The unilateral abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A indicates a deliberate attempt to alter the people and culture of Jammu and Kashmir. In the guise of developmental schemes, such as constructing cinema halls, there is an attempt to dilute the local identity of the region. The Kashmiris have rejected these overtures firmly, stating that self-determination, and not cinema halls, is what they desire.

In recent years, enforced cultural practices such as forcing Muslim students to recite bhajans indicate a concealed agenda of mixing cultures within a Hindutva ideology. Kashmiri leaders continue to sound the warning bell: their cultural heritage is quietly earsing.

In the region where almost 97% of the population is Muslim and has a Sufism-influenced past, Muslim students in Kulgam singing a Hindu song led to mass protests. Ex-Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti raised this issue, citing fears over imposing religious views on others. The Muttahida Majlis-i-Ulema, which speaks for 30 Kashmiri groups, described it as a strategized move to recruit youth into a Hindutva narrative, warning that it is dangerous for the Muslim identity of Kashmir.

In a valley where there are multiple languages and spiritual integration, this is not viewed as an innocent act but as an effort to change the sense of belonging.

Kashmiri leadership perceives recent abuses of religious freedoms as a tool for generating tension. Things got worse after prominent religious figures were detained under the Public Safety Act, which allows for preventive detention, in a broader crackdown on Muslim organizations. Pakistan condemned the detentions and said they are trying to erase Kashmiris' unique religious and cultural identity.

In a Muslim-majority society, with religious networks, waqf institutions, and sites like Srinagar's Eidgah that nourish the life of the community, the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) capture of the J&K Waqf Board is seen as a strategy to take over faith, space, and memory, leaving individuals more and more worried about losing their identity.

In a message from jail, All Parties Hurriat Conference (APHC) Vice Chair Shabbir Shah decried the actions of the BJP government against Muslim religious rights. He declared that this was part of a larger scheme to undermine Kashmir's cultural identity. Local leaders echoed his concern, citing efforts to take over Islamic shrines as an indication of dominance.

This culture shift pattern intensified following the 2020 language shift, which downgraded Urdu's significance by adding Hindi, Kashmiri, and Dogri. Attempts to shift the Nastaliq script to Devanagari also reflect a wish to make the culture uniform throughout the region. Kashmiri people perceive these shifts as deliberate and disturbing intrusions into their religion, language, and memories.

Critics are liking the dots of political maneuvers and the range of policy shifts since August 5, 2019, when Articles 370 and 35A were revoked, domicile requirements were altered, and land and administrative control were given to the center. Jammu and Kashmir were bifurcated into the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, integrating the erstwhile state into the Indian Union and altering governance in the region. Pakistan and Kashmiri leaders contend that the moves violate UN Security Council resolutions on Kashmir that assert that the status of the disputed region cannot be altered before a vote is held. Those in favor believe integration was overdue.

According to the September 2022 briefing by Amnesty International, 'We are being Punished by the Law,' in the three years since August 2019, repression in Jammu and Kashmir has intensified as the government exercises power to dominate society. Abuses documented include curbs on freedom of opinion and expression, personal liberty and security, movement, privacy, and access to justice.

These abuses occur unpunished, enabled by preventive arrests, internet shutdowns, raids on media and civil society, and investigations. On the ground, fear generates self-censorship, constrains movement, and contracts public space for journalists, lawyers, and activists. The result is a controlled public space under the shadow of surveillance and fear. The overall impact of all these actions has made matters worse, hardening resolve and increasing resentment in Kashmiri society.

A credible way forward requires immediate measures to de-escalate tension: the release of detainees, the restoration of civil rights, the protection of shrines and waqf property, and the protection of rights for language and education. Serious, organized talks with serious Kashmiri leaders facilitated by impartial observers and strong guarantees against altering the population are necessary steps to improve trust.

Independent monitoring of rights and strict accountability can restore trust, short of giving up the diverse identities that are a part of public life. A community's identity and trust based on language, land, and religion cannot be stripped away from it; they are transmitted from one generation to the next.

Abdul Mussawer Safi has pursued his bachelor’s in international relations from the National Defence University (NDU), Islamabad. He has explored traditional and non-traditional security dimensions of South Asia and has worked in think tanks such as the Institute of Policy Studies IPS), Islamabad.