India’s Modi visits Kashmir: How has the region changed since 2019?

Here’s a look at Narendra Modi’s government policies and how they have affected Kashmir since the region’s semi-autonomous status was taken away.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday made his first visit to Kashmir since his government’s controversial 2019 decision to scrap the region’s special semi-autonomous status.

Addressing a crowd at a football stadium in the region’s largest city, Srinagar, Modi claimed that the removal of Article 370, which granted a measure of autonomy to Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, had ushered in development and peace.

“I am working hard to win your hearts, and my attempt to keep winning your hearts will continue,” Modi said even as the region was placed under a security blanket, with thousands of soldiers and paramilitary forces deployed and new checkpoints set up.

The 2019 decision was hailed by the Hindu nationalist movement that Modi represents, but was met with anger in Kashmir – one of India’s only two Muslim-majority regions – which has seen a decades-long armed rebellion against Indian rule.

Since then, Modi has visited Hindu-majority Jammu region, but has stayed away from Kashmir, until now, on the eve of the 2024 national elections.

Modi and his government have claimed that the scrapping of Article 370, and their subsequent policies in Kashmir, have helped transform the region for the better.

Here’s a look at key changes brought to Kashmir by Modi’s government since 2019:

Special status under Article 370 removed

Article 370, which was enshrined in India’s constitution signifying Kashmir’s unique relationship with New Delhi, granted the Himalayan region a large measure of autonomy: Kashmir had its own constitution and flag, it could make its own laws in all