Indian-administered Kashmir holds first local election after losing autonomy

In Kashmir, voting begins in first local elections since India revoked autonomy

PULWAMA, India — Men and women filed into gender-segregated lines, huddling in shawls early Wednesday morning in this Himalayan territory. Many prepared to do something that they’d never done before: vote.Across Indian-controlled Kashmir, residents are casting ballots in assembly elections that are being held for the first time in a decade — and since the Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi stripped away the territory's …

Indian-administered Kashmir holds first local election after losing autonomy

Five years after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its statehood, the northern Indian region voted Wednesday in its first local election in a decade. The disputed Kashmir Valley has experienced profound changes since the last state elections were held in 2014, including inherited protections on land ownership and jobs.

India’s Kashmir holds first assembly election in a decade

Voters line up to cast ballots during the first phase of assembly elections in Pulwama, south of Srinagar, on Sept. 18 as Indian security personnel stand guard.   © AFP/Jiji KIRAN SHARMA, NEW DELHI — Northern India’s Jammu and Kashmir region kicked off its first legislative assembly polls in about a decade on Wednesday, with local demands for restoration of the region’s special status being one of the major issues. Voting will continue in Octob…