Most cinemas were closed in 1989 by rebel groups. The year was a year of major uprisings against Indian rule.
Tausef Mustafa
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Decades after an armed insurgency shut down local cinemas, the silver screen lit up for the first time in a generation when a new cinema opened in India-controlled Kashmir on Tuesday.
India is tightening its grip on the conflict-torn Muslim-majority region after a violent conflict between its security forces and militants fighting for independence or annexation with neighboring Pakistan.
Most cinemas were closed in 1989 by rebel groups. It has been a year of massive uprisings against Indian rule, and Bollywood blockbuster screenings are the path to cultural imperialism, militants said.
The theater was later largely occupied by security forces and used as a detention and interrogation center, with some still being used as a foothold by soldiers.
Since the 1990s, regular attempts to revive Kashmir’s cinema have failed. The heavy presence of security guards deterred regular patrons.
Authorities have welcomed the new multiplex as a result of the improved security situation since New Delhi took steps to tighten its grip on the territory.
Deputy Governor Manoj Sinha, India’s chief executive officer for Kashmir, said its opening was a symbol of the government’s commitment to “establish peace” in the region.
At least 500,000 Indian troops are stationed in Kashmir, which is also claimed and partially controlled by Pakistan.
Tausef Mustafa
“We are reclaiming a lost era,” he said at a ceremony and screening to mark the opening of the cinema in Srinagar city, which was attended mostly by government and security officials.
“The opening of this cinema reflects the changing situation in Kashmir.”
The new multiplex will open to the public next week, and the Sinha government has pledged to help open 10 more cinemas in the region.
At least 500,000 Indian troops are stationed in Kashmir, which is also claimed and partially controlled by Pakistan.
India regularly accuses Pakistan of supporting a long-running rebellion against its rule, an allegation denied by Islamabad.
The Hindu nationalist government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has been strangling the Indian-administered Kashmir region since it withdrew its limited constitutional autonomy in 2019.
Thousands of people were put into preventive detention, authorities cut communication links, and the world’s longest internet shutdown to forestall expected protests against the abrupt decision.
Clashes between militants and the Indian army still occur regularly, and protests and civil life are severely suppressed.
Foreign journalists are barred from entering the area, and local reporters are regularly harassed by police and security forces for their reporting.
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