New Delhi: In Jammu and Kashmir, there is considerable anger against the Union government and the Lieutenant-Governor administrations’ actions post the November 10 Red Fort car blast which has further intensified after a policeman was killed in a terrorist attack this July, the Forum for Human Rights in Jammu and Kashmir wrote in its recent report. Further, it mentioned that though the security situation appears to have improved it is still “volatile” even seven years after the Union government revoked Article 370 and stripped the Union Territory of its statehood.“The renewal of the demand for return of statehood by the National Conference, which is in office in Jammu and Kashmir, reflects growing dissatisfaction with the Lieutenant-Governor’s administration on the ground. The same dissatisfaction with its separate Union Territory administration is evident in Ladakh,” the seventh annual report of the forum, covering the period from August 1, 2025, to July 31, 2026, mentioned. It underlined that the year was marked by “contradictory trends”.The report mentioned that the reported fatalities in armed conflict fell to 32 in 20 incidents; 23 alleged terrorists were killed and nine troops lost their lives. Similarly, arrests fell from 115 in the previous year to 89 in the year under survey. However, it also noted that the Red Fort attack in November 2025, killing 13 persons and leaving around 32 injured, indicated the continuation of Kashmir-related militancy which may once again be targeting significant structures in the rest of India.Indiscriminate police action“While vowing revenge on the Red Fort attackers, Union home minister Amit Shah took no responsibility for the lapse that allowed Umar Un Nabi to drive to the Red Fort without being intercepted,” the report mentioned.Further, the forum highlighted that the Union home ministry did nothing to prevent the backlash against Kashmiris and Muslims in general after the Red Fort attack, the Union Home Ministry did nothing to prevent it. In fact, the Gurugram police contributed to the harassment of Kashmiris by requiring housing societies, paying guest accommodation, and rental landlords to submit detailed lists of tenants, including their ID proofs, the report said. Drawing a sharp contrast, the forum noted that during a previous attack, Union home minister P. Chidambaram spoke to university vice-chancellors to ensure the safety of Kashmiri students.On the anger on the ground, the report mentioned that there is considerable resentment in Jammu and Kashmir at the Union and Lieutenant-Governor administrations’ actions post the Red Fort attack, which is further exacerbated following the death of constable Ashiq Hussain Qureshi in a terrorist attack in Anantnag on July 22. “The very large number of people brought in for questioning – reportedly 500 following the Red Fort attack and over 2,000 following the shooting – suggests indiscriminate action by the Jammu and Kashmir police,” the report mentioned. Also read: In Jammu and Kashmir, Seven Years of the Project of Enforced UniformityIt added, “The unprecedented levels of security for the Amarnath yatra, which included holdups of civilian traffic along the main highway, have further compounded anger.” The forum is co-chaired by former home secretary Gopal Pillai and former member of Group of Interlocutors for Jammu and Kashmir Radha Kumar. The other members are Justice Ruma Pal, Justice A.P. Shah, Justice Bilal Nazki, Justice Hasnain Masoodi, Justice Anjana Prakash, former secretary-general of National Human Rights Commission Probir Sen, former secretary, Inter-State Council Amitabha Pande, former chairperson of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights Shantha Sinha, Major-General Ashok Mehta, Air Vice-Marshal Kapil Kak, Lieutenant-General H.S. Panag, Colonel Yoginder Kandhari, co-founder and former co-director, HAQ Centre for Child Rights Enakshi Ganguly, writer and historian Ramachandra Guha, columnist Anand Sahay and lawyers Shivani Sanghvi and Abhishek Babbar.UAPA and preventive detention under PSAThe report also raised alarm over the use of anti-terror laws. After the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, for instance, police booked around 50 young protesters under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and restricted public gatherings and even resorted to internet shutdowns.On March 31, 2026, the Jamia Siraj-ul-Uloom, a school run by a society in south Kashmir’s Shopian, received a notice from the divisional commissioner, Kashmir, asking why the school should not be declared an unlawful entity under Section 8 of the UAPA, which empowers the Union government to notify and restrict the use of places, buildings, or properties used by an association that has been officially declared unlawful.“A month later, it was declared an unlawful entity and consequently shut down. The grounds for declaring the school an unlawful entity were not shared with the school authorities or made public. The ban impacts the lives of around 600 students enrolled in the institution,” the report mentioned. The forum also pointed out that several individuals were arrested by the police under the Public Safety Act (PSA). For instance, former professor Abdul Bari, Aam Aadmi Party MLA Mehraj Malik, six men who protested after the alleged sexual assault of a school student in Sopore, and others accused of offences ranging from cattle smuggling to alleged links with militants, were all taken in preventive custody. Although the Jammu and Kashmir high court has increasingly quashed PSA and UAPA cases on grounds of misapplication, poor evidence and bias, the report mentioned that in most cases the judgements have come after the accused have been in detention for prolonged periods of time. The worrying factor is that the court’s strictures on police misuse of draconian legislation “do not appear to have led to police reform.” it noted. Censorship, surveillance and educationThe report highlighted that Jammu and Kashmir’s economy continues to suffer from ill-considered interventions of the Union government which follow a “start-stop pattern”. Even more worrying is the fact that unemployment is twice the national rate and the apple industry had its worst year in a decade, it noted. The report underlined that the Jammu and Kashmir administration has banned publication, possession and circulation of 25 books in the former state on the grounds of “false narratives” and “secessionism”. The banned books include works of prominent authors like Arundhati Roy, A.G. Noorani, and Anuradha Basin, among others.Also read: Seven Years After the Reading Down of Article 370, the Space For Dissent Has Further Shrunk in J&KThe ban was followed by police raids to “identify, seize, and forfeit any literature that propagates or systematically disseminates false narratives, promotes secessionist ideologies, or otherwise poses a threat to the sovereignty and unity of India,” it mentioned.The report also highlighted that Kashmir accounted for more than 60% of internet shutdown incidents in India. Last year, on December 29, the government imposed a two-month log ban on VPN use in Jammu and Kashmir, it mentioned, after which, “the police penalised around 800 users, including unaccounted phone searches for banned applications”. This year, telephonic communication was stalled multiple times on grounds of “public order and unrest,” the report recorded. Further, the forum wrote that international media watchdog Reporters Without Borders reported that journalists in Jammu and Kashmir now routinely avoid sensitive topics such as human rights abuses, security operations and dissent to avert reprisals, including arrest by the security forces. Reporters who still attempt to cover these issues remain under constant surveillance and risk arrest.According to data presented in the Lok Sabha on March 16, 2026, Jammu and Kashmir continues to grapple with dropout rates among adolescent girls in upper primary (classes six–eight) and secondary (classes nine–ten) levels. Dropout rates among girls in upper primary level declined to 3.2% in 2024-25 from 4.1% in 2020-21, the report mentioned. Shockwaves across LadakhThe report underlined that the September 24 police firing on young protesters demanding statehood and Schedule VI status, which lead to the death of four people and around 90 were injured, had sent shockwaves across Ladakh.“A Gen Z protest, the youth demonstrations were in many ways a precursor to the national Gen Z protests that swept the country in July 2026 – it too was fueled by lack of quality education and high rates of youth unemployment – which expanded to support for the all-Ladakh demands for statehood and/or Schedule VI status,” it mentioned. The forum has listed down an array of recommendations such as restoration of full statehood of Jammu and Kashmir, repeal of the 2019 Reorganisation Act, accepting Ladakh’s demand for statehood and inclusion in the Sixth Schedule, expediting police reforms in Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, reinstating Jammu and Kashmir’s oversight commissions and establishing a Ladakh human rights commission.