In Indian-administered Kashmir, cinemas that have been closed for decades have begun to populate once again.
According to the French news agency AFP, the Indian government has inaugurated a large cinema in the capital Srinagar on Tuesday, which will be opened to the public next week.
It should be noted that cinemas were closed in 1989 after the situation in the valley became tense.
Militants claimed that Bollywood films shown in these cinemas were a means of imposing Indian culture.
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Attempts were made to open the cinema halls of the Kashmir Valley in the 1990s and later but were not successful.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, the top Indian administration official in the Kashmir Valley, says the reopening of the cinema shows that the government is committed to establishing peace in the region.
"We are bringing back the lost era," Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha said while inaugurating the cinema in Srinagar on Tuesday.
He further said that the opening of the cinema reflects the changing image of Kashmir.
The ceremony was attended by most of the Indian government and security officials.
Manoj Sinha has promised to help open ten more cinemas in the area.
It should be noted that at least 500,000 Indian soldiers are permanently stationed in the Kashmir valley.
Since 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu-dominated government has taken several steps to further tighten its control over Kashmir.
On August 5, 2019, the Indian government announced the end of the special status of Kashmir. About three months after the end of the special status, the central government formally divided the disputed region of Jammu and Kashmir into two federal parts.
Jammu and Kashmir was given the status of 'Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir', since then the laws of the Central Government apply in the Kashmir Valley.
