THE Indian state continues to use draconian measures to throttle political activity in held Kashmir. The latest example of these tactics came recently, as New Delhi clamped bans on several Kashmiri political outfits, while extending restrictions on Yasin Malik’s faction of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front.

According to the Indian home ministry, the Kashmir Peoples Freedom League, as well as four factions of the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples League, has been banned. Mr Malik’s faction of the JKLF had already been proscribed in 2019; the latest move only extends the ban. Mr Malik has been given a life sentence on a dubious terror charge, while prosecutors are pushing for the death penalty for the veteran Kashmiri leader. The reasons given for the latest clampdown on Kashmiri parties are familiar.

According to a tweet by the Indian home minister, the JKLF continues to “foment terror and secessionism”. Similar charges have been levelled against the other proscribed parties. According to Pakistan’s Foreign Office, 14 political parties in held Kashmir have been outlawed by India. Meanwhile, even those Kashmiri politicians close to New Delhi, such as Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah, have received the rough end of the stick, with Indian authorities often putting them under house arrest.

If India’s aim is to crush the Kashmiri freedom struggle by neutralising all those political forces which raise a voice for the disputed territory’s rights, these moves are likely to backfire. In fact, when mainstream parties are banned, many of those unhappy with India’s brutal rule over the region will gravitate towards armed groups. The only way to justly solve the Kashmir question is through a sustained political process involving the region’s genuine popular representatives.

For now at least, India, under BJP rule, has slammed the door shut on this option. It remains to be seen what the contours of the new Indian government’s Kashmir policy will be after the general elections.

Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2024