Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi traveled to the disputed Kashmir region Thursday — his first visit since stripping the Muslim-majority region of its semiautonomous status in 2019. The decision was hailed by Hindu nationalists. Modi addressed a crowd in Kashmir’s largest city, Srinagar.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi: “There is no Article 370 today, and that is why the talent of the youth of Jammu and Kashmir is being recognized and respected. They are getting new opportunities. Today there are equal rights and opportunities for everyone here.”

Rights groups have denounced Modi’s intensifying crackdown on journalists and dissidents in Jammu and Kashmir.