India's Hindu nationalist-led government moved Monday to revoke the special status of Muslim-majority Kashmir, cutting off communications and deploying thousands of troops in the restive Himalayan region amid fears the action could lead to uprisings there.
Home Minister Amit Shah announced the revocation amid an uproar by opposition lawmakers in Parliament over the move.
It also comes as Kashmir is under a security lockdown that has kept thousands of people in their homes and in the dark about the change, which would strip them of long-held hereditary rights to jobs, scholarships and land ownership in the disputed region along the mountainous India-Pakistan border.