Mosques, madrasas targeted in Kashmir crackdown after Delhi blast
Sweeping police searches across Srinagar spark alarm over expanding security crackdown targeting Muslim institutions in Indian-administered Kashmir
SRINAGAR, Kashmir (MNTV) — Police in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir conducted large-scale raids on mosques, madrasas and religious education centers across Srinagar on Thursday, deepening fears of an expanding campaign of surveillance and intimidation against Muslim institutions in the region.
Officials say the operations were launched as part of a wider investigation into a November 10 car blast near Delhi’s Red Fort, an incident that has been used to justify intensified policing and detentions across Kashmir.
Two religious preachers — one from Shopian and another from the northern Indian district of Mewat — have already been arrested in connection with the probe.
According to police statements, search teams — accompanied by magistrates and so-called independent witnesses — inspected digital devices, records and other materials in multiple religious premises across Srinagar, saying the aim was to identify networks allegedly linked to extremist activity.
Authorities also carried out raids across several districts in the Valley, targeting properties associated with members of the Jamaat-e-Islami organization.
Human-rights observers say such sweeping actions highlight a pattern in which security crackdowns following incidents elsewhere in India routinely translate into mass policing of Kashmiri Muslims, reinforcing profiling and collective suspicion in a region already heavily militarized since the 2019 revocation of autonomy.
They warn that searches of houses of worship risk criminalizing religious life and eroding constitutional protections surrounding faith and assembly.
The raids come amid a broader trend of shrinking civic space in Kashmir, where journalists, student activists, clerics and NGOs have faced investigations and arrests under stringent national security laws.
Analysts note that targeting madrasa networks and religious leaders has historically been part of strategies that blur distinctions between worship, education and security enforcement.
Residents say the latest operations have heightened anxiety, particularly as mosques and madrasas serve as key community spaces in a region struggling with trauma, unemployment and political disenfranchisement.
Many fear that national security justifications may once again overshadow due process, transparency and accountability, with confiscated digital devices and religious literature often used to build speculative cases.
As searches continue, international rights organizations are watching closely to determine whether the crackdown produces credible legal outcomes — or becomes another example of collective punishment enforced through militarized policing in one of the world’s most contested territories.
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