Shops and offices were shut in Indian Kashmir and the streets largely deserted as federal authorities have now formally revoked the region's constitutional autonomy and split it into two federal territories.

Key points: India's Parliament voted to revoke Indian Kashmir's autonomy in August

India's Parliament voted to revoke Indian Kashmir's autonomy in August The region is now split into two union territories subject to greater federal oversight

The region is now split into two union territories subject to greater federal oversight China and Pakistan have territorial claims in the region and condemned the move

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision in August to dissolve Kashmir's political autonomy has stoked anger and resentment within India's Muslim-majority region.

Just after midnight on Wednesday (local time), the federal government's orders went into effect, dividing up the old state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories — one Jammu and Kashmir, and the other the Buddhist-dominated enclave of Ladakh.

New Delhi has a much bigger say in the overall administrative affairs of union territories, considered the lowest governance unit in India. There are now nine union territories and 28 states.

Both will be led by government-appointed lieutenant governors, with Girish Chandra Murmu sworn in for Jammu and Kashmir.

Jammu and Kashmir's first lieutenant governor, Girish Chandra Murmu was sworn in. ( Government of Jammu and Kashmir Information Department via AFP )

The most visible change is the absence of Kashmir's own flag and constitution, which were eliminated as part of the region's new status.

"Everything changes on Thursday. From a state, we are reduced to a municipality," said a retired Kashmiri judge, Hasnain Masoodi, a member of India's Parliament.

"The entire exercise is unconstitutional. The mode and methodology have been undemocratic. People were humiliated and never consulted."

However, Mr Modi said the region had a "bright future".

"We are happy that Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are moving towards a new future from today onwards," Mr Modi said.

India is hoping that by opening up property rights in Kashmir to people from outside the region it can reignite economic growth, create jobs and turn the focus away from the region's armed conflict in which more than 40,000 people have died.

But the government's decision still hangs in the balance, with the Indian Supreme Court set to hear a challenge to the decision in November.

China says move is 'awful and void'

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 9 minutes 9 m Kashmir is central to a tripartite geopolitical tussle in the Himalayas.

Pakistan, which claims the whole of Kashmir in line with India, has condemned the move.

Its ally China, which is also locked in a separate decades-old territorial dispute with India over a part of Kashmir called Ladakh, also slammed New Dehli for unilaterally changing its status.

New Dehli has blamed Islamabad for keeping the tensions in the region alive, allegations that the fellow nuclear-armed neighbour denies.

India and China fought a war in 1962 and since then have been unable to resolve their border dispute.

Pakistan and India have fought two wars since independence in 1947 and engaged in an aerial clash over the territory.

India, Pakistan and China all control parts of the Jammu and Kashmir region. ( ABC News: GFX/Jarrod Fankhauser )

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said Kashmir was a historical dispute which should be peacefully resolved.

"The Indian government officially announced the establishment of so-called Jammu Kashmir territory and Ladakh Union territory which included some of China's territory into its administrative jurisdiction," Mr Geng said at a news briefing.

"China deplores and firmly opposed that. India unilaterally changes its domestic law and administrative divisions, challenging China's sovereignty and interests,

"This is awful and void, and this is not effective in any way and will not change the fact that the area is under China's actual control."

'Reach out and engage with them before it's too late'

Those unhappy with the Government's decision have taken to the streets to throw stones at paramilitary officers. ( AP: Mukhtar Khan )

Authorities deployed additional paramilitary forces in the city of Srinagar where small protests have erupted in the past since the August 5 announcement of the change of status.

At least 7,000 people, mostly young men, had been arrested since Kashmir's security lockdown was imposed in the first week of August.

Indian officials say at least 3,000 have since been released, while about 250 of those still being held have been moved to various Indian jails outside Kashmir.

There have also been allegations of torture by Indian troops, something the government denies.

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Access to around half of mobile phones was only restored on October 14 and the internet remains offline for over 7 million people.

Kashmiri journalists were also detained by authorities following the Government's announcement, while the work of international and other Indian journalists have been stymied by rolling internet and mobile service blackouts.

The UN High Commission for Human Rights in Geneva said it was "extremely concerned" at the situation.

"We urge the Indian authorities to unlock the situation and fully restore the rights that are currently being denied," it said.

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, one of many of politicians in detention to prevent large protests from breaking out, said the federal government must engage with Kashmiris before they become even more alienated.

"GOI [Government of India] has left Kashmiris in the lurch & shown disregard for their rights," she said in a Twitter post which is being handled by her daughter.

"But if you consider them as your own, reach out & engage with them before it's too late".

ABC/wires