictions placed on religious practices, particularly those faced by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Hurriyat leader and the chief cleric of Kashmir.
The Mirwaiz told the CCG delegation that he faces constant surveillance and intimidation by security agencies.
According to the report, he is frequently asked to submit the written text of his Friday sermons in advance, often the night before, for official scrutiny. At times, despite receiving permission, he is suddenly prevented from going to Srinagar’s historic Jama Masjid for weeks at a stretch, without any explanation.
The report further records that before the Mirwaiz is allowed to supervise a nikah or marriage ceremony, the authorities conduct background checks on both the bride’s and groom’s families.
Only after this verification process is completed is he permitted to attend or officiate the ceremony. The police even seek copies of the nikahnamas, or marriage contracts, underscoring the extent of state intrusion into private and religious life.
The Mirwaiz also informed the delegation that he was not allowed to travel to New Delhi to depose before the Joint Parliamentary Committee examining the Waqf Bill, passed by the Government of India in April 2025, amidst protest from stakeholders.
“Such levels of control over a religious leader in a democratic country raise serious constitutional and ethical questions,” the report notes.
A region still in shock
The report notes that six years after the constitutional changes of August 2019, Jammu and Kashmir continues to remain “sullen and in shock.” Despite repeated assurances from the Union government that the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A would usher in development, peace, and democratic empowerment, the delegation found little evidence on the ground to support those claims.
Instead, conversations revealed a pervasive sense of loss, humiliation, and estrangement. The report states that many residents feel stripped not only of political rights but also of dignity, identity, and agency, with little faith left in official narratives of normalcy.
The delegation observed what it described as a “360-degree alienation” of the people of Jammu and Kashmir from the Centre. The continued delay in restoring statehood, even a year after elections, has fuelled widespread disillusionment.
The report lists multiple factors contributing to this alienation: the erosion of Kashmiri identity, repeated climate-related disasters, restrictions on civil society, pressure on intellectuals and journalists, new electricity metering policies, and an overall atmosphere of fear and mistrust.
Alienation, the group notes, intensified further after Operation Sindoor and last November’s attack on Delhi’s Red Fort. According to several interlocutors, these events hardened public sentiment and revived anxieties that had temporarily subsided in earlier years.
Importantly, the report stresses that discontent is not confined to the Kashmir Valley. In the Jammu region, caste-based reservations in education and government employment have created fresh social tensions, adding to a sense of economic and political marginalisation.
A generation at risk
Perhaps the most alarming warning in the report concerns the state’s youth. The delegation found that dissent has become increasingly risky, the press has been “pushed to the wall,” and spaces for democratic expression have steadily shrunk.
Young people, the report says, appear trapped between two dangerous trajectories: widespread drug addiction and creeping radicalisation. Several interlocutors warned the delegation that with the scale of resentment building beneath the surface, Jammu and Kashmir is “sitting on a time bomb.”
“The reality on the ground in Jammu and Kashmir is far from what is being projected by New Delhi,” Air Vice Marshal (Retd.) Kapil Kak told Sapan News in an exclusive interaction.
“We were warned repeatedly that something big and unprecedented could happen if this level of alienation continues.”
The report notes that Kashmiri students across India often face suspicion and intimidation after terror attacks, with the most recent instances following the Red Fort attack in November last year. The delegation was told that public sentiment, which had earlier shifted away from Pakistan, has hardened again since Operation Sindoor.
While militant activity remains at a relatively low level, the report points to a “slow burn” accompanied by growing ideological churn among the youth. “A process of radicalisation appears to be underway, possibly aided by forces across the Line of Control,” it says.
Concerned Citizens Group member Kapil Kak (second from right) presented excerpts of the report at a discussion on “Bridging Perspectives: A Dialogue for Reconciliation, Common Ground and Shared Peace in Jammu and Kashmir” organised by Centre for Peace and Progress, 20 December 2025 at the India International Centre, New Delhi. Photo courtesy: Centre for Peace and Progress.
Identity crisis and the statehood question
The demand for restoration of statehood has emerged as a central political and emotional issue. The report states that in nearly every conversation, people spoke of a deep sense of loss—of identity, sub-identity, dignity, and honour.
“Exasperation and estrangement emanating from the humiliating nullification of Article 370, Article 35A, and the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories still persist,” the report reads.
Srinagar Member of Parliament Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi echoed these sentiments. “The Kashmiri identity has been tampered with repeatedly, but today it has reached its ugliest point,” he told the delegation.
Ruhullah added that Kashmir would not negotiate on anything less than the restoration of Article 370.
The report describes press freedom as one of the gravest casualties of the post-2019 political order. It highlights the case of Kashmiri journalist Irfan Mehraj, who has spent over 1,000 days in jail under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Each time he applies for bail, his case is transferred to a different judge, prolonging his incarceration.
Journalists told the delegation that mistrust of the media runs so deep that reporters are asked to submit salary slips to the state government and the police. Many fear that vague allegations of being part of an “over-ground worker” or “terror ecosystem” could be used against them at any time.
“The Lieutenant Governor repeatedly speaks of dismantling the terror ecosystem, and journalists fear that anyone could be labelled part of it and prosecuted,” the report notes.
Economic anxiety in Kashmir and Jammu
Economic uncertainty cuts across regional lines. Apple growers in Kashmir and traders and transporters in Jammu have been hit hard by damaged stretches of the Jammu-Srinagar highway following heavy rainfall this season. The disruptions have caused losses to orchards, transporters, and supply chains alike.
Further anxiety has been triggered by the Centre’s decision to run goods trains directly from Delhi and Punjab. Traders in Jammu fear that bypassing traditional transport routes will cripple the local transport economy, affecting truck owners, loaders, and market workers.
A member of the Jammu Chamber of Commerce told the delegation that traders were not consulted before implementing decisions that directly impact livelihoods. “Entire sections of the transport sector in Jammu Mandi will face job and income losses,” he warned.
The report concludes by highlighting the extent to which civic space has shrunk. When the Group attempted to meet apple traders during its visit, the traders were allegedly instructed not to speak with them. On previous visits, the group says, its members were confined to hotels or prevented from leaving airport lounges.
“This time, we believed an elected government meant democratic restoration,” Kapil Kak said. “Instead, people we were meant to meet were told not to meet us.”
Six years after the abrogation of Article 370, the report concludes, Jammu and Kashmir remains locked in uncertainty, with enforced silence masking unresolved grievances.
The delegation warns that without meaningful political engagement, restoration of statehood and respect for civil liberties, the gap between official claims and ground reality will continue to widen, with potentially grave consequences.
Rohinee Singh is an independent journalist and author based in New Delhi, with more than 18 years of experience across national and international media. She writes on politics, governance, and issues of regional and global relevance for leading domestic and international outlets, in both English and Urdu. She is also engaged in India-Pakistan Track II peace initiatives and reconciliation efforts.
This is a Sapan News syndicated feature available for republication with due credit to www.sapannews.com
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