Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir

This article is about the localized insurgency in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. For the conflict between India and Pakistan over the larger region of Kashmir, see Kashmir conflict.

Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir
Part of the Kashmir conflict

CIA map of the Kashmir region
Date13 July 1989[21] – present (35 years, 5 months, 1 week and 1 day)
Location
Jammu and Kashmir
Status Ongoing
Belligerents

 India

Political Parties:

Armed groups:

Supported by:

Strength
  • Total ~ 343,000-700,000[22][23][24]

    • [25]
    (Nov 2019, including soldier posted at international border (LoC))

    		Unknown
    Casualties and losses
    2000–2024:
    3,590 Security Forces killed [26]    		 2000–2024:
    13,321 militants killed
    847 Surrendered
    5,832 Arrested[27]
    20,000+ civilian deaths[28][29]

    The insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir, also known as the Kashmir insurgency, is an ongoing separatist militant insurgency against the Indian administration in Jammu and Kashmir,[13][30] a territory constituting the southwestern portion of the larger geographical region of Kashmir, which has been the subject of a territorial dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947.[31][32]

    Jammu and Kashmir, long a breeding ground of separatist ambitions,[33] has experienced the insurgency since 1989.[34][30] Although the failure of Indian governance and democracy lay at the root of the initial disaffection, Pakistan played an important role in converting the latter into a fully-developed armed insurgency.[13][14] Some insurgent groups in Kashmir support complete independence, whereas others seek the region's accession to Pakistan.[35][14]

    More explicitly, the roots of the insurgency are tied to a dispute over local autonomy.[36] Democratic development was limited in Kashmir until the late 1970s, and by 1988, many of the democratic reforms provided by the Indian government had been reversed and non-violent channels for expressing discontent were limited, which caused a dramatic increase in support for insurgents advocating violent secession from India.[36] In 1987, a disputed election[37] held in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir created a catalyst for the insurgency when it resulted in some of the state's legislative assembly members forming armed insurgent groups.[38][39][40] In July 1988, a series of demonstrations, strikes, and attacks on the Indian government effectively marked the beginning of the insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir, which escalated into the most severe security issue in India during the 1990s.

    Pakistan, with whom India has fought three major wars over the Muslim-majority region, has officially claimed to be giving only its "moral and diplomatic" support to the separatist movement.[41] The Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence has been accused by both India and the international community of supporting and supplying arms as well as providing training to "mujahideen" militants[42][43] in Jammu and Kashmir.[44][43][45] In 2015, a former President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, admitted that the Pakistani state had supported and trained insurgent groups in Kashmir throughout the 1990s.[46] Several new militant groups with radical Islamist views emerged during this time and changed the ideological emphasis of the movement from that of plain separatism to Islamic fundamentalism. This occurred partly due to the influence of a large number of Muslim jihadist militants who began to enter the Indian-administered Kashmir Valley through Pakistani-controlled territory across the Line of Control following the end of the Soviet–Afghan War in the 1980s.[41] India has repeatedly called on Pakistan to end its alleged "cross-border terrorism" in the region.[41]

    The conflict between militants and Indian security forces in Kashmir has led to a large number of casualties;[47] many civilians have also died as a result of being targeted by various armed militant groups.[48] According to government data, around 41,000 people—consisting of 14,000 civilians, 5,000 security personnel and 22,000 militants—have died because of the insurgency as of March 2017, with most deaths happening in the 1990s and early 2000s.[49] Non-governmental organisations have claimed a higher death toll. The insurgency has also forced the large-scale migration of non-Muslim minority Kashmiri Hindus out of the Kashmir Valley.[50] Since the revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019, the Indian military has intensified its counter-insurgency operations in the region.

    1. ^ "DeM cadres lead women congregations across Kashmir". Greater Kashmir. 3 August 2016. Archived from the original on 24 December 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
    2. ^ Gul, Khalid (5 August 2016). "Pro-freedom rallies in Pampore, Bijbehara". Greater Kashmir. Archived from the original on 8 August 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
    3. ^ "DeM activists asked to make Dua-e-Majlis successful". Kashmir Reader. 2 August 2016. Archived from the original on 3 August 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
    4. ^ "This is people's Movement, be United: DeM". 22 July 2016. Archived from the original on 24 December 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
    5. ^ Until My Freedom Has Come: The New Intifada in Kashmir. Penguin Books India. 2011. ISBN 9780143416470. Archived from the original on 20 April 2023. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
    6. ^ Margolis, Eric (2004). War at the Top of the World: The Struggle for Afghanistan, Kashmir and Tibet. Routledge. p. 81. ISBN 9781135955595. Archived from the original on 20 April 2023. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
    7. ^ Bose, Sumantra (2009). Kashmir: Roots of Conflict, Paths to Peace. Harvard University Press. p. 107. ISBN 9780674028555. Archived from the original on 20 April 2023. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
    8. ^ "insurgency" (noun), Merriam-Webster Unabridged, archived from the original on 20 January 2020, retrieved 27 November 2019 Quote: "The quality or state of being insurgent; specifically : a condition of revolt against a recognized government that does not reach the proportions of an organized revolutionary government and is not recognized as belligerency" (subscription required)
    9. ^ insurgency, n, Oxford English Dictionary, archived from the original on 20 January 2020, retrieved 27 November 2019 Quote: "The quality or state of being insurgent; the tendency to rise in revolt; = insurgence n. = The action of rising against authority; a rising, revolt." (subscription required)
    10. ^ Insurgency, Encyclopedia Britannica, archived from the original on 27 November 2019, retrieved 27 November 2019 Quote: "Insurgency, term historically restricted to rebellious acts that did not reach the proportions of an organized revolution. It has subsequently been applied to any such armed uprising, typically guerrilla in character, against the recognized government of a state or country." (subscription required)"
    11. ^ "Al Qaeda In the Indian Subcontinent Released Video Titled 'Kashmir is our' Al Qaeda again target india". 12 October 2021. Archived from the original on 19 November 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
    12. ^ Elizabeth Van Wie Davis; Rouben Azizian (2007). Islam, Oil, and Geopolitics: Central Asia After September 11. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Incorporated. p. 281. ISBN 978-0-7425-4128-3. Archived from the original on 20 April 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2021. The trouble was that elements of Pakistan ' s government were involved with Islamist extremists . They had protected and supported not only the Taliban but also insurgents crossing the Line of Control into Indian - held Kashmir
    13. ^ a b c Kazi, Seema (2017), "Law, Gender and Governance in Kashmir", in Chitralekha Zutshi (ed.), Kashmir: History, Politics, Representation, Cambridge University Press, pp. 150–171, 153, ISBN 978-1-108-22612-7, archived from the original on 20 April 2023, retrieved 27 November 2019
    14. ^ a b c Kapur, S. Paul (2017), Jihad as Grand Strategy: Islamist Militancy, National Security, and the Pakistani State, Oxford University Press, pp. 84–, ISBN 978-0-19-976852-3, archived from the original on 20 April 2023, retrieved 27 November 2019
    15. ^
    16. ^ "Al-Qaeda calls for liberation of Kashmir". YouTube. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
    17. ^ "Dawood is a terrorist, has 'strategic alliance' with ISI, says US". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 3 October 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
    18. ^ "ISIS announces new India and Pakistan provinces, casually breaking up Khorasan". The Defense Post. 15 May 2019. Archived from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
    19. ^ "Islamic State claims it has established province in India, calls it Wilayah of Hind: Report". 11 May 2019. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
    20. ^ "Islamic State J-K chief among 4 terrorists killed in Kashmir". Rediff.com. 22 June 2018. Archived from the original on 20 December 2022. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
    21. ^ Specified, Not. "Chronicle of Important events/date in J&K's political history". www.jammu-kashmir.com. Archived from the original on 12 October 2017. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
    22. ^ "India imposes Kashmir lockdown, puts leaders 'under house arrest'". Archived from the original on 19 November 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
    23. ^ a b c Snehesh Alex Philip, What Imran Khan says is 9 lakh soldiers in Kashmir is actually 3.43 lakh only Archived 2 September 2021 at the Wayback Machine, The Print, 12 November 2019.
    24. ^ Cite error: The named reference The Times was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
    25. ^ "Kashmir". Stimson Center. Archived from the original on 30 June 2006.: "Some reports estimate that India deploys approximately 400,000 combined army and paramilitary forces in Kashmir, most of which are stationed in the interior, 80,000 of which are deployed along the LoC."
    26. ^ "Yearly Fatalities". SATP. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
    27. ^ "Yearly Fatalities". SATP. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
    28. ^ "Kashmir insurgents". Uppsala Conflict Data Program. Archived from the original on 1 October 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
    29. ^ "40,000 people killed in Kashmir: India". The Express Tribune. Archived from the original on 27 February 2017.
    30. ^ a b Slater, Joanna (28 March 2019), "From scholars into militants: Educated Kashmiri youths are joining an anti-India insurgency", The Washington Post, archived from the original on 27 November 2019, retrieved 27 November 2019
    31. ^ (a) Kashmir, region Indian subcontinent, Encyclopaedia Britannica, archived from the original on 13 August 2019, retrieved 15 August 2019 (subscription required);
      (b) "Kashmir", Encyclopedia Americana, Scholastic Library Publishing, 2006, p. 328, ISBN 978-0-7172-0139-6, archived from the original on 17 January 2023, retrieved 27 November 2019 C. E Bosworth, University of Manchester
    32. ^ Jan·Osma鈔czyk, Edmund; Osmańczyk, Edmund Jan (2003), Encyclopedia of the United Nations and International Agreements: G to M, Taylor & Francis, pp. 1191–, ISBN 978-0-415-93922-5, archived from the original on 17 January 2023, retrieved 27 November 2019 Quote: "Jammu and Kashmir: Territory in northwestern India, subject to a dispute between India and Pakistan. It has borders with Pakistan and China."
    33. ^ The Editorial Board (6 August 2019), "India Tempts Fate in Kashmir, 'The Most Dangerous Place in the World'", The New York Times, archived from the original on 19 November 2022, retrieved 27 November 2019 Quote: "The Himalayan territory of Kashmir has long been the central source of friction between India and Pakistan and a hotbed of separatist aspirations."
    34. ^ Ratcliffe, Rebecca (4 August 2019), "Heightened security and anxiety in Kashmir amid fears of unrest", Guardian, archived from the original on 12 December 2019, retrieved 27 November 2019 Quote: "Kashmir is claimed by India and Pakistan in full and ruled in part by both. An insurgency on the Indian-administered side has been ongoing for three decades, and tens of thousands of people have been killed."
    35. ^ Conflict Encyclopedia – India: Kashmir Archived 1 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Uppsala Conflict Data Program, 29 May 1977, retrieved 2013-05-29,
    36. ^ a b Uppsala Conflict Data Program Conflict Encyclopedia, Conflict Summary, Conflict name: India: Kashmir, "Roots of Conflict and the emergence of Kashmir Insurgents", viewed 2013-05-29, http://www.ucdp.uu.se/gpdatabase/gpcountry.php?id=74&regionSelect=6-Central_and_Southern_Asia# Archived 3 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine
    37. ^ "Elections in Kashmir". Kashmirlibrary.org. Archived from the original on 1 February 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
    38. ^ Cite error: The named reference BBCKashmir was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
    39. ^ Jeelani, Mushtaq A. (25 June 2001). "Kashmir: A History Littered With Rigged Elections". Media Monitors Network. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
    40. ^ Cite error: The named reference AltafElections was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
    41. ^ a b c "India Pakistan – Timeline". BBC News. Archived from the original on 22 February 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
    42. ^ Ali, Mahmud (9 October 2006). "Pakistan's shadowy secret service". BBC News. Archived from the original on 21 February 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
    43. ^ a b Rashid, Ahmed (6 October 2006). "Nato's top brass accuse Pakistan over Taliban aid". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 22 February 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
    44. ^ Gall, Carlotta (21 January 2007). "At Border, Signs of Pakistani Role in Taliban Surge". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 31 December 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
    45. ^ Jehl, Douglas; Dugger, Celia W.; Barringer, Felicity (25 February 2002). "Death of Reporter Puts Focus on Pakistan Intelligence Unit". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2 May 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
    46. ^ "Pakistan supported, trained terror groups: Pervez Musharraf". Business Standard. Press Trust of India. 28 October 2015. Archived from the original on 5 June 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
    47. ^ Uppsala Conflict Data Program Conflict Encyclopedia, Conflict Summary, India: Kashmir (entire conflict), Fatality estimates, viewed 2013-05-29, http://www.ucdp.uu.se/gpdatabase/gpcountry.php?id=74&regionSelect=6-Central_and_Southern_Asia# Archived 3 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine
    48. ^ Uppsala Conflict Data Program Conflict Encyclopedia, India One-sided violence, Government of India – civilians, Kashmir insurgents – civilians, Lashkar-e-Taiba – civilians, viewed on 2012-05-29, http://www.ucdp.uu.se/gpdatabase/gpcountry.php?id=74&regionSelect=6-Central_and_Southern_Asia# Archived 3 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine
    49. ^ Cite error: The named reference ht2017 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
    50. ^ Evans 2002, p. 19: "Most Kashmiri Pandits living in the Kashmir Valley left in 1990 as militant violence engulfed the state. Some 95% of the 160,000-170,000 community left in what is often described as a case of ethnic cleansing."