Modi's visit to Kashmir is his first since last month's four-day long conflict, which was the worst confrontation between the two countries since 1999. More than 70 people were killed before the arch-enemies entered a ceasefire on May 10.
The railway line to Kashmir – called "India's crown jewel" by Modi is strategic for the government in New Delhi.
Friends, today's event is a great celebration of Indian unity and determination, he says on the spot at the grand railway bridge over the Chenab River.
This is a symbol and a celebration of growing India.
The Chenab River, which flows into Pakistan, is symbolic of the dispute over Kashmir. During the May battles, India was said to have shut off the water flow in the river – a move that the neighboring country has long said is a direct act of war.
According to India, the bridge over Chenab is the world's highest railway arch bridge, with a vault located 359 meters above the river. The entire railway line runs 272 kilometers and consists of 943 bridges and 36 tunnels.
In the Pakistan-controlled part of Kashmir, a crowd protests against the massive construction project.
We want to tell India that bridge and road construction in the name of development will not make Kashmir's people give up their demands for freedom, says Azir Ahmad Ghazali in Muzaffarabad.
Natural beauty region in the western end of the Himalayan mountain range, about a third as large as Sweden. During the British colonial era, the area was a princely state.
At independence in 1947, the ruler, the maharaja, chose between joining Pakistan or India. Tensions arose, both countries sent in the military and war broke out. The conflict ended with a stalemate and a so-called control line between Kashmir's northern parts, controlled by Pakistan, and the southern parts taken by India.
Despite two more wars since then, this line remains as a provisional border to this day.
The Indian-controlled part had had quite extensive autonomy for a long time, but it was withdrawn in 2019. Parts of the Pakistani side are called Azad Kashmir ("Free Kashmir") and have relatively large autonomy within Pakistan. China is also involved, and holds the inhospitable north-eastern parts of Kashmir.
