NEW DELHI: As Jammu and Kashmir observes the sixth anniversary of the abrogation of its special status and bifurcation into two Union Territories on Tuesday, a scathing new report has accused the Centre of deepening alienation and violating rights.
The report released by a collective of prominent jurists, civil servants, military veterans, and academics has described the post-2019 governance as a “constitutional and moral failure” that has entrenched disenfranchisement, institutional collapse, and human rights violations.
Titled “Statehood for Human Rights,” the annual report by the Forum for Human Rights in Jammu and Kashmir was released, a day before August 5—marking exactly six years since the Indian Parliament revoked Articles 370 and 35A and dissolved the state of Jammu and Kashmir through the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.
This is the Forum’s sixth annual report, and perhaps its most severe indictment yet of New Delhi’s post-2019 strategy.
“The time for restoration of statehood is now. The promise of peace, dignity, and development has given way to fear, alienation, and repression,” says the report.
The Forum’s co-chairs are Gopal Pillai, former Union Home Secretary, and Radha Kumar, who served on the 2010 Centre-appointed Group of Interlocutors on J&K. Members include an array of former Supreme Court judges like Justice Madan Lokur, Justice Ruma Pal, and Justice A.P. Shah, as well as retired military officers including Lt. Gen. H.S. Panag, AVM Kapil Kak, Col. Yoginder Kandhari, and Maj. Gen. Ashok Mehta. Civil society is represented by Enakshi Ganguly of HAQ, historian Ramachandra Guha, and ex-NHRC Secretary-General Probir Sen.
Significantly, Justice Hasnain Masoodi, a retired J&K High Court judge and former NC MP, is also a signatory and currently chairs the National Conference’s internal Human Rights Committee.
The report begins by acknowledging the legislative assembly elections of Sept–Oct 2024, held a full decade after the last assembly was dissolved. The National Conference returned to power with a majority, and voter turnout was remarkably high—an indication, the report notes, of the people's yearning for political agency.
But the hope that elections would herald democratic restoration quickly evaporated.
“Instead of real devolution, the newly elected government found itself reduced to a token authority,” the Forum writes.
Just weeks before the elections, the Union Home Ministry issued new Transaction of Business Rules (July 12, 2024) that retained most governance powers—including appointments, security, and law enforcement—under the Lieutenant-Governor. The report warns that this dual control has made the Chief Minister irrelevant in critical matters.
The Omar Abdullah-led cabinet’s proposal to create mechanisms to resolve disputes between the elected government and the L-G’s office was returned with queries on its “legality” under the Reorganisation Act.
“This arrangement has subverted the very idea of representative government,” it says.
Pahalgam Massacre and Security Collapse
A major section is devoted to the April 22, 2025, terrorist attack in Pahalgam, where gunmen emerged from forests near the Baisaran meadow and asked tourists to recite the kalma. Twenty-five people, mostly Hindu tourists, were killed in front of their families. A local Kashmiri pony guide was shot dead while trying to intervene.
The Forum calls it the worst terror attack since Pulwama 2019, and a “preventable disaster.”
CRPF presence in the area had been withdrawn in January 2025 despite prior intelligence warnings. Neither advisories were issued nor basic precautions taken. It took over an hour for security forces to respond.
“This is a glaring intelligence failure. The Union Home Ministry and L-G administration must be held accountable,” the report states.
The most damning revelations are about the aftermath. In haste, J&K police claimed that two of the attackers were Kashmiris, based on “flimsy sketches and unrelated photos.” This narrative was amplified by national media.
The NIA’s June 2025 findings debunked this claim, identifying all attackers as Pakistanis linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba. But by then, irreversible damage was done.
Over 2,800 Kashmiris were detained or summoned.
100+ individuals were charged under UAPA or PSA.
Six homes of alleged militants were blown up with explosives.
Dozens of journalists, including female reporters, were harassed for “unverified tweets.”
The Forum calls this a campaign of “collective punishment.”
“Kashmiris in Delhi, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, and Punjab faced mob violence, forced evictions, and humiliations. And yet, not a single Union Minister condemned it,” the report says.
Even Lt. Vinay Narwal’s widow, who appealed against communal hate, was viciously trolled. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, a Kashmiri Pandit, and Colonel Sofiya Qureshi were attacked online for supporting a ceasefire. Only the Madhya Pradesh High Court took cognisance and ordered a case against the tribal affairs minister, Vijay Shah, later nullified by the Supreme Court.
Two weeks after Pahalgam, India launched ‘Operation Sindoor’, striking Lashkar and Jaish camps across the Line of Control and in Pakistani Punjab. Pakistan responded with drone and missile attacks.
The four-day escalation saw:
21 civilians killed in J&K, including 5 children.
5 Indian troops martyred.
59 injured and widespread destruction in border towns like Rajouri, Uri, and Poonch.
The Forum warns of “new dimensions” in Indo-Pak conflict with active tactical support from Chinese strategic advisers during Pakistani retaliation.
“For the first time, the possibility of a two-front military alignment—China and Pakistan—has become real.”
Institutional Collapse: No Redress for the People
The report notes with alarm that J&K still has no Human Rights Commission, Women’s Commission, or Information Commission—bodies that were abolished post-2019.
Even ten months after the elections, the administration has not reconstituted them, despite legal provisions. The NC’s party-level rights committee has no legal authority to summon officials or redress violations.
“This institutional vacuum has left victims with nowhere to go. Even their elected MLAs are helpless,” said Radha Kumar, Forum co-chair.
The report also documents renewed insurgency in Pir Panjal and Chenab regions, where militants carried out over a dozen attacks in 2024–25, killing soldiers, CRPF men, migrant workers, and even Village Defence Guards.
Attacks in Udhampur, Kishtwar, Doda, Kathua and the use of forest terrain suggest revival of older militant routes and hideouts.
Forum's Demands: Roll Back the 2019 Act
The Forum calls for:
Full restoration of statehood, not in “stages.”
A parliamentary dialogue on special status (e.g., Article 371 framework).
Repeal or overhaul of the 2019 Reorganisation Act.
Inclusion of Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule.
Reconstitution of all oversight commissions.
End to “draconian laws” and UAPA/PSA misuse.
The report also notes that the Supreme Court avoided ruling on the constitutionality of demoting a state to UT status but urged early restoration. Justice Sanjiv Khanna, in a separate note, termed the demotion unconstitutional.
“If peace is the goal, humiliation cannot be the path,” said Justice Madan Lokur, warning that “continued suppression of elected institutions undermines India's federal character.”
“This is not just about Kashmir. This is about India’s soul,” added Lt. Gen. Panag.
(Full report can be accessed below)
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