The scars of last summer remain in Soura, an enclave that became a symbol of Kashmir's resistance to India's central government a year ago Wednesday.

Coils of concertina wire, remnants of makeshift road blocks, lie close to the broken tar of roads dug up to keep the security forces of Prime Minister Narendra Modi out of this area and away from 15,000 people in Kashmir's main city of Srinagar.

A year after stripping Kashmir of its autonomy, Modi's government has prevented widespread protests and violence, with a heavy hand on people who for weeks had barricaded themselves in and protested, hurling stones at federal troops armed with pellet guns and tear gas.