The Indian authorities closed the “Srinagar Grand Mosque” in Jammu and Kashmir under its administration, amid widespread human rights condemnation.
The historic mosque was built more than 600 years ago, and Muslims have continued to flock to it for centuries as one of the beacons of science and religion in the region.
The Indian authorities were widely condemned because of this measure, amid questioning the human rights policies and the protection of religious freedoms that the government of Narendra Modi is trying to assert internationally.
For its part, the Modi government claimed that the mosque was “the center of unrest, protests and clashes challenging the Indian administration of the disputed territory of Kashmir”, so it “must be closed.”
The crackdown launched by the Indian authorities against the Muslims of Kashmir is not limited to closing houses of worship and restricting their normal activities, as the matter extended to preventing communications.
Last January, the government decided to stop the phone lines and prevent internet access to the region, which was condemned by several human rights organizations, led by Human Rights Watch.
