India's communist party supporters protest over Kashmir clampdown in New Delhi
Many parts of Kashmir are still under curfew or facing restricted movement with a ban on gatherings.
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India’s communist political party supporters took to the streets of New Delhi on Wednesday (August 7) to demonstrate against the splitting of occupied Kashmir into two territories and the scrapping of its special status.
India on Tuesday (August 6) passed a bill to divide the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories with a clear majority, automatically stripping the state of its special status. Protesters called the move anti-constitutional and demanded all political prisoners to be released immediately.
Carrying banners and placards, demonstrators marched through the streets chanting slogans against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Interior Minister Amit Shah.
Many parts of Kashmir are still under curfew or facing restricted movement with a ban on gatherings.
Nearly 7 million people live in the Kashmir Valley; 97% of them Muslim, surrounded by hundreds of thousands of Indian troops and armed police deployed to quell an uprising against New Delhi’s rule. About 50,000 people have been killed in the conflict in the last three decades, according to official figures.
