Kashmir, world’s most militarized zone in the world, re-militarized as India deploys more troops

On January 4th, the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs announced that it is going to deploy 10 military companies in the occupied territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The 10 military companies are being moved in from Delhi into the valley^[5]. In 2019, India moved almost 50,000 military and paramilitary personnel to the region, an addition to the 700,000 already stationed there. Since 2019, the militarization has increased in a gradual manner. Kashmir continues to be the most densely militarized zone on earth.

The Indian army has seized over 54,000 acres of land in the occupied region, and after the abrogation of Kashmir’s nominal autonomy in 2019, the Indian state has also put an end to a requirement instituted in 1971 under which Indian occupying forces had to get a special certificate in order to take hold of a land in Kashmir. The Indian state has also made changes in several acts and laws to permit the construction of permanent structures on Indian armed forces encampments for troops and their families, as well as on areas marked as “desired” or “strategic” by the Indian military.

[5] https://thekashmirwalla.com/rajouri-attack-mha-to-deploy-18-crpf-companies-in-j-k-amid-militant-threats/