An international research institute says India has used COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to foment anti-Muslim sentiments and implement its colonial policies in the disputed region of Jammu and Kashmir.

A report by the institute iphoibia.org that studied Islamophobia in India, notes that in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K), COVID-19 lockdown has meant an intensification of India’s military operations, advancement of a settler-colonial project and tensions with  neighboring Pakistan and China.