© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Political Unrest Flares In India-Controlled Kashmir

STEVE INSKEEP, host:

Kashmir, the Himalayan territory in India, a constant subject of dispute, is in turmoil again. Troops are on the streets of the main city Srinagar, enforcing a curfew. Shops, schools, and businesses are shut, and there's also a general strike. Here's NPR's Philip Reeves.

PHILIP REEVES: The wooden houseboats that float motionless on the glassy waters of Dal Lake should be full of tourists. Srinagar, the tumbledown city around the lake shores, should be a hive of activity amid the vast silence of the surrounding Himalayas. That's how it was in the Kashmir Valley a couple of decades ago. A few months ago, it seemed to be going back to that. Not anymore.

Over the last few weeks, Kashmir has seen some of the biggest demonstrations in years. Vast crowds of Muslims who form the majority in the valley have taken to the streets to demand an end to Indian rule. The security forces have shot dead several dozen, including five in the last two days. The dispute over Kashmir lies at the core of more than 60 years of acrimony between India and Pakistan. Each controls part of it.

Now, after four years of trying to make peace, trouble in Kashmir is spoiling relations once again. So what's gone wrong? The story begins in a mountain cave to the south. The cave's worshipped by Hindus as a shine to Lord Shiva. Every year, vast numbers of pilgrims trek up the mountainside to worship there. The shrine's run by a Hindu trust.

Not long ago the state government promised to give that trust some forest land near the cave. Leaders of Kashmir's Muslims were furious. They saw this as an attempted to alter the demographic balance in favor of Hindus. The government changed its mind and took the land back. Then the Hindus were furious.

In Jammu, in the south of the state where Hindus form the majority, crowds attacked trucks on the highway to the Kashmir Valley. The Muslims in the valley saw this as an economic blockade. This relatively obscure dispute has turned into something much bigger. Kashmir's separatist movement has received a huge boost, and a new generation of young Kashmir Muslims has been mobilized.

Philip Reeves, NPR News, New Delhi. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Philip Reeves is an award-winning international correspondent covering South America. Previously, he served as NPR's correspondent covering Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India.

Fund the Facts

You just read trusted, local journalism that’s free for everyone, thanks to donors like you.

If that matters to you, now is the time to give. Join the 50,000+ members powering honest reporting and a more connected — and civil! — Connecticut.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Fund the Facts

You just read trusted, local journalism that’s free for everyone, thanks to donors like you.

If that matters to you, now is the time to give. Join the 50,000+ members powering honest reporting and a more connected — and civil! — Connecticut.

Related Content