Daily Times

Indian-administered Kashmir is set to receive its first foreign investment from Dubai’s Emaar Group, which has committed $60m for the purposes of building a multi-purpose commercial tower in Srinagar, the capital of the Muslim-majority Himalayan region. The political scene in Indian-occupied Kashmir has been abuzz with renewed activity these last few months. When Kashmir’s autonomy was rescinded and its statehood downgraded to a centrally controlled territory in 2019-an act it argued was intended to improve governance and investment in the region-it became clear that India had no intention of loosening its iron-fisted grip on Kashmir.

The Modi government’s strategy now appears to be sidelining political separatists and existing politicians in the hopes of creating a pro-India narrative in the state, deflecting international attention to the unsettled status of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, and continuing to maintain control through heavy militarization. Under Modi’s leadership, India has slowly changed its strategic objectives for Kashmir-now focused on demographic engineering that aims to alter the Muslim-majority makeup of these territories. Kashmir is now positioned at the centre of Modi’s plans for multiplying his own political fortune.

By making the case that Article 370 was “the mother of all problems as far as Kashmir is concerned,” Modi is free to implement his designs for the state without fears of interference or backlash, at least not from within India. In fact, Kashmir, once an important subject in international discourse, has been entirely neglected by policymakers and states across the globe. Contrary to past predictions, there has been no diplomatic fallout with the West or substantive criticism for its moves in Kashmir.

Gulf heavyweights, such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, who were quick to make symbolic displays of solidarity against the revocation of Article 370, have yet to condemn India’s crackdown in Kashmir. India’s ties to Saudi Arabia have grown significantly over the last two decades, with bilateral trade hitting $28 billion whereas bilateral trade with the UAE stands at a whopping $55 billion, with Indians being the largest investors in Dubai’s real estate market. Now, Dubai is taking its plans to India-not a single drop of remorse in sight. *