After Bombing, India 'Intensifies Crackdown' on Its Own Citizens
ABC News reports India is 'intensifying' its 'crackdown' in disputed Kashmir following a New Delhi bombing. (Convenient timing, that.) The article fails to mention that Kashmir has been under various forms of military lockdown and suppression for decades, with human rights organizations documenting widespread abuses including arbitrary detentions, internet shutdowns, and extrajudicial killings
since the 1990s. When India revoked Article 370 in 2019, removing Kashmir’s special autonomous status, a communication blackout and massive troop deployment essentially transformed the region into the world's largest open-air prison. So, a 'crackdown' after a bombing? For Kashmiris, it's just another Tuesday. The only thing 'intensified' here is the media's ability to normalize state violence by
presenting it as a proportional response to a recent event, rather than the continuation of a brutal, protracted occupation. One might wonder if the 'disputed' part of 'disputed Kashmir' ever actually applies to the rights of its inhabitants.