In another display of paranoia and excessive securitisation in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian forces have detained a Chinese national for travelling to Ladakh and the occupied territory without prior permission—an action rights groups say reflects India’s siege-like mentality in a territory it continues to illegally occupy despite being an international dispute.
The Chinese traveller, 29-year-old Hu Congtai, had arrived in New Delhi on November 19 on a tourist visa allowing him to visit certain Buddhist heritage sites in India. However, he later boarded a flight to Leh on November 20 and travelled across the region.
Indian officials claim that “internet chatter” intercepted by the Army triggered scrutiny of the visitor’s movements. During his stay, Hu reportedly toured Zanskar for three days before travelling to Srinagar on December 1, staying in a guest house and visiting several cultural and religious sites including Harwan, Shankaracharya hill, Hazratbal, Mughal Garden and the Awantipur ruins.
Indian agencies further said the phone history of the traveller showed searches related to the Modi regime’s unilateral abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019—information widely available on public platforms. Analysts say such searches are routine for tourists wanting to understand local conditions.
Hu also purchased an Indian SIM card from the open market, a practice common among visitors, and travelled freely across Srinagar. Yet, Indian agencies have termed his movements “suspicious,” seizing his phone and subjecting him to prolonged questioning.
Observers in the occupied territory say the incident is being exaggerated by the authorities to reinforce New Delhi’s narrative of “heightened security threats” in order to justify the continued militarisation of IIOJK. Local residents question why a tourist visiting public sites is being treated like a hostile actor.
Kashmiris say such incidents highlight the intrusive and surveillance-heavy environment imposed by India in the occupied territory, where even ordinary movement by outsiders is construed through a military lens. They stress that the ongoing occupation cannot be sanitised by turning every visitor into a security threat, and that the root issue remains the unresolved political dispute recognised by the United Nations.
