Kashmir’s Independence Day shifts from shutdowns to public participation

The Story in Brief

Independence Day in Srinagar has changed from a day of near-total shutdowns to one marked by tighter security but greater public participation, Deccan Herald reports. In the early 1990s, roads around Bakshi Stadium were sealed, shops and buses stopped, and residents struggled to leave their neighbourhoods. Militants fired rockets at the venue in 1992, while mobile services were periodically suspended over fears of explosives being triggered remotely.

The unrest of 2010 and 2016, and the restrictions after August 2019, reinforced that pattern. Since then, separatist groups have lost much of their ability to enforce Valley-wide shutdowns. At the stadium’s reopening in 2023, thousands attended, traffic moved through much of Srinagar, some shops opened, and mobile and internet services continued. The security presence remains heavy, but it increasingly protects an event rather than closing the city around it.