Centre accused of deepening alienation, undermining democracy, and enabling serious human rights violations
NEW DELHI — As Jammu and Kashmir marks six years since the abrogation of Article 370 and its downgrading into two Union Territories, a blistering new report has accused the Union government of deepening alienation, undermining democracy, and enabling serious human rights violations.
Titled “Statehood for Human Rights,” the annual report by the Forum for Human Rights in Jammu and Kashmir—comprising prominent jurists, ex-civil servants, military veterans, and scholars—was released on August 4, a day ahead of the anniversary. It paints a grim picture of post-2019 governance, calling it a “constitutional and moral failure” that has entrenched disenfranchisement, institutional decay, and state excesses.
This sixth edition of the forum’s annual report spread over 52 pages is its most critical yet, bluntly asserting that the promise of peace, dignity, and development has instead yielded “fear, alienation, and repression.”
“The time for restoration of statehood is now,” the report declares.
High-profile Signatories
The Forum is co-chaired by Gopal Pillai, former Union Home Secretary, and Radha Kumar, an ex-member of the Government-appointed 2010 Interlocutor Group for J&K. Other signatories include former Supreme Court judges Madan Lokur, Ruma Pal, and AP Shah; military veterans Lt Gen HS Panag, AVM Kapil Kak, Col Yoginder Kandhari, and Maj Gen Ashok Mehta; and civil society figures like Enakshi Ganguly, Ramachandra Guha, and Probir Sen.
Notably, Justice Hasnain Masoodi, retired J&K High Court judge and former NC MP, is a signatory. He currently chairs the National Conference’s Human Rights Committee.
Elections Didn’t Deliver Democracy
The report acknowledges the long-delayed assembly elections held in September–October 2024, nearly a decade after the last legislative assembly was dissolved. The National Conference returned to power with a clear majority amid unexpectedly high voter turnout—indicating, the forum notes, “a strong public yearning for democratic agency.”
But that hope, it argues, was quickly dashed.
Instead of real autonomy, the elected government was rendered toothless. The Union Home Ministry’s new Transaction of Business Rules, issued just weeks before the polls (July 12, 2024), vested core powers — appointments, law enforcement, and security — firmly with the Lieutenant Governor.
A proposal by the Omar Abdullah-led Cabinet to create a mechanism for resolving conflicts between the elected government and the L-G was sent back with questions about its legality under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.
“This arrangement has subverted the very idea of representative government,” the report states bluntly.
Pahalgam Massacre
A large section of the report focuses on the April 22, 2025 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, where militants emerged from forested areas near Baisaran meadow and killed 25 people. A local Kashmiri pony guide was shot dead trying to intervene.
Calling it the worst attack since Pulwama in 2019, the forum argues the tragedy was a “preventable disaster.” Intelligence had warned of infiltration, yet the CRPF was withdrawn from the region in January 2025. No public advisories were issued, and security response took over an hour.
The aftermath was even more alarming.
The J&K Police rushed to declare two of the attackers as local Kashmiris, based on sketchy evidence. National media amplified the claim. But a June investigation by the NIA later debunked this narrative — establishing that all attackers were Pakistani nationals linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba.
In the interim, the damage was severe and wide-reaching:
• Over 2,800 Kashmiris were detained or summoned.
• More than 100 people were charged under UAPA or PSA.
• Six alleged militant homes were blown up using explosives, and
• Journalists, including several women, were harassed for “unverified tweets.”
The forum calls it a campaign of collective punishment, noting that Kashmiri students and workers in Delhi, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, and Punjab were subjected to mob violence, evictions, and humiliation. No Union minister condemned the targeting.
Even the widow of Lt. Vinay Narwal — who appealed against communal hate — was hounded online. Kashmiri Pandit diplomat Vikram Misri and Col. Sofiya Qureshi were trolled for advocating ceasefire. The Madhya Pradesh High Court ordered a case against Tribal Affairs Minister Vijay Shah, but the Supreme Court later nullified the order.
Operation Sindoor and Cross-Border Escalation
In response to the Pahalgam attack, India launched Operation Sindoor, targeting alleged Lashkar and Jaish-e-Mohammed camps across the Line of Control and into Pakistani Punjab. Pakistan retaliated with drone and missile strikes over four days.
The consequences were deadly:
• Twenty-one civilians killed in J&K, including 5 children.
• Five Indian soldiers martyred and 59 injured, with major destruction in Rajouri, Uri, and Poonch.
The forum warns that Pakistani retaliation this time included strategic coordination with Chinese advisers, raising the spectre of a two-front conflict with China and Pakistan in alignment — “a dangerous new dimension.”
Institutional Collapse and Rights Vacuum
The report highlights the complete collapse of accountability institutions in J&K: The Human Rights Commission, Women’s Commission, and Information Commission — abolished post-2019 — remain unreconstituted.
Even ten months after elections, the government has not re-established these bodies.
The NC’s internal rights committee lacks legal power to redress grievances.
“There is no institutional redress for victims. Even MLAs are powerless,” said forum co-chair Radha Kumar.
Insurgency Rekindled
The year 2024–25 saw a spike in militancy in Udhampur, Kishtwar, Doda, and Kathua. Over a dozen attacks killed soldiers, CRPF jawans, migrant workers, and even Village Defence Guards. The use of forested terrain signals a revival of older insurgent routes, the forum cautions.
Demand to Dismantle the Post-2019 Order
The forum calls for urgent and sweeping measures:
• Full restoration of statehood—not in phases.
• A parliamentary dialogue on special status, akin to protections under Article 371.
• Repeal or overhaul of the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019.
• Inclusion of Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
• Immediate reconstitution of oversight commissions, and
• End to draconian laws and misuse of UAPA and PSA.
The report also notes that while the Supreme Court avoided ruling on whether a state can be constitutionally downgraded to a UT, Justice Sanjiv Khanna in his separate note called the demotion unconstitutional.
“If peace is the goal, humiliation cannot be the path,” said Justice Madan Lokur. “Continued suppression of elected institutions undermines India’s federal character,” he warned.
“This is not just about Kashmir,” added Lt Gen HS Panag. “It’s about the soul of India.”
