Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a Hindu
India has leaped forward with his government's decision to subsume Muslim-majority Kashmir into the federal government by eliminating its special status and allowing anyone to buy property and move into the state, raising fears among residents that they will lose their distinct identity.
This situation favoring Modi is likely to intensify next year when one third of the seats in the upper house of Parliament, where his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party doesn't hold a majority, are up for grabs.
Most of the new members are expected to come from the BJP or its allies.