History of the Kashmir Dispute

History of the Kashmir Dispute

Introduction

Kashmir, officially referred to as Jammu and Kashmir, is an 86,000-square-mile region in northwest India and northeast Pakistan so breathtaking in physical beauty that Mugal   emperors in the 16th and 17th century considered it an earthly paradise. After centuries of Hindu and Buddhist rule, Muslim Moghul emperors took control of Kashmir in the 15th century, converted the population to Islam and incorporated it into the Moghul Empire. Afghan invaders followed the Moghuls in the 18th century, who were themselves driven out by Sikhs from Punjab. Britain invaded in the 19th century and sold the entire Kashmir Valley for half a million rupees (or three rupees per Kashmiri) to the brutal repressive ruler of Jammu, the Hindu Gulab Singh. It was under Singh that the Kashmir Valley became part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. 

The history of the freedom of Kashmir dates to 1931, when the people of Kashmir, both Hindus and Muslims, initiated a freedom movement against their ruler, to have their own indigenous rule in the region. The resentment of the people led to the ‘Quit Kashmir’ campaign against the Maharaja in 1946. Faced with the insurgency of his people, the Maharaja fled the capitol, Srinagar, on October 25, 1947 and implored India to send its army to help him crush the rebellion. India, coveting the territory, set the condition that the Maharaja would have to sign an ‘Instrument of Accession’ with them, subject to ‘reference to the people.’ The region has been violently disputed by India and Pakistan since their 1947 partition, which created Pakistan as the Muslim counterpart to Hindu-majority India

 India brought the dispute to the United Nations, where the Security Council discussed the question exhaustively from January to April of 1948. It was agreed upon by the governments of India and Pakistan, and approved by the international community, that the dispute over the status of Jammu and Kashmir could only be settled in accordance with the will of the people, which could be ascertained through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite.

India and Pakistan were partitioned in 1947. Kashmir was split as well, with two-thirds going to India and a third going to Pakistan, even though India's share was predominantly Muslim, like Pakistan. Muslims rebelled. India repressed them. War broke out. It wasn't settled until a 1949 cease-fire brokered by the United Nations and a resolution calling for a referendum, or plebiscite, allowing Kashmiris to decide their future for themselves. India has never implemented the resolution.

Background

Kashmir has been at the heart of a territorial dispute between India and Pakistan since the two nations gained their independence in 1947. Both claim Kashmir. In 1948 the then-ruler of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, Maharaja Hari Singh, who was holding out for independence, acceded to India on condition that the state retain autonomy in all matters except defense, currency and foreign affairs.  . Fighting between India and Pakistan ended with U.N. intervention; since 1948 the cease-fire line has been monitored by the U.N. Military Observer Group on India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP). The far northern and western areas of the state are under Pakistan's control; the Kashmir valley, Jammu, and Ladakh are under India's control. U.N. resolutions calling for a plebiscite to determine the final status of the territory have been rejected by India, which claims that because Kashmiris have voted in national elections in India, there is no need for a plebiscite. Pakistan maintains that a plebiscite should be held under independent supervision. Several of the militant groups in Kashmir have also called for a plebiscite but argue that an independent Kashmir should be an option. On July 2, 1972, India and Pakistan signed the Simla Accord, under which both countries agreed to respect the cease-fire line, known as the Line of Control, and to resolve differences over Kashmir "by peaceful means" through negotiation. The Simla Accord left the "final settlement" of the Kashmir question to be resolved at an unspecified future date. Since then, the Simla Accord has been the touchstone of all bilateral discussions of the Kashmir issue, even though the accord itself left the issue unresolved.

Progress

India's efforts to manipulate elections in Kashmir and suppress dissent have marked Kashmir's history since 1948, but it was not until 1986 that discontent within the state found wider popular support. In that year the state's ruling National Conference (NC) party, widely accused of corruption, struck a deal with India's Congress Party administration that many in Kashmir saw as a betrayal of Kashmir's autonomy. A new party, the Muslim United Front (MUF), attracted the support of a broad range of Kashmiris, including pro-independence activists, disenchanted Kashmiri youth and the pro-Pakistan Jama'at-i Islami, an Islamic political organization, and appeared poised to do well in state elections in 1987. Blatant rigging assured a National Conference victory, which was followed by the arrests of hundreds of MUF leaders and supporters. In the aftermath, young MUF supporters swelled the ranks of growing number of militant groups who increasingly crossed over to Pakistan for arms and training. The major militant organizations were divided between those advocating an independent Kashmir and those supporting accession to Pakistan. In the late 1980s, the groups began assassinating NC leaders and engaging in other acts of violence. Some groups also targeted Hindu families, and a slow exodus of Hindus from the valley began.

After the elections, militants of the JKLF and other groups stepped up their attacks on the government, detonating bombs at government buildings, buses, and the houses of present and former state officials, and enforcing a state-wide boycott of the November 1989 national parliamentary elections. One month later, JKLF militants abducted the daughter of Home Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, and then freed her when the government gave in to demands for the release of five detained militants. That event, together with a surge in popular protest against the state and central governments, led the central government to launch a massive crackdown on the militants.

On January 19, 1990, the central government imposed direct rule on the state. From the outset, the Indian government's campaign against the militants was marked by widespread human rights violations, including the shooting of unarmed demonstrators, civilian massacres, and summary executions of detainees. Militant groups stepped up their attacks, murdering and threatening Hindu residents, carrying out kidnappings and assassinations of government officials, civil servants, and suspected informers, and engaging in sabotage and bombings. With the encouragement and assistance of the government, some 100,000 Hindu Kashmiris, known as "Pandits," fled the valley. By May 1990, rising tension between Pakistan and India following the escalation of the conflict in Kashmir raised fears of another war between the two countries.

In late 1993, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), an umbrella organization of the leaders of all the political and militant organizations fighting for independence, was founded to act as the political voice of the independence movement. However, rivalries within the APHC have limited its effectiveness. Charges of corruption have also tainted some APHC leaders.1

In the mid-1990s, Indian security forces began arming and training local auxiliary forces made up of surrendered or captured militants to assist in counterinsurgency operations. These state-sponsored paramilitary groups have committed serious human rights abuses, and human rights defenders and journalists have been among the principal victims. Indian occupation forces have also been involved in serious human rights violations including: rape; destruction of property; extra judicial killings.

In May 1996, parliamentary elections were held in the state for the first time since 1989. Militant leaders called for a boycott, however, and there were widespread reports that security forces had forced some voters to go to the polls. During state assembly elections in September of that year as well, residents-particularly those living in Srinagar and other cities-also complained that the security forces had tried to counter a militant boycott by forcing some people to go to the polls. However, a large number appeared to have voted voluntarily. Following the election, the National Conference party formed the first state government since 1990. Farooq Abdullah, who together with leaders from the Congress Party had been responsible for rigging state elections in 1987, again became chief minister.

On May 11 and 13, 1998, India tested five nuclear devices, and three weeks later, Pakistan responded in kind. The tests ignited a firestorm of criticism around the world and triggered sanctions by both countries' donors and trading partners. In the months following the tests, an upsurge in shelling and shooting by Indian and Pakistani troops stationed along the cease-fire line in Kashmir left over one hundred civilians dead. Following a the Indian prime minister's historic bus trip from New Delhi to the Pakistan border in February 1999, the prime ministers of both countries signed the Lahore Declaration in which they vowed, among other things, to renew talks on Kashmir and to alert each other of further arms tests. Following such a warning, on April 11, 1999, India test-fired its long-range Agni missile, and on April 14 and 15, Pakistan did the same with its long-range Gauri and medium-range Shaheen missiles. India conducted another ballistic missile test on April 16; the exchange again raised international concern about the prospects for an arms race on the subcontinent.

Rising tensions in the region have made clear that both India and Pakistan have legitimate security concerns related to Kashmir. But these concerns justify   the abuses committed by Indian military and paramilitary forces  .

Parties to the Conflict

As of 1999, the major militant organizations fighting in Kashmir included the Hizb-ul Mujahidin, Harakat-ul Ansar and Lashgar-i Toiba.   Most of these groups support accession to Pakistan. The Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), the organization that spearheaded the movement for an independent Kashmir, declared a cease-fire in 1994 Pakistani support to freedom fighters was withdrawn after the unilateral concessions by Gen. Mushharf after which all infrastructure and personal involved in this struggle was disbanded. Pakistan also unilaterally allowed India to build the fence along the line of control and working boundary. Pakistan and Kashmiris did not receive any concessions as a result of the above mentioned concessions by the Musharraf government.

The breathing space provided by the Musharraf unilateral concessions to India was unfortunately not used well. India in fact increased violence and failed to win the Kashnmiri hearts. Butt, Guru and Wani incidents further alienated the Kashmiri people who have reached a tipping point where inclusion if the Indian Union is no longer an option.

Central government forces operating in Kashmir include the Indian Army and India's federal security forces, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and the Border Security Force (BSF). The army's role in the conflict expanded in 1993 with the introduction of the Rashtriya Rifles, an elite army unit created specifically for counterinsurgency operations in Kashmir. The Rashtriya Rifles have been the main force in charge of counterinsurgency operations in Doda, Rajouri and Punch. As of June 1999, some 400,000 army troops and other federal security forces were deployed in the valley, including those positioned along the Line of Control.2

In May 1999 India deployed thousands of additional troops to the Kargil region. The local Jammu and Kashmir policemen are generally not involved in counterinsurgency operations, largely because they are believed to be sympathetic to the insurgency.3 However, in 1995 the Special Task Force (STF) and the Special Operations Group (SOG), counterinsurgency divisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Police made up of non-Muslim non-Kashmiri recruits, including some former militants, were formed apparently to create the impression that the counterinsurgency effort had local support. These police forces frequently operate jointly with the Rashtriya Rifles.

Since at least early 1995 Indian security forces have armed and trained local auxiliary forces made up of surrendered or captured militants to assist in counterinsurgency operations. These forces, which function outside of the normal command structure of the Indian army and other security forces, nevertheless are considered state agents under international law. These groups participate in joint patrols, receive and carry out orders given by security officers, and operate in full view of army and security force bunkers and camps. Some members of these groups are even housed in military compounds. They include Ikhwan-ul Muslimoon and Muslim Mujahidin.  

Instead, India has maintained what amounts to an occupying army in Kashmir, cultivating more resentment from the locals than fertile agricultural products. Modern India's founders, Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi, both had Kashmiri roots, which partially explain India's attachment to the region. To India, "Kashmir for the Kashmiris" means nothing. Indian leaders' standard line is that Kashmir is "an integral part" of India.

In 1965, India and Pakistan fought their second of three major wars since 1947 over Kashmir. The United States was largely to blame for setting the stage for war.

The cease-fire three weeks later was not substantial beyond a demand that both sides put down their arms and a pledge to send international observers to Kashmir. Pakistan renewed its call for a referendum by Kashmir's mostly Muslim population of 5 million to decide the region's future, in accordance with a 1949 UN resolution. India continued to resist conducting such a plebiscite. The 1965 war, in sum, settled nothing and merely put off future conflicts

According to a Congressional Research Service report, "Relations between Pakistan and India remain deadlocked on the issue of Kashmiri sovereignty, and a separatist rebellion has been underway in the region since 1989. Tensions were extremely high in the wake of the Kargil conflict of 1999 when an incursion by Pakistani soldiers led to a bloody six-week-long battle."

Tensions over Kashmir rose dangerously in fall 2001, (forcing then-Secretary of State Colin Powell, to de-escalate tensions in person) When a bomb exploded in the Indian Jammu and Kashmir state assembly and an armed band assaulted the Indian Parliament in New Delhi later that year, India mobilized 700,000 troops, threatened war, and provoked Pakistan into mobilizing its forces. American intervention compelled then-Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf,  . He promised to ban and eliminate terrorist infrastructure in Pakistani 

Maqbool Butt    was hanged by the then Indian regime on February 11, 1984 in Tihar Jail, as the reprisal expressed by New Delhi. People and civil society of Jammu and Kashmir do respect him for his legendary struggle for the restoration of freedom in Kashmir. He is now a hero and pioneer of the Kashmiri nation. So as to pay tribute to Maqbool Butt, People of Srinagar have already built and reserved a grave for him in Martyrs Grave Yard of Eidgah, Srinagar. However, his formal burial is still awaited. Maqbool Butt was a Kashmiri freedom fighter and co-founder of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front. He was a leading voice of the struggle for freedom among the Kashmiris. In the year of 1962, Maqbool Butt formed a movement called Kashmir Independence Committee (KIC). This group was later merged into the newly formed Jammu Kashmir Mahaz-Rayee-Shumari (Plebiscite Front) in Azad Kashmir, which was a crusade for complete independence from India. He was sentenced to death for murder by the Delhi High Court and hanged on 11 February 1984. Prior to the publication of ‘Shaoor-e-Farda’ (the vision of tomorrow) by Saeed Asad and Safeer-e-Hurriyat (the ambassador of liberation) by Khawaja Rafiq,  Subsequently, as it appears from his interviews and Rafiq’s narration confirmed by some of his colleagues, he went underground and then in 1958 crossed over to Pakistan along with his uncle   The biased Indian court found him guilty and passed death sentence on him, while others were given the life sentence Butt’s execution further contributed to the sense of alienation among most Kashmiris, and he continues to be a major source of inspiration for the Kashmiri freedom fighters. He was the first Kashmiri to be judicially murdered on Indian soil – making him the first authentic martyr of the Kashmiri independence movement. His execution day is celebrated as Martyr Day every year.  

Afzal Guru- On    February 9, 2013. Afzal Guru was hanged. As the news spread people of Kashmir everywhere started protesting. The protests were against the fulfillment of the collective conscience of the Indian nationalists. It was injustice, and the secret hanging then denying the family the remains are black spots on the justice system of India. Parallel thoughts and perception that Kashmiris were subject to victimization filled the head   Afzal Guru was a college drop-out, a surrendered freedom fighter, once a graduate candidate of Delhi University and victim of state injustice.   He was a person of principles.  Who never stated anything for his own expediency Once Afzal was told by security forces to coach the two sons of higher officials of defense to avoid the threats of kidnapping. And while filing of Curative petition on his behalf by Senior Counsel Indra Jaisingh, he asked him the names of people whose children he had taught.But Afzal said that if he made those names public, the students would face stigma and he did not want to harm them. It has been written in Nandita Haksar’s book “The many faces of Kashmiri Nationalism”as: “She (Indra Jaising) was deeply impressed by how honorable he was. Afzal was not the kind of human being who would sacrifice principles for the sake of expediency”.It is also said that in Delhi, Afzal Guru was taken to the Police Station of the Special Cell at Lodhi road. He was beaten, tortured and humiliated. It was the holy month of Ramzan and the policemen urinated in his mouth, telling him he could break his fast with their urine.
This shows the nature of democracy and secularism that the world’s largest democratic country boasts about 

Burhan Wani- was born in September 19, 1994 at Dadsara village of Tral area of Pulwama in an upper middle-class family of Muzaffar Wani who named him Burhan. Both his father and mother are teachers at government schools in   Burhan joined the armed struggle in October 16, 2010 to avenge the humiliation when he was severely beaten by Indian troops along with his brother Khalid Muzaffar Wani, who was later killed by the Indian army in custody on April 13, 2015 for meeting Burhan in Tral forest. Since 2011, Burhan was popular on social media as a commander of the largest indigenous Kashmiri freedom fighters organization — Hizbul Mujahideen.  . He broke more than 20 Indian army crackdowns with the help of local people who came to rescue him while pelting security forces with stones during siege and search operations that showed the popularity and love of the people for Burhan in IOK Burhan was a smart Kashmiri freedom fighter with political guts and was completely following the line of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) to promote Kashmiris struggle.  A soft-spoken Burhan having European features with a dashing look became the real face of Kashmiri freedom fighters since 2011 to 2016 on social media. It was only Burhan who gathered all militants in Kashmir to fight under an umbrella against illegal Indian rule in IOK.To arrest Burhan, the Indian army had announced one million Indian rupees bounty. It was the martyrdom of Ishfaq Majeed Wani in March in the 1990s that shook the entire IOK and after 27 years Burhan’s martyrdom gave a new life to the freedom struggle. The Indian army along with other security agencies martyred Burhan Wani and his two colleagues — Sartaj Ahmad Sheikh and Pervaiz Ahmad Lashkari — at Bumdoora village in Kokernag area on July 8, 2016. More than one million people gathered at Eidgah Tral and offered 40 funerals of Burhan. He was laid to rest close to the grave of his elder brother Khalid Muzafar Wani. Following the martyrdom of Burhan, the entire IOK was embroiled in violence beginning July 8, 2016 to February 2017. During the longest shutdown and curfew in the history of IOK to mourn the martyrdom of Burhan, clashes erupted between Indian forces and protesters in which nearly 100 people were killed, 15,000 injured and hundreds were made blind by pellet guns.

Conclusions

The people of Kashmir never lost hope either in the United Nations as the custodian of human rights, or in their demand to exercise the right of self-determination. The scale of the popular backing of the uprising in Kashmir can be judged from the established fact that on many occasions during the month of July-August 2018, virtually the entire population of Srinagar and other major towns in the Valley, came out on the streets. They protested attempts by the Government of India to scrap Article 35A of the Indian constitution, which provides special rights and privileges to the state of Jammu and Kashmir, and its residents. Article 35A also bars foreigners from buying land or immovable property, etc. in the State. The Joint Resistance Leadership and other legal, religious and business fraternities believe that the abrogation of this constitutional provision is a conspiracy to change the demographic composition of the state. However, the Supreme Court of India adjourned the hearting of Article 35A till August 27, 2018.

Continuous violations of basic human rights (,HR Violations (\From Jan 1989 till July 31, 2018 Total Killings * 95,071 Custodial Killings 7,112 Civilian arrested 144,362 Structures Arson/Destroyed 108,868 Women Widowed 22,880 Children Orphaned 107,717.) frequent massacres, rapes, constant fear, hunger and misery — these are the gifts of the Indian occupation to the people of Kashmir. For the populous South Asian subcontinent, the Kashmir situation entails a recurrent possibility of disaster and nuclear war. However, there is a way to bring these atrocities to an end. If the Secretary General of the United Nations uses his moral and legal authority to resume peaceful dialogue between India and Pakistan, along with the legitimate representatives of the people of Kashmir, then a final settlement of the dispute can be formulated.

By adopting several resolutions from 1948 to 1962 reaffirming the principle of free choice for the people of Kashmir, the Security Council assumed a moral responsibility to ensure that conditions in Kashmir will permit the exercise of that choice. To disown that responsibility would expose the world organization to the charge of making hollow promises and, indeed, deceiving a population which is larger than that of many members of the United Nations, individually.

 

Like the Arab-Israeli conflict, the conflict over Kashmir remains unresolved. And like the Arab-Israeli conflict, it is the source, and perhaps the key, to peace in regions far greater than the territory in dispute. The latest moves to push the zero Palestine solution does not bide well for the beleaguered people of Palestine and perhaps also the Kashmiri people also have not seen much progress even after gross human rights violations by Indian Occupation Forces. UNHRC ( “According to report documented by Jammu Kashmir Coalition of civil society JKCCS, in 2016 the Jammu and Kashmir witnessed the killing of 383 persons which is statistically the highest in last five years. Moreover, thousands of persons were injured and there were illegal detentions of around 10,000 people besides arson and clampdown of communication services. The violence intensified on July 8, after the extra-judicial killing of, Burhan Wani. His killing was followed by a mass uprising of people all across Kashmir. In order to quell the uprising, the government pressed into service police, military and paramilitary forces, which resorted to excessive use of unbridled force that resulted into large-scale abuse of human rights. During the unrest, there was extrajudicial execution of more than 100 civilians; more than 15,000 persons got injured in the State forces action with 6000+ injuries by the use of pellet shotguns with 1000+ civilians receiving eye damage fully or partially. Protest gatherings and marches, including funeral processions and public prayers, were met with violence. Essential services including telecommunication and internet services remained by and large curtailed. Freedom of Press was violated as media professionals were attacked and injured. There were instances of ban on publication of few dailies and seizure of daily newspapers. The Medical aid services during the uprising were also affected as there were attacks on ambulances, assault on doctors and paramedical workers and crackdown on voluntary aid workers by various security agencies. The long pending dispute on the agenda of the United Nations continues to take lives of human beings every year, endlessly. Jammu and Kashmir has lost its children and youth in the current mayhem. It has lost its tomorrow. The dale is in the state of mourning– wailing for its departed children, its visionless children, its detained children and its offended children. Everywhere there are injuries, those eternal wounds which nothing on earth can heal. A state, when the crimson has taken over green .Out of over 95 people who have been gunned down so far, the government of Jammu and Kashmir has ordered enquiry in only seven cases.” Quote from UNHRC Report) even prepared a detailed report on HR violations and demanded a full scale enquiry which India has refused to allow.  The fate of Kashmir hangs in the balance. The Islamic world is divided and embroiled in infighting and the Kashmiri cause is not taken up by the Islamic world.