Article 370 and the Kashmir lockdown, August 2019 onward: protests, detentions and the fight over statehood

On 5 August 2019 the Union government revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 and split the state into two Union Territories, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. A lockdown, communication blackout and thousands of preventive arrests followed in the Kashmir Valley. The Supreme Court upheld the abrogation in December 2023; restoration of statehood, promised "at the earliest", was still being demanded in September 2026.

What changed on 5 August 2019

Article 370 gave Jammu and Kashmir its own constitution and its own flag, flown beside the national flag. Restrictions in the Valley took effect on 5 August 2019, before Home Minister Amit Shah announced the revocation in Parliament Gulf News. The state was reorganised into two Union Territories, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, which would have no legislature of its own The Wire.

On 4 August, the day before, six mainstream parties met at Farooq Abdullah's residence on Gupkar Road in Srinagar and signed what became known as the Gupkar Declaration. The signatories resolved to "protect and defend the identity, autonomy, and special status of J&K against all attacks" Business Standard.

The government's case

Government's position In a televised address on 8 August 2019, Prime Minister Modi said the change ended "a system which was huge hurdle" in the region's development. He said Article 370 and 35A "has given nothing but secessionism, terrorism, nepotism and widespread corruption on a large scale", that Pakistan used both articles "as a weapon", and that "more than 42,000 people lost their lives in the last three decades" PM's address, official text.

A new age has begun in Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh. Now the rights and accountabilities of all the citizens of the country are similar.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, address to the nation, 8 August 2019

He promised Assembly elections "in a fully honest and transparent atmosphere", and said Jammu and Kashmir would not stay a Union Territory for long, though Ladakh would PM's address.

The government defended the restrictions as preventive. Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy told Parliament that preventive detention was a step to ensure security and public order in view of the constitutional changes Scroll. He said separatist groups and Hurriyat activists were behind stone-pelting, and that pump-action guns were used with abundant caution and only where civilian lives were under threat Scroll.

The government later cited falling violence. In February 2021 Reddy told the Rajya Sabha there were 327 stone-pelting incidents in 2020 against 2,009 in 2019, and 244 cases of militant violence against 594 Kashmir Despatch. The 2019 total includes months before the abrogation.

The lockdown and communication blackout

From 5 August mobile phones, landlines and internet were cut in the Valley Al Jazeera. Fifty days in, schools, colleges and hotels were shut. The government said hospitals were working, supplies were stocked and landlines were back in many areas Gulf News.

Postpaid mobiles returned on 14 October 2019, after 72 days, but SMS was stopped again that evening. Officials said over 25 lakh prepaid phones remained off SabrangIndia, citing Times of India. On 25 January 2020 the administration restored 2G mobile data, but only to about 300 "whitelisted" sites, with social media and VPNs banned. Al Jazeera called it the end of "the longest such outage in any democracy" Al Jazeera.

High-speed data returned in two districts, Ganderbal and Udhampur, on a trial basis on 16 August 2020. On 9 September 2020 the Centre refused to extend it, citing inputs about "terror modules". 4G was restored across the UT in February 2021, 18 months after the cut Deccan Herald.

Business suffered. After 84 days, with main markets still shut, the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry said losses had crossed Rs 10,000 crore and blamed the internet suspension most PTI via Madhyamam.

Protests, Soura and the shutdown

On Friday 9 August 2019, Reuters reported that police used tear gas and pellets on at least 10,000 protesters in Srinagar's Soura area, citing a police official and two witnesses. The officer said 12 people were in hospital with pellet injuries Scroll.

False On 10 August the Home Ministry spokesperson called the Reuters report "completely fabricated & incorrect" and said there had been only "a few stray protests" with none "of more than 20 ppl" Scroll. BOOM and Alt News geolocated the BBC and Al Jazeera videos to Soura FactChecker. On 13 August the ministry acknowledged the Soura incident, saying "miscreants" mixed with people returning from prayers and "resorted to unprovoked stone pelting", that forces "showed restraint", and that "no bullets have been fired" BOOM.

Claim · Government supporters Government supporters pointed to clips from the same footage showing Pakistan and Jaish-e-Mohammed flags. The footage also showed a large crowd marching peacefully with a banner reading "Abrogation of Article 370 is not acceptable" BOOM.

On 1 September Amit Shah said "not a single bullet or tear gas has been fired". FactChecker rated this false: Governor Satya Pal Malik had acknowledged pellet use on 28 August, saying "barring one case, all pellet injuries were below the waist" FactChecker. Reuters counted at least 152 people treated for tear gas and pellet injuries at two Srinagar hospitals by 21 August; The Indian Express cited an internal police report of about 280 law and order incidents across 10 districts by 27 August FactChecker.

Claim · Family Al Jazeera reported that Asrar Khan, 16, allegedly hit by pellets and tear gas on 6 August, died on 3 September 2019 FactChecker. The government said a boy who died had a "stone injury"; his father showed X-rays of pellets The Wire.

In mid-October police detained women protesting at Pratap Park near Lal Chowk, including Farooq Abdullah's sister Suraiya and daughter Safia. "This is a marriage by compulsion which won't work," Suraiya Abdullah said SabrangIndia.

Detentions: what the government told Parliament

By late September 2019 Gulf News, citing Reuters, reported nearly 4,000 arrests since 5 August, among them three former chief ministers Gulf News. Government figures in written replies to Parliament:

• 19 Nov 2019, Lok Sabha: 765 people arrested in 190 stone-pelting cases between 5 August and 15 November Scroll.
• 20 Nov 2019, Rajya Sabha: 5,161 preventive arrests in the Valley since 4 August, "including stone pelters, miscreants, OGWs (over ground workers), separatists and political workers". 609 were still detained, about 218 of them stone-pelters Deccan Herald.
• 11 Mar 2020, Rajya Sabha: 7,357 people taken into preventive custody since August 2019; 451 still detained, 396 of them under the J&K Public Safety Act PTI via Deccan Herald Kashmir Life.
• Feb 2021, Rajya Sabha: 613 people "including separatists, over ground workers and stone pelters" detained since 1 August 2019; 430 released, 183 still held, none under house arrest Scroll.

Claim · J&K High Court Bar Association In June 2020 the Bar Association told the Chief Justice of India that nearly 13,000 people from the Valley were arrested under Sections 107 and 151 of the CrPC after 5 August, and that 99% of habeas corpus petitions filed in the High Court were still pending The Leaflet.

Former chief ministers and the PSA

Farooq Abdullah was held from 5 August and booked under the PSA on 15 September 2019, the first former chief minister to be so booked PTI via Gulf News. Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti were booked under the PSA in early February 2020, hours before their six-month preventive detention was due to end PTI via Onmanorama Al Jazeera.

• Farooq Abdullah: released on 13 March 2020 after 220 days. "Today, I am free but this freedom is not complete," he said PTI via Gulf News.
• Omar Abdullah: released on 24 March 2020, after his sister Sara Abdullah Pilot challenged his PSA dossier in the Supreme Court and the court said it would hear the plea on merits if he was not freed soon PTI via Onmanorama.
• Mehbooba Mufti: released on 13 October 2020 after about 14 months, two days before the Supreme Court was to hear her daughter Iltija Mufti's habeas corpus petition Al Jazeera.

Other habeas cases moved slowly: Sitaram Yechury's 2019 petition for detained CPI(M) leader Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami was disposed of only in May 2023, with liberty to seek compensation. The Law Ministry told Parliament that 2,165 habeas corpus petitions were filed from the UT in the High Court and Supreme Court between August 2019 and 30 June 2023 LiveLaw.

The Anuradha Bhasin ruling on the internet

Kashmir Times editor Anuradha Bhasin and Ghulam Nabi Azad challenged the shutdown. On 10 January 2020 the Supreme Court held that "the right to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a), and the right to carry on any trade or business under 19(1)(g), using the medium of internet is constitutionally protected" SFLC.in.

• All Section 144 orders and telecom suspension orders must be published so they can be challenged in court.
• Suspension orders must be reasoned and proportionate, and indefinite suspension is impermissible; a review committee must meet every seven days.

The court did not itself lift the Kashmir shutdown. It ordered a review of all suspension orders and access to essential services. The digital rights group SFLC.in noted the proportionality test "was not applied in the case of the prolonged shutdown in Kashmir" SFLC.in.

Ladakh: celebration in Leh, a hartal in Kargil

In Leh, the Ladakh Buddhist Association, which had led the Union Territory demand since 1947, held celebrations at Chowkhang Vihara on 8 August Tribune.

In Muslim-majority Kargil, religious and political groups called a district-wide hartal the day after the announcement, condemning a decision "taken without the consent from the people of Jammu & Kashmir" The Wire. When Ladakh formally became a UT on 31 October 2019, the Tribune reported celebrations in "the Ladakh region, minus Kargil town" Tribune.

By August 2021 Leh and Kargil leaders had jointly rejected UT status and sought statehood and land and job safeguards Scroll. The later Leh protests are covered here.

Timeline

1. 5 Aug 2019

   Article 370 revoked

   Restrictions and blackout begin; leaders detained Gulf News.

2. 9-13 Aug 2019

   Soura protest, denial, acknowledgement

   MHA calls reports "fabricated", then acknowledges stone-pelting at Soura BOOM.

3. 10 Jan 2020

   Anuradha Bhasin ruling

   Internet curbs must be proportionate and published SFLC.in.

4. 11 Dec 2023

   Supreme Court upholds abrogation

   Elections ordered by 30 Sept 2024 Scroll.

5. 28 Sep 2026

   Assembly demands statehood

   Resolution passed by voice vote as BJP walks out PTI via ThePrint.

Both accounts

The December 2023 Supreme Court verdict

On 11 December 2023 a Constitution bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai and Surya Kant upheld the presidential order. The bench called Article 370 "an interim arrangement due to war conditions in the state". It upheld Ladakh's creation as a UT but left open whether a state can be converted into one. Justice Kaul disapproved of using Article 367 to amend Article 370: "Amendment through the backdoor is not permissible" Scroll.

Modi said the court had "fortified the very essence of unity". Omar Abdullah wrote that "the struggle will continue" and alleged he had been confined to his home; police said no one's movement had been restricted Scroll.

Elections and the statehood demand, 2024 to 2026

In the first Assembly elections in a decade, results on 8 October 2024 gave the National Conference 42 of 90 seats, the BJP 29 and Congress 6 Al Jazeera. Omar Abdullah's cabinet passed a resolution seeking statehood, which he was to present to Prime Minister Modi Business Standard.

Petitions asking the Supreme Court to enforce the "at the earliest" assurance followed. On 10 October 2025 the Centre was given four weeks to reply. Government's position Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said consultations were under way and called it "a sui generis (unique) problem", adding: "there was a solemn undertaking but several factors need to be considered" Kashmir Reader.

On 20 July 2026 the National Conference protested in Delhi on the opening day of Parliament's Monsoon Session. Omar said: "We were stopped from getting to Jantar Mantar and stopped from protesting peacefully for what is rightfully ours, but we were not silenced" Kashmir Life.

On 28 September 2026 the Assembly passed by voice vote a resolution calling for "the immediate and urgent restoration of full statehood" while the BJP walked out PTI via ThePrint. Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma said the BJP supports statehood but objected to references to the pre-August 2019 status. Ten amendments were moved, eight seeking special status; their movers agreed not to press them after Omar appealed to them Outlook PTI via ThePrint.

Outcome

• Law: Abrogation upheld by the Supreme Court, 11 December 2023.
• Detentions: 5,161 preventive arrests in the Valley by November 2019 and 7,357 people taken into preventive custody by March 2020, per the government; 183 still held in February 2021.
• Leaders: Three former chief ministers held under the PSA, all released by 13 October 2020.
• Internet: Cut from 5 August 2019; 2G to whitelisted sites from 25 January 2020; 4G from February 2021.
• Deaths: The government said no one died in police firing; a teenager's family said pellet injuries killed him, which the government disputed.

What is still pending

Statehood has not been restored. The Supreme Court petitions were awaiting the Centre's reply in the latest reporting reviewed, and no Centre response to the Assembly's September 2026 resolution was found.

Sources

1. Gulf News: Kashmir, story of blockade that has gone into Day 50, 23 Sept 2019
2. SabrangIndia: 72 days of silence, and now come a series of peaceful protests, 16 Oct 2019
3. Government of India: Prime Minister's address to the nation, 8 August 2019 (official text)
4. Scroll: "Completely fabricated and incorrect": MHA refutes reports on thousands protesting in Kashmir, 10 Aug 2019
5. BOOM: Government does U-turn on Kashmir protest, acknowledges unrest in Soura, 13 Aug 2019
6. FactChecker: Governor, police, media reports belie Amit Shah's "not a single bullet or tear gas" claim, 7 Sept 2019
7. PTI via Madhyamam: Kashmir businesses suffer Rs 10,000-crore hit, 28 Oct 2019
8. Scroll: 765 people arrested for pelting stones since special status was revoked, says Centre, 19 Nov 2019
9. Deccan Herald: Over 5,000 arrested in Kashmir valley since Aug 4: Govt, 20 Nov 2019
10. The Wire: Internet will be restored after local administration deems fit, says Amit Shah, 20 Nov 2019
11. The Quint: 5K arrests in J&K since 4 Aug, internet to resume soon: Govt in RS, 20 Nov 2019
12. SFLC.in: SC judgment, safeguards for shutdown, limited relief for Kashmir, Jan 2020
13. Al Jazeera: Limited internet restored in Kashmir, no access to social media, 25 Jan 2020
14. PTI via Deccan Herald: 451 people under detention including 396 under PSA in J&K, 11 Mar 2020
15. Kashmir Life (IANS): 396 persons including former CMs detained in J&K under PSA, Mar 2020
16. PTI via Gulf News: Former Kashmir CM Farooq Abdullah released after seven months in detention, 13 Mar 2020
17. PTI via Onmanorama: Omar Abdullah freed after eight-month detention, PSA revoked, 24 Mar 2020
18. The Leaflet: Since Aug 2019, more than 600 habeas corpus petitions filed in J&K HC, 29 June 2020
19. Al Jazeera: Former Kashmir chief minister released after 14-month detention, 13 Oct 2020
20. Business Standard: Mufti, Abdullahs and others team up for J&K's special status restoration, 16 Oct 2020
21. Scroll: Jammu and Kashmir: 183 people still under detention, Centre tells Parliament, 4 Feb 2021
22. Deccan Herald: High-speed 4G internet restored in all parts of J&K after 18 months, 5 Feb 2021
23. Kashmir Despatch: Stone-pelting, infiltration attempts in J&K reduced in 2020: MHA, 8 Feb 2021
24. Tribune: LBA celebrates UT status for Ladakh, 8 Aug 2019
25. The Wire: Hartal in Kargil against Centre's decision to read down 370, make Ladakh a UT, Aug 2019
26. Tribune: Ladakh erupts in celebrations, 31 Oct 2019
27. Scroll: After two years of disagreement, Ladakh's Kargil and Leh regions now united in demand for statehood, 7 Aug 2021
28. LiveLaw: 2,165 habeas corpus petitions filed since abrogation of Article 370: Law Ministry, 5 Aug 2023
29. Scroll: Supreme Court upholds abrogation of Article 370, 11 Dec 2023
30. Al Jazeera: Party opposed to India's stripping of Kashmir's autonomy wins election, 8 Oct 2024
31. Business Standard: Omar Abdullah-led J&K Cabinet passes resolution to restore statehood, 18 Oct 2024
32. Kashmir Reader: SC gives Centre 4 weeks to reply on J&K statehood, 11 Oct 2025
33. Kashmir Life: Omar Abdullah says NC was prevented from reaching Jantar Mantar, 20 July 2026
34. PTI via ThePrint: J-K Assembly passes statehood resolution amid protests by BJP, 28 Sept 2026
35. Outlook: J&K Assembly passes statehood resolution amid BJP walkout, heated exchanges, 28 Sept 2026