An undated photo shows a masked Kashmiri protester jumping on the bonnet of an armored vehicle of Indian police as he throws stones at it during a protest in Srinagar. (Photo by AP)

Indian-administered Kashmir has drawn further international attention after three photojournalists were awarded the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for their coverage of the months-long lockdown in the Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Kashmir.

Mukhtar Khan, Yasin Dar and Channi Anand - three Kashmir-based photojournalists were among those who bagged the feature photography prize for images showing life in the contested Kashmir.

On Monday night, Pulitzer board administrator Dana Canedy declared the winners via a livestream on YouTube rather than at a ceremony at New York’s Columbia University.

In a statement on their website following the announcement, Pulitzer said that the Kashmiri photographers were selected for their striking images of life in the disputed Himalayan territory.

The photographers captured the protests with their lenses, as well as paramilitary activity and the nuances of daily life since August 5, when administration of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stripped the region of its semi-autonomous status.

Snaking around roadblocks and hiding cameras in vegetable bags, the three photographers captured images of protests, police and paramilitary action and daily life.

It was always cat-and-mouse, Yasin said, adding, These things made us more determined than ever to never be silenced.

Last month, several leading Kashmiri journalists were charged by the Indian police under stringent laws for their anti-national social media posts - a move slammed by press and rights groups from around the world.

Indian-controlled Kashmir has been in a state of lockdown since early August, when New Delhi dispatched thousands of additional troops to the region, declared a strict curfew, shut down telecommunications and internet services, and arrested political leaders and pro-independence campaigners as well.

The latest developments also came days after India introduced a new law that would make its citizens eligible to become permanent residents of the Indian-controlled Kashmir, raising fears of demographic change in the Muslim-majority, Himalayan region.

The new law was introduced as the country of 1.3 billion people is under a weeks-long lockdown in an attempt to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, raising speculation that the timing is intentional.

New Delhi had promised special status to Kashmir when the region was partitioned between India and Pakistan seven decades ago.

However, Modi and his nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have long opposed Kashmir’s autonomy.

Kashmir has long been a flash point between India and Pakistan, which have fought three of their four wars over the disputed Himalayan territory. Both countries rule parts of Kashmir while claiming it in full.

Cross-border frictions have recently flared up between troops from the two neighbors along the disputed de facto border in Kashmir. The two sides have accused each other of provocation.

India regularly accuses Pakistan of arming and training the fighters and allowing them across the restive frontier in an attempt to launch attacks. Pakistan denies the allegation.

Thousands of people have been killed in the unrest in Kashmir over the past two decades.

SOURCE: PRESS TV