Delhi protest demands IIOJK statehood

Hundreds of people marched through New Delhi on Monday, demanding the restoration of statehood for Indian

Hundreds of people marched through New Delhi on Monday, demanding the restoration of statehood for Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). The demonstration was led by IIOJK Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who said the region’s constitutional rights must be restored without further delay.

The protesters gathered in the Indian capital carrying placards and raising slogans in support of statehood. They urged the Indian government to fulfill its promise of restoring the region’s status, which was revoked nearly seven years ago.

According to Omar Abdullah, police stopped the demonstrators from holding their planned protest. He shared videos and photographs of the incident on social media, showing security personnel blocking the gathering while protesters continued chanting slogans.

Abdullah said the movement for statehood would continue until the people of Jammu and Kashmir regained their constitutional rights and dignity. He described the protest as the beginning of a broader campaign and vowed to continue the struggle through democratic means.

The demand for statehood stems from the Indian government’s decision in August 2019 to revoke Article 370 of the Constitution. The move ended the region’s special constitutional status and removed its limited autonomy. The former state was divided into two federally administered territories—Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh—placing both under direct control of New Delhi.

The decision triggered widespread political debate and criticism from regional parties, which argued that the constitutional changes were made without the consent of the people of the region.

Since then, the Indian government has repeatedly stated that statehood would be restored at an appropriate time. However, it has not announced any timeline for doing so.

Omar Abdullah and his party, the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, have consistently demanded the immediate restoration of statehood. They say the return of full statehood is necessary to strengthen democratic institutions, protect the rights of residents and allow elected representatives to exercise greater authority over local governance.

Leaders of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however, criticized the protest. They claimed the demonstration was intended to divert attention from what they described as the poor performance of Abdullah’s administration.