In a deeply disturbing development, the Indian government has begun collecting extensive financial and personal data of mosques and religious seminaries in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
This unprecedented move constitutes a blatant violation of religious freedom and clearly reflects a policy of institutionalized Islamophobia. Notably, this data-gathering exercise is selectively applied only to Muslim religious institutions, while Hindu temples and sites belonging to other faiths remain completely outside its scope. Such discriminatory targeting unmistakably demonstrates that Islam and Muslims are the central focus of India’s coercive policies in the occupied territory.It must be recalled that Jammu and Kashmir is not an integral part of India but a disputed territory, whose final status is to be determined through a free and impartial plebiscite under the auspices of the United Nations. India occupied the state in October 1947 and later granted it a special constitutional status under Articles 370 and 35A. However, in August 2019, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government led by Narendra Modi unilaterally abrogated this status and illegally annexed the territory, dividing it into two Union Territories. Since April 2020, India has further intensified its illegal actions by issuing domiciles to non-Kashmiri Hindus, thereby engineering demographic changes in IIOJK.In January 2026, Indian authorities formally launched a systematic campaign to collect detailed information about mosques and seminaries across the occupied region. This action has been widely condemned by the people of IIOJK as discriminatory, unconstitutional, and contrary to the spirit of the UN Charter and relevant UN Security Council resolutions. Even within India’s own constitutional framework, such profiling of religious institutions constitutes a grave infringement of the fundamental right to freedom of religion. Consequently, Kashmiris have rightly termed this policy “institutionalized Islamophobia.”
Under this directive, Indian police and administrative officials are compelling mosque administrators and seminary staff to fill out intrusive forms containing highly sensitive information. This includes Aadhaar numbers, bank account details, property ownership records, social media profiles, passport information, ration cards, driving licenses, SIM card numbers, mobile phone models with IMEI numbers, and even the sectarian affiliation of mosques. Such forced data collection is illegal, coercive, and wholly incompatible with both domestic and international law. Its primary objective appears to be intimidation, surveillance, and control of Muslim religious life in the occupied territory.The BJP-led government operates under the flawed assumption that the Islamic and Muslim identity of Kashmiris is the root cause of resistance against Indian rule. This perception is fundamentally incorrect. Kashmiris, irrespective of religion, are united in their opposition to India’s illegal occupation and to the actions taken since August 5, 2019. The current policy does not address any genuine security concern; rather, it seeks to criminalize religious identity and suppress political dissent under the guise of administration.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office has strongly condemned India’s actions, describing them as a blatant intrusion into religious affairs and a serious violation of the right to freedom of religion and belief. Pakistan has rightly asserted that the selective profiling of mosques and their management committees reflects yet another coercive attempt to marginalize and intimidate the Muslim population of the occupied territory. These measures, driven by Hindutva ideology, expose the discriminatory and communal character of Indian policies in IIOJK. Pakistan has reaffirmed its solidarity with the Kashmiri people and its commitment to raising its voice against all forms of religious persecution and intolerance.
The roots of Islamophobia in India are neither recent nor accidental. Over the past two decades, particularly under BJP rule, India has increasingly transformed into a Hindutva-driven illiberal state. This ideology has systematically reduced the social, political, and cultural space for minorities, especially Muslims, who constitute over 17% of India’s population. Hindutva is not merely a cultural expression of Hinduism; it is an exclusionary political doctrine that demands cultural and religious conformity, effectively marginalizing Muslims. Policies such as the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) of 2019 further exemplify this Islamophobic agenda, as they selectively undermine Muslim citizenship and violate the secular foundations of the Indian Constitution, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), and the principles of the United Nations.
In IIOJK, these broader patterns of discrimination manifest in their most extreme form. As an occupying power, India has no legal or moral authority to alter the region’s demography or interfere in the religious affairs of its people. Profiling mosques and seminaries is not governance; it is persecution. International law, UN resolutions, and the inalienable right of self-determination stand firmly with the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
It is high time for India to abandon policies rooted in fear, exclusion, and Islamophobia. Continued repression will neither erase Kashmiri identity nor legitimize occupation. Instead, it will further expose India’s actions as violations of human rights, religious freedom, and international norms, reinforcing the urgent need for global attention and accountability.
— The writer is Professor of Politics and IR at International Islamic University, Islamabad.
