Hundreds protest in Delhi demanding statehood for Indian Kashmir

Protesters press New Delhi to restore the region's statehood seven years after its special status was revoked

A deserted view of the main market area in south Kashmir's scenic Pahalgam following a suspected militant attack, Apr 23, 2025. REUTERS

Hundreds of people led by the chief minister of Indian Kashmir shouted slogans and staged a protest in the capital Delhi on Monday, demanding statehood for the region, seven years after it was turned into a federal territory.

• Protesters were stopped by police from staging their demonstration, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said in a post on X, which had videos and pictures of people holding posters and shouting slogans.

• "This is only the beginning of our struggle for statehood, our rights, our dignity and everything that was taken away from us," Abdullah said in the post.

• In August 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi revoked Jammu and Kashmir state's partial autonomy, removed its statehood and divided it into two federally-controlled territories: Muslim-majority Kashmir with Hindu-dominated Jammu; and a Buddhist territory of Ladakh.

• The government has since said statehood to the Himalayan region will be restored at the "appropriate time" but has not given a deadline.

• Abdullah and his party, the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, have said statehood should be restored at the earliest, in keeping with the government's promise.

• Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party leaders say the protest is an attempt to divert attention from what they call are governance failures of Abdullah's government.

• India and Pakistan both claim Muslim-majority Kashmir in full, but rule it in part. India has long accused Pakistan of aiding separatists who have battled security forces in Indian Kashmir, accusations Islamabad denies.