As violence and attacks on Hindus in the eternally-disputed region of Kashmir continue, the Indian government has resorted to arming and growing local militias in the region. Kashmir is already one of the most heavily militarized areas of the world, with mass amounts of Indian, Pakistani and Chinese troops, as well as well-armed rebels and terrorist groups. Most of the Kashmir region is under Indian control, however contrary to initial statements by the Indian government when it took control years ago, it remains without any democracy, and largely under military control. The militias that India is arming have existed for decades, but with the recent expansion and increased militarization, they have reached numbers unrivaled for much of the regions history.
The Indian government’s newfound reliance on local militias to maintain order and combat violence in Kashmir is a sign of the difficulty it has encountered in fully governing the region. The mountainous terrain and semi-rural nature of Kashmir has historically enabled small groups like the militants currently plaguing the region to operate with near impunity; they can conduct attacks on villages and towns, then simply flee back into the surrounding mountains, where they are nearly impossible to track. Arming local civilians, rather then deploying mass amounts of troops to every corner of the region, will allow the Indian government to more effectively counter the growing violence; locals know the region a lot better, and the decentralized nature of local militias mean they can protect the rural parts of Kashmir while the military can focus on the larger population centers.
Link To Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/08/world/asia/kashmir-village-defense-committees.html