Indian MPs have passed a bill that strips statehood from the Indian-administered portion of Muslim-majority Kashmir.

Key points: India dissolved the special status of its disputed state of Kashmir, splitting it in two

India dissolved the special status of its disputed state of Kashmir, splitting it in two Beijing told New Dehli that its decision would "not have any legal effect"

Beijing told New Dehli that its decision would "not have any legal effect" The move comes as India plunges the territory into a communications blackout

The move has drawn condemnation from neighbours China and Pakistan.

The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill changes Jammu and Kashmir from a state to a union territory with a legislature, and carves out Buddhist-majority Ladakh, a pristine, sparsely populated area that stretches from the Siachen Glacier to the Himalayas, as a separate union territory without a legislature.

India's Lower House approved the bill on Tuesday, a day after the Upper House approved it by a two-thirds majority, with many opposition politicians voting with the ruling Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist-led Government submitted the bill for a vote a day after the surprise measure was introduced alongside a presidential order.

That order dissolved a constitutional provision, known as article 370, which gave India's only Muslim-majority state exclusive hereditary rights, a separate constitution, and the rights to make its own laws.

The disputed Himalayan region is divided between India, which rules the populous Kashmir Valley and the Hindu-dominated region around Jammu city, Pakistan, which controls a wedge of territory in the west, and China, which holds a thinly populated high-altitude area in the north.

A map of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, which will lose their special status. ( Reuters )

China said it opposed India's decision to revoke Kashmir's special status and that New Delhi needed to be cautious on border issues.

"India's action is unacceptable and would not have any legal effect," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a statement.

China urged India to strictly abide by the agreements reached by both countries in order to avoid any actions that would further complicate boundary issues, Ms Hua said.

India and China have a longstanding dispute over the border, including in Ladakh, the high-altitude area.

Beijing's intervention drew an immediate rebuke from New Delhi, which referenced China's longstanding rebukes of other countries for meddling in its "internal affairs".

"India does not comment on the internal affairs of other countries and similarly expects other countries to do likewise," Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar said.

Kashmir's brought to global attention as it's gone black

Kashmir is a drawcard for many tourists seeking to visit the verdant Himalayan region. ( Flickr: Sandeep Chetan )

Presently, India's portion of the disputed territory known as Jammu and Kashmir — parts of which are claimed by Pakistan and China — remains under a communications blackout.

Thousands of paramilitary troops have been deployed in Kashmir as local phone and internet services have been suspended, prompting criticism that New Delhi is trying to stifle all dissent.

Kashmir is India's only Muslim-majority state and most people there oppose Indian rule.

The territory has historically acted as a buffer territory between the nuclear armed foes India and Pakistan, which have fought two wars over its status since independence from Britain.

The changes imposed by Mr Modi's Government are the most sweeping in the nearly 30 years that India has been trying to quell unrest in the region.

People in New Delhi burn firecrackers as they celebrate the Government's proposal to scrap the special status for Kashmir. ( Reuters: Danish Siddiqui )

"After five years, seeing development in J&K [Jammu and Kashmir] under the leadership of PM Modi, people of the valley will understand drawbacks of article 370," Indian Home Minister Amit Shah said just before the bill was passed.

Indian TV news channels in Srinagar, the main city in India's portion of Kashmir, showed security personnel including armed soldiers in camouflage standing near barbed wire barricades in the otherwise empty streets.

Jammu and Kashmir director general of Police Dilbagh Singh said Srinagar was "totally peaceful," the Press Trust of India news agency reported.

'We will fight until the last drop of blood'

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan (right) said he may fight India at the UN Security Council. ( AP/ABC News )

Hundreds of people around Pakistan and the portion of Kashmir it controls rallied against Mr Modi, burning effigies and torching Indian flags to condemn India's moves.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said in an address to Parliament on Tuesday night he feared the people of Kashmir could attack Indian security forces out of anger and New Delhi could blame Pakistan for it.

"If India attacks us, we will respond," Mr Khan said.

"We will fight until the last drop of blood."

Some Indians also came out to protest Mr Modi's move. ( AP: Manish Swarup )

Mr Khan also said he was weighing an approach to the United Nations Security Council.

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"We will fight it at every forum. We're thinking how we can take it to International Court [of Justice] … to the United Nations Security Council," Mr Khan told Pakistan's Parliament.

In February, a bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir killed 40 Indian troops.

India responded with an airstrike inside Pakistan, blaming a Pakistani group for the attack.

The Pakistani military was on high alert on Tuesday following reports New Delhi was continuing to send additional troops to its portion of Kashmir.

Pakistan's top military commanders met in the garrison city of Rawalpindi to discuss the changes in Kashmir.

It was unclear when the security measures would be eased in Kashmir, but an outpouring of condemnation by Kashmiris living outside the region or who were able to access the internet despite the government blocks suggested the population would resist the Indian Government's actions.

India has continued to contest unrest in its only Muslim-majority state. ( Supplied: Mubashir Hassan )

Ordinary Kashmiris have feared the measures would be a prelude to intensifying an ongoing crackdown against anti-India dissenters.

Rebels have been fighting Indian control for decades. Security lockdowns, general strikes and civilian street demonstrations against Indian control are routine.

About 70,000 people have been killed in the rebel uprising and the ensuing Indian crackdown.

Editor's note August 9, 2019: This story has been edited to remove an unsourced claim about the level of Kashmiri support for the rebels' demands.

ABC/wires