India is set to withdraw the special status of the disputed territory of Kashmir and split the state in two, in a move likely to face major resistance in the Muslim-majority state and escalate tensions with Pakistan.

The proposal, which has been advocated by Hindu nationalists for decades, is the most radical change any government has suggested for Kashmir’s status since the region was granted autonomy in exchange for joining the Indian union after independence in 1947.

It follows a security crackdown in Indian-administered Kashmir, where extra troops have been deployed and thousands of pilgrims and tourists were abruptly evacuated at the weekend.

In the early hours of Monday, Kashmiri leaders said they had been placed under house arrest, internet and phone coverage to Kashmir valley was cut, public gatherings were banned and schools closed.

The government sought to revoke the state’s special status through a presidential order on Monday, which will be voted on by the lower house of parliament, controlled by Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party (BJP). A government source said that the vote was a technicality and the proposals were a done deal.

Mehbooba Mufti, Jammu and Kashmir’s former chief minister, who was once in alliance with India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), tweeted that the government announcement would “make India an occupational force in Jammu and Kashmir … Today marks the darkest day in Indian democracy.”

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