KASHMIRIS fear the region will be turned into a “new state of Palestine” with Indian troops acting as an occupying force after its special status was revoked earlier this month.

The All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) official Maimoona Mollah told a press conference today that — contrary to reports in India’s mainstream press — people in the region were not happy with developments there.

She was speaking after spending four days in Kashmir as part of a women’s delegation.

“The whole place was desolate, quiet, silent, scared … humiliated,” she said, and called on those in India to stand in solidarity with the people of Kashmir.

“We have to stand up and be counted. It is now or never.”

Around 1,300 people have been detained — including at least 350 politicians — as the Indian government has implemented a brutal crackdown in a bid to prevent a popular uprising.

Communication has been cut off as internet and mobile phone networks have been blocked. The Indian government insists that armed forces are needed on the streets to maintain order and prevent “insurgency.”

But Ms Mollah said the authorities were targeting ordinary people in an attempt to divide the region’s population.

“They are not looking for terrorists alone if indeed they are looking for terrorists at all,” she said. “They are after each and every Kashmiri.”

The region has been divided between India and Pakistan for decades with both countries staking a claim. Hindus and Muslims have continued to live side by side in relative peace during that time.

“We did not find any signs of communal polarisation on the ground level but they are pushing people into that,” Ms Mollah said.

Political leaders and Kashmiris see the decision to revoke its special status as a move to change the demographics of the Muslim-majority region. They warn that the region is in danger of becoming “a new Palestine.”

Ms Mollah warned of the role of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the right-wing Hindu paramilitary group linked to India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

“India’s RSS is a great admirer of Hitler, of course, and now of Israel,” she said.

“India’s RSS and its political wing [the BJP] are trying to follow in the footsteps of Israel. 

“We hope they will not make Kashmir into another state of Palestine. Let us all fight and ensure that does not happen.”

“[Kashmiris] are angry. But they told us everywhere we went: Kashmir will not be occupied.”