Muslim United Front

The Muslim United Front (MUF) was a 'polyglot coalition' of Islamic Kashmiri political parties that contested the 1987 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election in the erstwhile Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.[1][2] The Jamaat-e-Islami of Jammu and Kashmir was a key constituent party of the coalition.[3] The MUF won four Assembly seats in the 1987 election.[4][5] However, widespread rigging of the election by the ruling National Conference party was reported. In the absence of such rigging, commentators believe that it could have won fifteen to twenty seats,[6] a contention admitted by the National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah.[7]

The disaffection caused by the election gave rise to the Kashmir insurgency, which continues to this day.[8]

The present day Hurriyat Conference is largely inspired by the former MUF coalition.[9]

  1. ^ Bose, Kashmir: Roots of Conflict, Paths to Peace 2003, p. 48.
  2. ^ Muslim United Front. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. An alliance of Islamic parties organized to contest the 1987 state elections in Indian-controlled Kashmir. The alliance won only three seats, allegedly due to massive electoral fraud. The group's poor showing in 1987 inspired a new phase of armed resistance to Indian rule in Kashmir that continues today. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  3. ^ Schofield, Kashmir in Conflict 2003, p. 136.
  4. ^ Bin Nabi, Daanish (5 August 2015). "The 23rd March 1987, The Day That Changed Kashmir As Never Before". Rising Kashmir. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  5. ^ Saima Bhat, Battleground Amira Kadal, Kashmir Life, 24 March 2016.
  6. ^ Praveen Donthi, How Mufti Mohammad Sayeed Shaped The 1987 Elections In Kashmir, The Caravan, 23 March 2016.
  7. ^ Paul R. Brass (1994). The Politics of India Since Independence. Cambridge University Press. pp. 222–. ISBN 978-0-521-45970-9.
  8. ^ Bose, Kashmir: Roots of Conflict, Paths to Peace 2003, pp. 47–49.
  9. ^ Bose, Kashmir: Roots of Conflict, Paths to Peace 2003, p. 52.