Anxious to quell anti-India protests in occupied Kashmir, Indian forces are carrying out their most severe crackdown in more than two decades against civilian protesters, arresting more than 8,000 this summer across the disputed Himalayan territory, police said on Monday.
That includes 450 or so civilians being held, possibly for up to six months without trial, under a harsh security law criticised as a human rights violation. India has said the freedom fighters and civilians who help them are undermining the country's territorial integrity and forcing authorities to keep the India-controlled portion of Kashmir under tight control. "This is, so far, the biggest crackdown against miscreants," said a senior police officer, requesting anonymity because he was not authorized to share details of the crackdown.