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Kashmir
Movement |
Violence Update
From Jan 1989 to August 31, 2008
|
Total Killings * |
92,532 |
|
Custodial Killings |
6,944 |
|
Civilians Arrested |
115,500 |
|
Structures Arsoned/Destroyed |
105,645 |
|
Women Widowed |
22,663 |
|
Children Orphaned |
107,194 |
|
Women gang-raped / Molested |
9,837 |
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The State of Jammu and Kashmir has historically remained
independent, except in the anarchical conditions of the
late 18th and first half of the 19th century, or when
incorporated in the vast empires set up by the Mauryas
(3rd century BC)
All these empires included not only present-day India
and Pakistan but some other countries of the region as
well. Until 1846, Kashmir was part of the Sikh empire.
In that year, the British defeated the Sikhs and sold
Kashmir to Gulab Singh of Jammu for Rs. 7.5 million
under the Treaty of Amritsar. Gulab Singh, the Mahraja,
signed a separate treaty with the British which gave him
the status of an independent princely ruler of Kashmir.
Gulab Singh died in 1857 and was replaced by Rambir
Singh (1857-1885). Two other Marajas, Partab Singh
(1885-1925) and Hari Singh (1925-1949) ruled in
succession.
Gulab Singh and his successors ruled Kashmir in a
tyrannical and repressive way. The people of Kashmir,
nearly 80 per cent of whom were Muslims, rose against
Maharaja Hari Singh's rule. He ruthlessly crushed a mass
uprising in 1931. In 1932, Sheikh Abdullah formed
Kashmir's first political party--the All Jammu & Kashmir
Muslim Conference (renamed as National Conference in
1939). In 1934, the Maharaja gave way and allowed
limited democracy in the form of a Legislative Assembly.
However, unease with the Maharaja's rule continued.
According to the instruments of partition of India, the
rulers of princely states were given the choice to
freely accede to either India or Pakistan, or to remain
independent. They were, however, advised to accede to
the contiguous dominion, taking into consideration the
geographical and ethnic issues.
In Kashmir, however, the Maharaja hesitated. The
principally Muslim population, having seen the early and
covert arrival of Indian troops, rebelled and things got
out of the Maharaja's hands. The people of Kashmir were
demanding to join Pakistan. The Maharaja, fearing tribal
warfare, eventually gave way to the Indian pressure and
agreed to join India by, as India claims, 'signing' the
controversial Instrument of Accession on 26 October
1947. Kashmir was provisionally accepted into the Indian
Union pending a free and impartial plebiscite. This was
spelled out in a letter from the Governor General of
India, Lord Mountbatten, to the Maharaja on 27 October
1947. In the letter, accepting the accession,
Mountbatten made it clear that the State would only be
incorporated into the Indian Union after a reference had
been made to the people of Kashmir. Having accepted the
principle of a plebiscite, India has since obstructed
all attempts at holding a plebiscite.
Kashmir is the oldest unresolved international disput in
the world
In 1947, India and Pakistan went to war over Kashmir.
During the war, it was India which first took the
Kashmir dispute to the United Nations on 1 January 1948
The following year, on 1 January 1949, the UN helped
enforce ceasefire between the two countries. The
ceasefire line is called the Line of Control. It was an
outcome of a mutual consent by India and Pakistan that
the UN Security Council (UNSC) and UN Commission for
India and Pakistan (UNCIP) passed several resolutions in
years following the 1947-48 war. The UNSC Resolution of
21 April 1948--one of the principal UN resolutions on
Kashmir--stated that "both India and Pakistan desire
that the question of the accession of Jammu and Kashmir
to India or Pakistan should be decided through the
democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite".
Subsequent UNSC Resolutions reiterated the same stand.
UNCIP Resolutions of 3 August 1948 and 5 January 1949
reinforced UNSC resolutions
World's oldest dispute
The Kashmir dispute is the oldest unresolved
international conflict in the world today. Pakistan
considers Kashmir as its core political dispute with
India. So does the international community, except
India. While Indian security forces are practicing an
unprecedented reign of terror in Occupied Kashmir being
widely reported world-wide; the Indian government,
currently led by Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata
Party, is neither willing to negotiate the issue
multilaterally--through international mediation--nor is
it ready to sort it out with Pakistan through bilateral
negotiations. India and Pakistan have already fought two
wars over Kashmir. The exchange of fire between their
forces across the Line of Control, which separates Azad
Kashmir from Occupied Kashmir, is a routine affair. Now
that both India and Pakistan have acquired nuclear
weapons potential, the possibility of a third war
between them over Kashmir, which may involve the use of
nuclear weapons, cannot be ruled out. The likely nuclear
disaster in South Asia, whose cause may be Kashmir, can
be averted with an intervention by the international
community. Such an intervention is urgently required to
put an end to Indian atrocities in Occupied Kashmir and
prepare the ground for the implementation of UN
resolutions, which call for the holding of a plebiscite
to determine the wishes of the Kashmiri people.
Nehru's Betrayal
India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru made a
pledge to resolve the Kashmir dispute in accordance with
these resolutions. The sole criteria to settle the
issue, he said, would be the "wishes of the Kashmir
people". A pledge that prime minister Nehru started
violating soon after the UN resolutions were passed. The
Article 370, which gave 'special status' to 'Jammu and
Kashmir', was inserted in the Indian constitution. The
'Jammu and Kashmir Constituent Assembly' was created on
5 November 1951. Prime minister Nehru also signed the
Delhi Agreement with the then 'ruler' of the disputed
State, Sheikh Adbullah, which incorporated Article 370.
In 1957, the disputed State was incorporated into the
Indian Union under a new Constitution. This was done in
direct contravention of resolutions of the UNSC and
UNCIP and the conditions of the controversial Instrument
of Accession. The said constitutional provision was
rushed through by the then puppet 'State' government of
Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed. The people of Kashmir were not
consulted.
In 1965, India and Pakistan once again went to war over
Kashmir. A cease-fire was established in September 1965.
Indian prime minister Lal Bhadur Shastri and Pakistani
president Ayub Khan signed the Tashkent Declaration on 1
January 1966. They resolved to try to end the dispute by
peaceful means. Although Kashmir was not the cause of
1971 war between the two countries, a limited war did
occur on the Kashmir front in December 1971. The 1971
war was followed by the signing of the Simla Accord,
under which India and Pakistan are obliged to resolve
the dispute through bilateral talks. Until the early
1997, India never bothered to discuss Kashmir with
Pakistan even bilaterally. The direct
foreign-secretaries-level talks between the two
countries did resume in the start of the 1990s; but, in
1994, they collapsed. This happened because India was
not ready even to accept Kashmir a dispute as such,
contrary to what the Tashkent Declaration and the Simla
Accord had recommended and what the UNSC and UNCIP in
their resolutions had stated.
The government of prime minister Nawaz Sharif, after
coming to power in February 1997, took the initiative of
resuming the foreign secretaries-level talks with India.
The process resumed in March 1997 in New Delhi. At the
second round of these talks in June 1997 in Islamabad,
India and Pakistan agreed to constitute a Joint Working
Group on Kashmir. But soon after the talks, India
backtracked from the agreement, the same way as prime
minister Nehru had done back in the 1950s by violating
his own pledge regarding the implementation of UN
resolutions seeking Kashmir settlement according to, as
Mr Nehru himself described, "the wishes of the Kashmiri
people." The third round of India-Pakistan foreign
secretaries-level talks was held in New Delhi in
September 1997, but no progress was achieved as India
continued dithering on the question of forming a Joint
Working Group on Kashmir. The Hindu nationalist
government of prime minister Atal Behari Vajpaee is
neither ready to accept any international mediation on
Kashmir, nor is it prepared to seriously negotiate the
issue bilaterally with Pakistan.
Popular uprising since 1989
Since 1989, the situation in Occupied Kashmir has
undergone a qualitative change. In that year,
disappointed by decades-old indifference of the world
community towards their just cause and threatened by
growing Indian state suppression, the Kashmiri Muslim
people rose in revolt against India. A popular uprising
that has gained momentum with every passing day--unlike
the previous two popular uprisings by Kashmiris
(1947-48, first against Dogra rule and then against
Indian occupation; and 1963, against Indian rule,
triggered by the disappearance of Holy relic), which
were of a limited scale.
The initial Indian response to the 1989 Kashmiri
uprising was the imposition of Governor's Rule in the
disputed State in 1990, which was done after dissolving
the government of Farooq Abdullah, the son of Sheikh
Abdullah. From July 1990 to October 1996, the occupied
State remained under direct Indian presidential rule. In
September 1996, India stange-managed 'State Assembly'
elections in Occupied Kashmir, and Farooq Abdullah
assumed power in October 1996. Since then, the situation
in the occupied territories has further deteriorated.
Not only has the Indian military presence in the
disputed land increased fundamentally, the reported
incidents of killing, rape, loot and plunder of its
people by Indian security forces have also quadrupled.
To crush the Kashmiri freedom movement, India has
employed various means of state terrorism, including a
number of draconian laws, massive counter-insurgency
operations, and other oppressive measures. The draconian
laws, besides several others, include the Armed Forces
(Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act, 1990; Terrorist
and Disruptive Activities Act (TADA), 1990; the Jammu &
Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978 (amended in 1990); and
the Jammu & Kashmir Disturbed Areas Act, 1990.
Most densely-soldiered territory
The Indian troops-to-Kashmiri people ratio in the
occupied Kashmir is the largest ever
soldiers-to-civilians ratio in the world. There are
approximately 600,000 Indian military forces--including
regular army, para-military troops, border security
force and police--currently deployed in the occupied
Kashmir. This is in addition to thousands of
"counter-militants" --the civilians hired by the Indian
forces to crush the uprising.
Since the start of popular uprising, thousands of
innocent Kashmir people have been killed by the Indian
occupation forces. There are various estimates of these
killings. According to government of India estimates,
the number of persons killed in Occupied Kashmir between
1989 and 1996 was 15,002. Other Indian leaders have
stated a much higher figure. For instance, former Home
Minister Mohammad Maqbool Dar said nearly 40,000 people
were killed in the Valley "over the past seven years."
Farooq Abdullah�s 1996 statement estimated 50,000
killings "since the beginning of the uprising." The
All-Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC)--which is a
representative body of over a dozen Kashmiri freedom
fighters' organisations--also cites the same number.
Estimates of world news agencies and international human
rights organisations are over 20,000 killed.
Indian human rights violations in Occupied Kashmir
include indiscriminate killings and mass murders,
torturing and extra-judicial executions, and destruction
of business and residential properties, molesting and
raping women. These have been extensively documented by
Amnesty International, US Human Rights Watch-Asia,
Physicians for Human Rights, International Commission of
Jurists (Geneva), Contact Group on Kashmir of the
Organisation of islamic Countries--and, in India, by
Peoples Union for Civil Liberties, the Coordination
Committee on Kashmir, and the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples�
Basic Rights Protection Committee. Despite repeated
requests over the years by world human righits
organisations such as the Amnesty International, the
Indian government has not permitted them any access to
occupied territories. In 1997, it even refused the
United Nations representatives permission to visit
there.
Settling the Kashmir issue
For decades, India has defied with impunity all the UN
resolutions on Kashmir, which call for the holding of a
"free and fair" plebiscite under UN supervision to
determine the wishes of the Kashmiri people. Not just
this. A massive Indian military campaign has been on,
especially since the start of the popular Kashmiri
uprising in 1989, to usurp the basic rights of the
Kashmiri people. Killing, torture, rape and other
inhuman practices by nearly 600,000 Indian soldiers are
a norm of the day in Occupied Kashmir.
The Kashmir problem will be solved the moment
international community decides to intervene in the
matter--to put an end to Indian state terrorism in
Occupied Kashmir and to implement UN resolutions. These
resolutions recommend demilitarization of Kashmir
(through withdrawal of all outside forces), followed
immediately by a plebiscite under UN supervision to
determine the future status of Kashmir. The intervention
of the international community is all the more
necessary, given the consistent Indian opposition to
both bilateral and multilateral options to settle the
Kashmir issue. Such an intervention is also urgently
required to stop the ever-growing Indian brutalities
against the innocent Muslim people of Kashmir, who have
been long denied their just right to self-determination.
Averting the Nuclear Disaster
If the world community failed to realise the gravity of
the Kashmir problem now, there is every likelihood of
Kashmir once again becoming the cause of another war
between India and Pakistan. And, since both the
countries have acquired overt nuclear weapons potential,
and since India led by Hindu nationalists has clearly
shown its aggressive intentions towards Kashmir after
declaring itself a nuclear state, a third India-Pakistan
war over Kashmir is a possibility, a war that may result
in a South Asian nuclear catastrophe. The world
community, therefore, has all the reasons for settling
Kashmir, the core unresolved political dispute between
Islamabad and New Delhi.
Like many other international disputes, the Kashmir
issue remained a victim of world power politics during
the Cold War period. When the dispute was first brought
to the UN, the Security Council, with a firm backing of
the United Sates, stressed the settlement of the issue
through plebiscite. Initially, the Soviet Union did not
dissent from it. Later, however, because of its
ideological rivalry with the United States, it blocked
every Resolution of the UN Security Council calling for
implementation of the settlement plan.
In the post-Cold War period--when cooperation not
conflict is the fast emerging norm of international
politics, a factor which has helped resolve some other
regional disputes-- the absence of any credible
international mediation on Kashmir contradicts the very
spirit of the times. An India-Pakistan nuclear war over
Kashmir? Or, settlement of the Kashmir issue, which may
eventually pave the way for setting up a credible global
nuclear arms control and non-proliferation regime? The
choice is with the world community, especially the
principal players of the international system.
Chronology of Major Events
-
1846:
Jammu and Kashmir(J&K*)
State is created under the Treaty of
Amritsar between the East India company and
Raja Gulab Singh of Jammu who buys Kashmir
Valley from the East India Company for
Rs.75,00,000 and adds it to Jammu and Ladakh
already under his rule. Kashmir Valley is a
Muslim majority region speaking the Kashmiri
language and a composite cultural identity
called 'kashmiriyat' transcending religious
barriers; the people are hospitable and
engage in Sufi tradition.
-
1931: The
movement against the repressive Maharaja
Hari Singh begins; it is brutally suppressed
by the State forces. Hari Singh is part of a
Hindu Dogra dynasty, ruling over a majority
Muslim State. The predominantly Muslim
population was not adequately represented in
the State's services.
1932:Sheikh
Mohammed Abdullah sets up the All Jammu and
Kashmir Muslim Conference to fight for
Kashmiri freedom from the Maharaja's rule,
which would eventually become the National
Conference in 1939.
The Glancy Commission appointed by the
Maharaja publishes a report in April 1932,
confirming the existence of the grievances
of the State's subjects and suggests
recommendations providing for adequate
representation of Muslims in the State's
services; Maharaja accepts these
recommendations but delays implementation,
leading to another agitation in 1934;
Maharaja grants a Constitution providing a
Legislative Assembly for the people, but the
Assembly turns out to be powerless.
1946:
National Conference launches Quit Kashmir
movement demanding abrogation of the Treaty
of Amritsar and restoration of sovereignty
to the people of Kashmir. Abdullah is
arrested.
1947:
On 15 August, the Indian subcontinent
becomes independent. Kashmir signs
Standstill Agreement with Pakistan. Rulers
of Princely States are encouraged to accede
their States to either Dominion - India or
Pakistan, taking into account factors such
as geographical contiguity and the wishes of
their people. The Maharaja of Kashmir delays
his decision in an effort to remain
independent.
In theory, rulers were allowed to accede
their States to either Dominion,
irrespective of the wishes of their people;
but as a practical matter, they were
encouraged to accede to the geographically
contiguous Dominion, taking into account the
wishes of their people and in cases where a
dispute arose, it was decided to settle the
question of accession by a plebiscite, a
scheme proposed and accepted by India. Being
a Muslim majority State and contiguous to
Pakistan, Kashmir was expected to accede to
Pakistan; since the Hindu Ruler acceded
instead to India, a dispute arose in the
case of Kashmir.
In 1948, India imposed and won a plebiscite
in the case of Junagadh, which had a Hindu
majority ruled by a Muslim Ruler who acceded
to Pakistan; However, in the case of
Kashmir, the mirror image of Junagadh, India
did not hold a plebiscite; Pakistan applied
its own share of double standards by having
divergent positions on Kashmir and Junagadh,
insisting it get both.
In Spring,
internal revolt begins in the Poonch region
against oppressive taxation under the
recently imposed direct rule by the
Maharaja; Poonch was a predominantly Muslim
area. Maharaja strengthens the Sikh and
Hindu garrisons in the Muslim areas and
orders the Muslims to deposit arms with the
police. In August, Maharaja's forces
fire upon demonstrations in favour of
Kashmir joining Pakistan, killing innocent
people. The people of Poonch evacuate their
families, cross over to Pakistan and return
with arms. In the last week of August, a
condition of unrest and spasmodic violence
turns into an organised rebellion resulting
in killings of Hindus and Sikhs and atleast
60,000 refugees fleeing to Jammu by 13
September. The rebellion spreads to adjacent
Mirpur and Muzaffarabad. The Poonch rebels
declare an independent government of "Azad"
Kashmir on 24 October.
In
September, massacre of Muslims start in
Jammu by armed bands of Hindus and Sikhs
with active support from the State forces.
Hundreds of thousands of Muslims flee Jammu.
On 12 October, Pakistan sends telegram to
Kashmir detailing the atrocities and demands
an impartial inquiry; Kashmir does not deny
the charges in the reply telegram and
promises an inquiry which would never be
carried out. There was no communal violence
in the Kashmir Valley itself.
Barring
National Conference, other political parties
including the Muslim Conference and the
Chiefs of Gilgit region, advise the Maharaja
against acceding to the Indian Union. While
in prison, Sheikh Abdullah writes a letter
to a friend in Jammu, which is published in
the Congress press, in favour of accession
of Kashmir to India. Abdullah is released
from prison on 29 September, in response to
pressure from India. After his release, he
speaks in favour of Kashmir's freedom before
accession. Throughout his career, he would
thus continue to oscillate between a
pro-India stance and demanding
self-determination for Kashmiris. On 22
October, he explains the apprehension of the
Kashmiri Muslims in joining India, given the
massacre of muslims in Kapurthala and
elsewhere in India. On 26 October, he
demands transfer of power to the people
within ten days.
On 22
October, thousands of Pathan tribesmen
from Pakistan, recruited by the Poonch
rebels, invade Kashmir along with the Poonch
rebels, allegedly incensed by the atrocities
against fellow Muslims in Poonch and Jammu.
The tribesmen engage in looting and killing
along the way. The tribesmen and the Poonch
rebels are unofficially supported by various
individuals and high ranking officials in
Pakistan including Prime Minister Liaquat
Ali Khan and Chief Minister of North West
Frontier Province. India accuses Pakistan of
violating the Standstill Agreement with
Kashmir by disrupting the supply links and
of engaging in aggression by sending in the
tribesmen. Pakistan refutes the charges.
1947:
The Maharaja of the State of Jammu and
Kashmir signs the Instrument of Accession (IOA)
on 26 October, acceding the 75%
majority Muslim region to the Indian Union,
following invasion by the tribesmen from
Pakistan, according to the 1948 Indian White
Paper; India accepts the accession,
regarding it provisional until such time as
the will of the people can be ascertained by
a plebiscite, since Kashmir was recognized
as a disputed territory. [A plebiscite is
the direct vote of all members of an
electorate on an important public question
being referred to them, in this case
accession of Kashmir to India or Pakistan.]
It should be noted that the IOA itself does
not specify any provisionality or
conditionality of accession, while the White
Paper specifies it clearly, thus creating a
conflict between strict legal interpretation
and repeated official promise made to the
people of Kashmir.
The Indian army enters the state on 27
October to repel the invaders. On 27-28
October, Pathan tribesmen engage in looting
and killing a large number of people in
Baramula, which results in the exodus of
over 10,000 residents. There are also
charges of atrocities by the Indian army.
Sheikh Abdullah endorses the accession as
ad-hoc which would be ultimately decided by
a plebiscite and is appointed head of the
emergency administration. Pakistan disputes
that the accession is illegal given the
Maharaja acted under duress and that he has
no right to sign an agreement with India
when the standstill agreement with Pakistan
is still in force.
In November
1947, India proposes that Pakistan withdraw
all its troops first, as a precondition for
a plebiscite, which Pakistan rejects on the
grounds that the Kashmiris may not vote
freely given the presence of Indian army and
Sheikh Abdullah's friendship with the Indian
Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. Pakistan
proposes simultaneous withdrawal of all
troops followed by a plebiscite under
international auspices, which India rejects.
Pakistan sends regular forces to Kashmir and
the first war over Kashmir breaks out.
Alastair Lamb, Incomplete Partition,
Roxford 1997, pp.217-222
1948:
India takes the Kashmir problem to the
United Nations (UN) Security Council on 1
January.
1949:On
1 January, a ceasefire between Indian and
Pakistani forces leaves India in control of
most of the valley, as well as Jammu and
Ladakh, while Pakistan gains control of part
of Kashmir including what Pakistan calls "Azad"
Kashmir and Northern territories. Pakistan
claims it is merely supporting an indigenous
rebellion in "Azad" Kashmir and Northern
Territories against repression, while India
terms that territory as POK (Pakistan
Occupied Kashmir).
1949:
On 5 January 1949, UNCIP (United Nations
Commission for India and Pakistan)
resolution states that the question of the
accession of the State of Jammu and Kashmir
to India or Pakistan will be decided through
a free and impartial plebiscite. As per the
1948 and 1949 UNCIP resolutions, both
countries accept the principle, that
Pakistan secures the withdrawal of Pakistani
intruders followed by withdrawal of
Pakistani and Indian forces, as a basis for
the formulation of a Truce agreement whose
details are to be arrived in future,
followed by a plebiscite; However, both
countries fail to arrive at a Truce
agreement due to differences in
interpretation of the procedure for and
extent of demilitarisation one of them being
whether the Azad Kashmiri army is to be
disbanded during the truce stage or the
plebiscite stage.
1949:
On 17 October, the Indian Constituent
Assembly adopts Article 370 of the
Constitution, ensuring a special status and
internal autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir with
Indian jurisdiction in Kashmir limited to
the three areas agreed in the IOA, namely,
defence, foreign affairs and communications.
1951:
First post-independence elections. The UN
passes a resolution to the effect that such
elections do not substitute a plebiscite,
because a plebiscite offers the option of
choosing between India and Pakistan. Sheikh
Abdullah wins, mostly unopposed. There are
widespread charges of election rigging which
continue to plague all the subsequent
elections.
1947-1952: Sheikh Abdullah drifts from a
position of endorsing accession to India in
1947 to insisting on the self-determination
of Kashmiris in 1952. In July 1952, he signs
Delhi Agreement with the Central government
on Centre-State relationships, providing for
autonomy of the State within India and of
regions within the State; Article 370 is
confirmed and the State is allowed to have
its own flag. The domination of Kashmir
Valley and Abdullah's land reforms create
discontent in Jammu and Ladakh.
1952:
Jawaharlal Nehru in the Lok Sabha on August
7 - "...Ultimately - I say this with all
deference to this Parliament - the decision
will be made in the hearts and minds of the
men and women of Kashmir; neither in this
Parliament, nor in the United Nations nor by
anybody else"
Selected works of Jawaharlal Nehru, vol. 19
pp. 295-6.
1953-54:
The governments of India and Pakistan agree
to appoint a Plebiscite Administrator by the
end of April 1954. Abdullah procrastinates
in confirming the accession of Kashmir to
India. In August 1953, Abdullah is dismissed
and arrested. Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed is
installed in power, who then gets the
accession formally ratified in 1954.
Pakistan and
US sign a Mutual Defence Assistance
Agreement in May 1954; Nehru states
that he is concerned about the cold-war
alignments and that such an alliance affects
the Kashmir issue. India would resist
plebiscite efforts from then on. Kashmiri
activists continue to insist on the promised
self-determination.
In September
1954, Pakistan joins SEATO (South East Asian
Treaty Organization) and later CENTO
(Central Treaty Organization) in 1955,
aligning herself with US, UK, Turkey and
Iran. From 1955, Indo-Soviet relations
become closer with India receiving Soviet
military aid and later the Soviet would veto
the 1962 UN Security Council resolutions on
Kashmir in favour of India.
1956-1959: On 30 October 1956, the state
Constituent Assembly adopts a constitution
for the state declaring it an integral part
of the Indian Union. On 24 January 1957, UN
passes another resolution stating that such
actions would not constitute a final
disposition of the State. India's Home
Minister, Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant, during
his visit to Srinagar, declares that the
State of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral
part of India and there can be no question
of a plebiscite.
In April 1959, permit system
for entry to the State is abolished. In
October, the State Constition is amended to
extend jurisdiction of Union Election
Commission to the State and bring its High
Court at par with those in the rest of
India.
1962:
India and China go to war on account of a
border dispute in the Ladakh region; At the
end of war, China occupies 37,555 sq. kms
from Indian held Kashmir at Aksai-chin and
Demochok in Ladakh. In December, 5180 sq.
kms are conditionally taken over by China at
Shaksgam in Northern Areas of Kashmir under
Pakistan control.
1964:
Sheikh Abdullah is released in April 1964;
The ailing Prime Minister Nehru sends
Abdullah to Pakistan on 25 May, in an effort
to resolve the Kashmir problem, taking into
account the wishes of Kashmiris; Nehru
passes away on 27 May and the talks get
stranded.
Protest
demonstrations occur in Kashmir valley and
Pakistan held parts of the State in December
against Articles 356 and 357 of the Indian
Constitution being extended to the state, by
virtue of which the Centre can assume the
government of the State and exercise its
legislative powers. The special status
accorded to the State under Article 370,
continues to get eroded.
1965-1966: In early 1965, India and
Pakistan engage in a series of clashes in
the Rann of Kutch which ends in a ceasefire
on 30 June under British mediation.
In May
1965, Sheikh Abdullah is arrested on his
return to India from Mecca on account of his
meeting with the Chinese Prime Minister at
Algiers. Angry protests occur in Kashmir
Valley; the Plebiscite Front initiates a
satyagraha for Abdullah's release and
many workers are arrested.
In Aug 1965,
Pakistan undertakes Operation Gibraltar and
sends in a few thousand armed infiltrators
across the cease-fire line, and incidents of
violence increase in Kashmir valley. A full
Indo-Pakistani war breaks out which ends in
a ceasefire on 23 September. In January
1966, Tashkent Declaration is signed by both
countries agreeing to revert to pre-1965
position, under Russian mediation. Pakistan
supported guerrilla groups in Kashmir
increase their activities after the
ceasefire.
Kashmiri
nationalists Amanullah Khan and Maqbool Butt
form another Plebiscite Front with an armed
wing called the Jammu and Kashmir National
Liberation Front (NLF) in Azad Kashmir, with
the objective of freeing Kashmir from Indian
occupation. Butt crosses into the Valley in
June 1966 and engages in clashes with the
Indian army. He is arrested and sentenced to
death in 1968 but escapes to Azad Kashmir
with help from the local people.
1967-1968: In April 1967, Jammu Autonomy
Forum is formed with the objective of
regional autonomy. In November 1968,
Gajendragadkar Commission recommends
statutory regional development boards.
1971:
An Indian Airlines plane, 'Ganga', en route
from Srinagar to New Delhi, is hijacked in
January and diverted to Lahore and later
blown up after allowing passengers to leave.
Maqbool Butt claims responsibility.
India backs
sends troops to East Pakistan to defend its
secessionist movement against the repressive
Pakistani army. Pakistan launches an attack
from the West including Kashmir. India
defeats Pakistan and East Pakistan becomes
independent Bangladesh. The cease-fire line
in Kashmir becomes the 'Line of Control'(LOC).
Pakistan holds India responsible for the
dismemberment of their country.
Alastair Lamb, Kashmir A Disputed Legacy
1846-1990, Roxford 1991, p.295
1972:
India and Pakistan sign the Simla Agreement
in July, which has a clause that the final
settlement of Kashmir will be decided
bilaterally in the future and that both the
sides shall respect the LOC.
1974:
In November, Kashmir Accord is signed by
G.Parthasarathy for Indira Gandhi and Mirza
Afzal Beg for Sheikh Abdullah, who is out of
power at that time. The Accord retains
Kashmir's special status, but the state is
termed as a 'constituent unit of the Union
of India'. Opposition parties and Pakistan
condemn the Accord. Abdullah is installed
back in power. Later in 1977, he would speak
in favour of protecting the autonomy and
special status of Kashmir.
1976:
Maqbool Butt is arrested on his return to
the Valley; Amanullah Khan moves to England
and NLF becomes Jammu and Kashmir liberation
Front(JKLF).
1979:
The USSR invades Afghanistan. The US and
Pakistan are involved in training,
recruiting, arming, and unleashing the
Mujahedin on Afghanistan. The mujahedin so
recruited would take on their own agenda of
establishing Islamic rule in Kashmir from
the late 1980's. The Sikri Commission is
appointed to inquire into regional
grievances in J&K.
1984:
Indian and Pakistani armies engage in
clashes in Siachen Glacier, a no-man's land
at an altitude of 20,000ft with extreme
weather conditions, where the cease-fire
line had been left undefined by 1972 Simla
Agreement; Siachen is perceived to be of
strategic importance for access to the
Northern Areas and the spasmodic clashes
would continue through later years, costing
thousands of lives and billions of dollars.
Alastair Lamb, Kashmir A Disputed Legacy
1846-1990, Roxford 1991, p.326
1987:
Farooq Abdullah wins the elections. The
Muslim United Front (MUF) accuses that the
elections have been rigged. The MUF
candidate Mohammad Yousuf Shah is imprisoned
and he would later become Syed Salahuddin,
chief of militant outfit Hizb-ul-Mujahedin.
His election aides (known as the HAJY group)
- Abdul Hamid Shaikh, Ashfaq Majid Wani,
Javed Ahmed Mir and Mohammed Yasin Malik -
would join the JKLF.
Balraj Puri, Kashmir: Towards Insurgency,
New Delhi 1993, p.52
Amanullah Khan takes refuge in
Pakistan, after being deported from England
and begins to direct operations across the
LoC. Young disaffected Kashmiris in the
valley are recruited by JKLF.
1988:
Protests begin in the Valley along with
anti-India demonstrations, followed by
police firing and curfew.
1989:
Militancy increases with bomb blasts. On 8
December, Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of the
Home Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed is
kidnapped by the JKLF. She is released
safely on 13 December in exchange for the
release of five JKLF leaders. Kashmiri
Pandits Jia Lal Taploo and Neel Kanth Ganjoo
are killed by militants, the latter for
sentencing Maqbool Butt to death in 1984.
Soviet
occupation of Afghanistan comes to and end.
A large numbers of militant and weapons
enter Kashmir through Pakistan, further
fueling the discontent.
In the Indian
Defence Review of July 1989, one of
India's top defence specialists,
K.Subrahmanyam, cites the existence of a
secret Pakistani plan to start a Kashmiri
uprising, code-named 'Operation Topac', that
the late General Zia-ul-Haq reportedly set
in motion. However, this plan is later shown
to be false and concocted by Indian analysts
as a hypothetical exercise, a fact
Subrahmanyam later acknowledges. Curiously,
Operation Topac continues to be quoted by
Indian officials including the Indian
Embassy.
Edward Desmond, The Insurgency in
Kashmir(1989-1991), Contemporary South Asia
(March 1995), 4(1), p.8
1990:
In January, Jagmohan is appointed as
the Governor. Farooq Abdullah resigns. On 20
January, an estimated 100 people are killed
when a large group of unarmed protesters are
fired upon by the Indian troops at the
Gawakadal bridge. With this incident, it
becomes an insurgency of the entire
population.
Victoria Schofield, Kashmir in Conflict,
New York 2000, pp.143-154.
Balraj Puri, Kashmir: Towards Insurgency,
New Delhi 1993, pp.60-61.
On 13
February, Lassa Kaul, director of
Srinagar Doordarshan, is killed by the
militants for pro-India media policy. In the
end of February, an estimated 400,000
kashmiris take to the streets of Srinagar,
demanding a plebiscite.
On March
1, an estimated one million take to the
streets and more than forty people are
killed in police firing. Massive protest
marches by unarmed civilians continue in
Srinagar.
The JKLF
tries to explain that the killings of
Pandits were not communal. The rise of new
militant groups, some warnings in anonymous
posters and some unexplained killings of
innocent members of the community contribute
to an atmosphere of insecurity for the
Kashmiri Pandits. Joint reconciliation
efforts by members from both Muslim and
Pandit communities are actively discouraged
by Jagmohan. Most of the estimated 162,500
Hindus in the Valley, including the entire
Kashmiri Pandit community, flee in March.
In May,
an estimated 200,000 Kashmiris take to the
streets in a funeral procession of the
martyred leader Mirwaiz Maulvi Farooq; over
100 are killed in police firing. Jagmohan
resigns and Girish Saxena is appointed as
the new Governor.
1990-2001:
An officially estimated 10,000 desperate
Kashmiri youth cross-over to Pakistan for
training and procurement of arms. The Hizb
which is backed by Pakistan, increases its
strength dramatically. ISI favours the Hizb
over the secular JKLF and cuts off financing
to the JKLF and in some instances provides
intelligence to India against JKLF. In April
1991, Kashmiris hold anti-Pakistan
demonstrations in Srinagar following killing
of a JKLF area commander by the Hizb. In
1992, Pakistan forces arrest 500 JKLF
marchers led by Amanulla Khan in POK to
prevent bid to cross the border. India also
uses intelligence from captured militants.
JKLF militancy declines. The JKLF faction
led by Yasin Malik announces unilateral
ceasefire in 1994 and pursues political
agenda under the All Parties Hurriyat
(Freedom) Conference (APHC) umbrella,
followed by Amanulla Khan's JKLF faction's
ceasefire in 1997. Since 1995, foreign
militant outfits with Islamic agenda such as
Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and
Harkat-ul-Mujahedin have dominated the
militancy in Kashmir, besides the indigenous
Hizb, all of them under the umbrella United
Jehadi Council(UJC). Other indigenous and
foreign militant organizations proliferate.
Renegade
militants supported by the Indian security
forces are used for extrajudicial executions
of militants, besides human right activists,
journalists and other civilians, and
conveniently dismissed as "intergroup
rivalries". In 1997, the Director General of
Police Gurbachan Jagat acknowledges that
continued services of the renegades have
become counter-productive in view of their
excesses.
The most serious incident of a communal
nature namely the murder of sixteen male
Hindus in Kishtwar in August 1993 is
condemned by the JKLF and the Hizb.
According to official reports, 307 Hindus
and 377 Muslims have been killed in the Doda
and Rajouri districts as of 1998. Hindu
fundamentalism by the local armed Village
Defence Committee (VDC) backed by the Army
and terrorism by Muslim insurgents in
defense of the Muslim community, have fed
each other. Some militant groups with
Islamic agenda have attacked women
sporadically for not wearing the veil, which
has been condemned by the indigenous
militants. The APHC has recently called for
foreign militants to leave Kashmir, since
they are tarnishing the image of their
freedom struggle.
Praveen Swami, The Kargil War, New
Delhi 1999, pp.71-2.
In
November 1995, a BBC documentary
programme showed evidence of camps in Azad
Kashmir and Pakistan, supported by the
Jamaat-i-Islami (political wing of the Hizb),
where fighters were trained and openly
professed their intention of fighting in
Kashmir.
In May
1998, India conducts nuclear tests;
Pakistan also responds with nuclear tests.
On 21 February 1999, India and Pakistan sign
Lahore Declaration, agreeing to 'intensify
their efforts to resolve all issues,
including the issue of Jammu and Kashmir.'
Soon after his visit to Lahore, the Indian
Prime Minister Vajpayee states that 'Kashmir
is an integral part of India and not a
single area of Indian soil would be given
away.'
In June
1998 A Farooq Abdullah instituted
Regional Autonomy Committee (RAC) proposes
devolution of political power at regional,
district, block and panchayats levels and
allocation of funds according to an
objective and equitable formula. Measures
are also suggested to safeguard and promote
cultures of various ethnic communities. 6
months after the recommendations, the State
Government substitutes the RAC report with
its own report recommending the division of
the three regions (Ladakh, Kashmir and
Jammu) into eight autonomous units on
ethnic-religious lines without proposing any
devolution of political and economic powers.
In May
1999, the Indian Army patrols detect
intruders from Pakistan on Kargil ridges in
Kashmir. India fights to regain lost
territory. The infiltrators are withdrawn by
Pakistan in mid-July, following the
Washington Agreement with the US. War
between India and Pakistan becomes more
frightening given the nuclear weaponry
possessed by both countries and Kashmir
remains the underlying flashpoint.
In March
2000, around the time of US President
Clinton's visit to India, unidentified
gunmen gun down 35 Sikhs at Chittisinghpora;
India blames foreign militants; Kashmiris
blame renegade militants employed by Indian
security forces; A few days later, security
forces kill five persons in an "encounter"
at Panchalthan village and claim they are
"foreign militants" responsible for the Sikh
massacre. Later, in July 2002, DNA testing
of the corpses proves that the five persons
killed were civilians. No judicial inquiry
has been conducted on the Sikh massacre till
date.
In June
2000, the State Autonomy Committee( SAC)
Report is discussed and an autonomy
resolution is adopted in the J&K Assembly.
The SAC Report recommends restoration of
Article 370 to pre-1953 status with Indian
jurisdiction limited to defence, foreign
affairs and communications. The Indian
Cabinet rejects the autonomy recommendation
in July.
In
November 2000, India announces an
unilateral ceasefire in Kashmir which
continues through May 2001; APHC welcomes
the ceasefire but states that the ceasefire
will not be effective unless it is
supplemented with unconditional dialogues to
resolve the Kashmir dispute and an end to
human right violations by the Indian forces.
The Hizb declares an unilateral ceasefire in
July which is withdrawn only two weeks
later, following India's refusal to include
Pakistan in any trilateral talks over the
Kashmir dispute proposed by the militants.
In July
2001, India and Pakistan fail to arrive
at a joint agreement at Agra Summit. India
accuses Pakistan for engaging in
cross-border terrorism. Pakistan denies the
accusations.
Dec 13,
2001: Terrorist attack the Indian
Parliament, India and Pakistan build up
massive troops along the border.
May 14,
2002:: At least 30 people are killed in
a terrorist attack on an Indian army camp in
Jammu.
May 21,
2002: Abdul Ghani Lone, a leading and
popular moderate Hurriyat leader is
assassinated by unidentified gunmen. Mirwaiz
Maulvi Farooq had been assassinated by
unidentified gunmen in similar fashion 12
years preceding this. On both occasions,
India blames Pakistan sponsored militants
while Kashmiris blame Indian sponsored
renegades. An impartial investigation has
not yet been carried out.
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Different
Organization Working For Attaining
Freedom
* Hurriyat Conference (G) - Mr. Sayed
Ali Shah Geelani
* Hurriyat Conference (M) - Mr.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq
* Jammu Kashmir Liberation Freedom -
Mr. Yaseen Malik
* Jammu Kashmir Democratic Liberation
Party - Mr. Hashim Qurashi
* Islamic Students Leage - Mr.
Shakeel Bakshi
* Jammu & Kashmir People's League (JKPL)
* Kashmiri American Council (KAC)
* Kashmiri Canadian Council (KCC)
* Kashmiri Scandinavian Council (KSC)
* Kashmir Council of Australia (KCA)
* Kashmir Point Association (KPA)
* Jammu & Kashmir National Students
Federation
* Kashmir Study Group
* Jammu & Kashmir Democratic Freedom
Party (JKDFP) |
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