There is an emotive appeal in the voices of 365 candidates contesting without the backing of political parties in the Union Territory’s first election since the removal of special constitutional status in 2019. Autumn has arrived in Kashmir and the sun has grown milder. People are busy in roadside orchards picking windfall apples in south Kashmir’s Shopian as the harvest season is still a few weeks away. A 20-minute drive from Shopian town passes through low-lying and highland apple-laden orchards, leading to a cluster of houses in Reban Gundibeharam village…
Read MoreKashmir’s Independents: 365 Candidates Contest Without Party Backing in Post-Article 370 Election
