Settler colonialism in occupied Kashmir: Iqra Saddique, ‘Shadows of Conflict: The Economic and Political Toll of Militarization in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir’, International Journal of Kashmir Studies, 6, 2, 2025 | settler colonial studies blog

Settler colonialism in occupied Kashmir: Iqra Saddique, ‘Shadows of Conflict: The Economic and Political Toll of Militarization in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir’, International Journal of Kashmir Studies, 6, 2, 2025

15Jul25

Abstract: This paper explores the multifaceted impacts of India’s militarization in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), particularly following the revocation of Article 370 in 2019. Framed within Patrick Wolfe’s “Logic of Elimination” and the framework of settler colonialism, the study examines the systematic erosion of indigenous rights, identity, and autonomy in the region. Militarization has generated profound economic disruptions, affecting key sectors such as agriculture, tourism, and trade due to armed conflict, prolonged curfews, and large-scale land dispossession. Politically, post-2019 administrative transformations have intensified militarization, altering electoral processes, imposing demographic shifts, and downgrading the region into a Union Territory. Beyond the deployment of military forces, India has armed segments of the local population, further entrenching a militarized governance structure. The Indian Supreme Court’s endorsement of the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and its mandate for local elections have reinforced these developments, resulting in the systematic dispossession of the local population’s political autonomy, cultural identity, and fundamental human rights.

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