The Use of #Kashmirlivesmatter in the 2019 Article 370 Kashmir Crisis

Since the 1947 division into India and Pakistan (and later Bangladesh), the Himalayan region, Kashmir, has always been a source of contention, conflict, and dispute since both sides claim to have full authority. The Indian administered side, Jammu and Kashmir, has experienced conflict for over thirty years. The 2019 conflict in Kashmir started when the Indian government revoked Article 370 from its constitution. This specific Article allowed Jammu and Kashmir a special status allowing them the autonomy to formulate its constitution, make laws, and carry a separate flag, although the Indian state continued to govern foreign matters, communication, and defense. Revoking Article 370 caused major unrest in the region, including the deployment of Indian troops, regional political leaders being placed in house arrest, and, most importantly for the purposes of this thesis, the suspension of all telephone and internet services. However, this did not prevent social media usage through private network providers and people outside the region. This thesis examines the popular hashtag #KashmirLivesMatter on three social media platforms: Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. By collecting, analyzing, and categorizing online data related to this hashtag on different mediums, this thesis explores how people used this hashtag during the 2019 revocation of the Article 370 crisis. It argues that the hashtag was used in six different ways: evoking sympathy for the Kashmiris; giving facts about what is happening; highlighting government malpractices from India; showing the Kashmiris' courage and perseverance; using religious quotes or references; and lastly, highlighting the concept of humanity by showing the human side of the conflict, humanity's solidarity and that this is an issue transcending religion or region.