Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Stay on top of the latest market trends
Subscribe to Axios Markets for the latest market trends and economic insights. Sign up for free.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with Axios Sports. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Gen. Bipin Rawat. Photo: Arvind Yadav/Hindustan Times via Getty Images
India's top military commander Gen. Bipin Rawat suggested that Kashmiris could be sent to "deradicalization camps" at an international affairs conference in New Delhi on Thursday, the New York Times reports.
Why it matters, per the New York Times: Human "rights activists consider [the statement] an alarming echo of what China has done to many of its Muslim citizens," who are being held in mass detention camps in the Xinjiang area.
"Girls and boys as young as 10 and 12 are now being radicalized. These people can still be isolated from radicalization in a gradual way, but there are people who have completely been radicalized."
"These people need to be taken out separately, possibly taken into some deradicalization camps. We’ve got deradicalization camps going on in our country.”— Gen. Bipin Rawat
The big picture: It remains unclear what Rawat specifically meant to convey, and whether a plan is underway to establish camps in the area of the disputed Kashmir region that India controls. Indian military officials declined to provide clarity around Rawat's remarks.
- Even if India does not move forward with the general's suggestions, his comments show how the Kashmiris are viewed at the highest level of the Indian military, the Times writes.
Yes, but: This was reportedly the first mention of such camps some activists have heard. They said there are already voluntary deradicalization programs run by the military, per the Times.
Context: The Kashmir-India conflict spans decades, but was reignited when India revoked Kashmir's special semi-autonomous status last August. Kashmir is India's only Muslim-majority state.
Go deeper: