Indian authorities are set to prosecute author Arundhati Roy over comments she made about Kashmir in 2010, where she reportedly stated that the disputed region is not an “integral” part of India during a panel discussion.
Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, affiliated with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP party, approved the legal action, according to the Press Trust of India.
Roy, known for her Booker Prize-winning novel “The God of Small Things” and her vocal criticism of Modi, has also been an outspoken activist against BJP policies impacting minority groups and press freedoms.
She will be prosecuted alongside Sheikh Showkat Hussain, a former university professor from Kashmir.
Authorities have indicated that the charges will be under anti-terror laws for allegedly advocating for the secession of Kashmir.
Following her 2010 comments, Roy’s home in Delhi was targeted by protesters. The Kashmir region has been a long-standing point of contention between India and Pakistan since India’s independence in 1947, with both nations claiming the region in full but controlling only parts of it.
Despite Modi’s re-election as prime minister last month, his party did not secure a majority.
