The Supreme Court has upheld the government’s decision to revoke special status for the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The court has ordered the region to hold local elections by September 30, 2024. The decision has been criticized as a step by the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) to tighten control over India’s only Muslim-majority region. The move revokes significant autonomy for the region granted in 1947 following the first India-Pakistan war over the Himalayan region. The decision was made by a panel of five judges, who unanimously ruled to uphold Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to revoke Article 370, which divided the region into two federal territories. The decision has been received with disappointment from political parties in Kashmir, but Modi has called it “a beacon of hope, a promise of a brighter future.”