The page turning Story of Kashmir
Abundant in lakes, river, glaciers, and cocooned by the Himalayas, Kashmir has always been a haven for traders, scholars and invaders. This fact is what made them susceptible to countless invasions.
Kashmir, this heaven on earth has its name traced to various accounts.
A sage named Kashyapa is said to have drained a lake to make inhabitable land for his people in Baramulla named this new land Kahyapamir or Kashmir.
Another tale talks about King Jamboo Lochan who fell in love with the place while hunting near Tawi and then decided to establish his new kingdom in Jammu.
This glorious land has housed legends like Alexander, Ashoka, Shankaracharya, and Abhinavgupta who sang praises of its beatific landscape and welcoming people.
In fact, as a tribute to King Alexander’s loyal steed Bucephalus who is buried in Kashmir by the old Mughal road, Kashmiris named this quaint town as Buffliaz.
Like seasons that cruise by, religion graced this region in bouts. Shaivism, Buddhism, and Islam reigned predominantly in the region in different periods of time. Through it all, coexistence preserved as illustrated by Kashmiri historian Kalhana’s historical accounts named Rajatarangini.
Buddhism propagation efforts of Mauryan Emperor Ashoka, Buddhism dominated the valley from 250BC. It was the primary religion of the region till Shaivism took over. Kashmir had by then become a focal point for the spread of the religion to Tibet, China and Ladakh.
Then, Shaivism or the followers of Lord Shiva remained prevalent in the region till the 14th century. Kashmir now had a healthy exchange of culture and craft due to incoming tourism and tradesmen. This healthy exchange of cultures and ideas enabled the development of Kashmiriyat or the ethno-national and social consciousness and cultural values of the Kashmiri people.
Kashmiriyat signifies a centuries-old indigenous secularism of Kashmir. It’s a peaceful way of life that shows the ethos of the people that lived in Kashmir. Even their cuisine, the Wazwan cuisine is a testament to their inherently secular outlook to life.
Islam entered India via the Khyber Pass.
Many have tried to control Kashmir over the years. History has shown that Kashmir has remained as a sovereign independent state no matter who tried to control it. The Mughals, the Afghans, the Sikhs, the Dogras and the British definitely tried and they faced insurmountable problems.
The Sultan Dynasty (1339–1561AD) was established when Shah Mir entered into Kashmir through the mountains and worked his way up to becoming a King. With the Sultan dynasty, Islam entered into the valley and soon became the prominent religion on the backs of using political clout to enforce religion.
On account of the Islamification of the valley, the Hindu Kashmiri Pandits and Brahmins became a minority. These Hindu pandits and Brahmins were educationally inclined so they rapidly adapted to the time and the new rulers by becoming highly proficient in Persian. Persian was the predominant language used by traders so these Pandits became the ruling bureaucracy of the region. Meanwhile, the Muslims continued as peasants and artisans.
Despite having a demographic majority, the economic power of the region passed them by. This mere fact led to the insidious bloodthirst that remains to be quelled even today, quite like the dissent between the Jews and Germans before Kristallnacht.
The likes of Sheikh Noorudin Noorani or Nund Rishi continued to preach and practice coexistence via Sufism but his words fell on deaf ears.
The seeds of dissent had now been sown.
The Sultan dynasty was overthrown by the Mughal Empire (1586–1751AD) in the 16th century. The Mughal Empire was overthrown by the Afghani Durrani Empire (1747–1819AD). While the Sultans used political clout to promote Islam and the Mughals just practiced tolerance, the Afghans tortured, extorted and enslaved the entire native Kashmiri population irrespective of their religion.
The Afghans were begrudgingly overthrown in the early 19th century by Maharaja Ranjit Singh and his army. The Sikh Empire (1819–1846AD) had officially began its reign in a region that had been under Islamic rule for 500 years. The ruler didn’t really understand the people and that sparked discord in the valley. Maharaja Ranjit Singh now reigned over a prospering Kashmir. He installed his trusted general Gulab Singh as the proxy head of state. Gulab Singh was a Dogra from Jammu. As this was the Sikh Dynasty, Sikh governors were allocated key governing and administration positions across the Kashmir valley.
Additionally, Gulab Singh was granted autonomy. This enabled him to maintain his own army. That’s just how hereditary principality worked back in the day. A keen strategist named General Zorawar Singh commanded over Gulab Singh’s army. By 1834, General Zorawar captured Ladakh, expanding the Sikh territory which included Punjab and Lahore into the north.
As always, Kashmir remained as a composite state that never got the chance to be a homogenous state. It continued to be used as the state that emperors use to extend their kingdom up to Tibet, China, Russia and Afghanistan.
After Ranjit Singh’s death, Gulab Singh continued to expand the Sikh Empire which extended to Baltistan, Gilgit and Gartok. Gartok is the source of the river Indus right up to Lake Mansarovar. General Zorawar and his army are defeated by the Chinese and the Tibetans when they were ambushed while on a pilgrimage to the upper Himalayas. 4,000 troops were killed near Lake Mansarovar and this was dubbed as the Battle of Toyo (December 1841AD.)
General Zorawar and the respect he commanded paved the way to a conversation between the then Emperor of China and the then Dalai Lama. They all signed the Treaty of Chushul in 1842 with Gulab Singh. This treaty was applicable for 100 years, but it was ambiguous to a point of contention.
It stated, “We shall neither at present nor in the future have anything to do or interfere at all with the boundaries of Ladakh and its surroundings as fixed from ancient times and will allow the annual export of wool, shawls and tea by way of Ladakh according to the old established customs.”
As Maharaja Ranjit Singh left behind uncharismatic heirs, Gulab Singh was waiting for the perfect time to strike. The Treaty of Chushul provided the fodder. As trade resumed in the annexed regions, Gulab Singh was granted 3 villages near Mansarovar. There was an informal border that was established at Demchok which had no ranges; it was just a trade route.
Simultaneously, Gulab Singh starts a convenient relationship with Colonel Henry Lawrence of the East India Company. By then, the British East India Company was merely an emerging power in the region.
There were whispers of secret alliances between the Britisher and the Dogra Dynasty. I say whispers because there’s no documentation regarding this relationship but there are hints.
History has shown how the Dogras stayed away from the first Anglo-Sikh war of 1845–46 where the British won in a last desperate moment. This defeated Sikh force was compelled to sign the Treaty of Lahore (1846.) Under the treaty, infant ruler Maharaja Duleep Singh had to free his vassal lords like Gulab Singh.
Gulab Singh immediately signed the Treaty of Amritsar with the British. British then made all his land an independent sovereignty under the Queen. This treaty also allowed him to purchase more land from the Britishers.
Technically, the British now owned the Sikh/Dogra Empire. On the basis of the comradery between the British and Gulab Singh, he was allowed to purchase a portion of the Kashmir Valley for 75 lakh Nanakshahi rupees which coincidently is the same amount spent by the British East India Company during the First Anglo-Sikh war.
Dogra dynasty (1846–1947AD) was officially immortalised in history. The indisputable and sacrosanct title of “Jammu and Kashmir” was allotted to Raja Gulab Singh’s land. He got the land and the British got control over the defence, foreign affairs and communications of this strategic state with as its sovereign.
Fast-forward to 1925; with atrocities of the British Empire running in the background, Maharaja Hari Singh became the King of Jammu and Kashmir. He was a Hindu king in a population that was predominantly Muslim (77%.) This sparked an insidious brand of nationalism across the valley. While India rallied against the British rule, Kashmiris rallied against the Maharaja.
Also, in 1930, Communism was on the rise in China. Communist Soviet Union had also jumped in the fray by offering support to China during the Chinese Civil War wherein a portion of the Sinkiang province was annexed. On account of World War II, the Britishers were vary of the Soviets and they feared Soviet expansion in Asia. As a matter of fact, Gilgit was the last outpost of British India before the land merged with Sinkiang.
In an effort to curb Soviet expansion, the British leased Gilgit and an adjoining region from the Maharaja from 1935 till 1995. The Gilgit agency was set up wherein a Pushto speaking army officer named Captain William Brown was appointed as a political agent that reported directly to the British.
According to Captain Brown, Pakistan was strategically more important while establishing military bases against the Soviet Union. From a business standpoint, Pakistan was closer to the Gulf countries that had most of the oil reserves. To serve their vested interests in Pakistan, Gilgit in Kashmir was the chosen collateral. After nearly two centuries of force-based rule, the British hoped to indirectly get their Pakistani military bases on account of the Gilgit Agency.
On the backs of false intel, the British believe that Ram Chandra Kak, the then Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir would choose to go with Pakistan when the partition happens. So just 15 days before the transfer of power in 1947, the British revoked the lease and returned Gilgit to the Maharaja. Ram Chandra Kak was a fan of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, but he despised the Indian National Congress (INC) so the British believed their assumptions.
In a twist of fate, merely 4 days before independence, Ram Chandra Kak was dismissed by a distrustful Hari Singh who was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi’s unpopular view of him. The Britishers were shocked and eventually, Kashmir acceded to India.
Demanding social and political reforms, since 1932, Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah established a political party named the Muslim Conference which was later renamed to The National Conference to include all Kashmiris. On the backs on rising Islamic nationalism, a split happened and the Muslim Conference was revived. These parties launched the ‘Quit Kashmir Movement’ against Hari Singh’s rule. The Maharaja imprisons Sheikh Abdullah in May 1946 for sedition. Nehru rushes to the aide of his Kashmiri ally demanding his release but he gets arrested and escorted out of the state. The only chants that resonated in the valley were, “Baaghi Abdullah Ki Jai.”
In July 1947, Mahatma Gandhi finally uses his political clout and decided to help an indecisive Maharaja on the accession.
Ultimately, it was impatience that sealed Kashmir’s fate in 1947. Sardar Patel was ready to accept a split deal wherein Pakistan gets to take the Muslim majority J&K if and only if Pakistan allowed Hindu majority Junagadh and Hyderabad to go to India. That obviously didn’t happen because the Maharaja was undecided. The Kashmiris didn’t really want to accede to any nation. In the background, an impatient Pakistan tried to annex Kashmir and that made Sardar Patel dig in his heels sealing in India’s refusal to let go.
On the stroke of the midnight of 14th August, 1947, India became independent and the partition happens. Violent and bloody mass immigration happens when an Islamic Pakistan and Secular India goes through.
Kashmir was in a state of confusion because the Kashmiris didn’t want to stay sovereign and their leadership didn’t want to accede. Also, Pakistan as well as India was vying to add J&K to their territory mostly because of the six mighty rivers that formed the Indus Water system. Currently, the Indus is Pakistan’s main water supply. Also, the majority of the Kashmiri population was Islamic so Pakistan grew impatient and launched Operation Gulmarg to forcefully annex Kashmir.
They started a ‘No Tax’ uprising from the Poonch region among Muslim decommissioned and serving army men. This civil unrest rapidly turns into a brutal genocide wherein the minority Hindus and Sikhs in this western part of the Jammu district are massacred. In retaliation, wherever there was a Hindu and Sikh majority, the Muslims minority was targeted. The entire state started burning with communal violence.
To placate the Muslim community, India advices Maharaja Hari Singh to release Sheikh Abdullah from prison. Once outside, the Sheikh was only concerned with unseating the Maharaja so he ignores Pakistani emissaries and agrees to the accession wherein his demands would be met.
Simultaneously, a parallel attack is launched by armed Pakhtoon tribals under Brigadier Akbar Khan of the Pakistani army (October 1947) and Punjabi politician Sardar Shaukat Hayat Khan to invade the Kashmir valley. In a bid to save his life, Maharaja Hari Singh flees, and the victorious army goes on a looting, pillaging and raping spree around Baramulla.
The rebels of the No-Tax agitation under lawyer Sardar Ibrahim declare Muzaffarabad, Mirpur and Poonch as ‘Azad Kashmir.’ This region is referred to as POJK or Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir in India.
The exiled Maharaja agrees to accede to India in return for Indian military help. The Instrument of Accession was signed in Jammu on 26th October after advice of V P Menon. The first Kashmir Accord is also signed, and the Indian army is deployed to protect the valley.
An unstated British interference into Kashmir adds another layer of issues. They want to retain their Pakistani military bases so under the leadership of Major Brown, the British leads the Muslim troops of his garrison on 21st October 1947 to carry out a coup in Gilgit to overthrow and imprison J&K Governor Ghansara Singh. Gilgit and its vassal states accede to Pakistan. This was the infamous Gilgit Rebellion.
As Poonch had become Azad Kashmir and Gilgit had acceded to Pakistan, Kashmir was fractured. Also, Pakistani proxy wary and British interference in the region leads to constant unrest and violence in the valley which marks the beginning of Kashmir’s shaky relationship with India.
The Instrument of Accession states that India will provide Kashmir the autonomy they crave. But India denied Kashmir the autonomy they were promised in the Instrument of Accession. Jawaharlal Nehru was well aware of how this will affect INC’s dynamics with Sheikh Abdullah who had become the face of Kashmir.
In efforts to deescalate a rapidly intensifying situation, Nehru approached the United Nations on 31st December 1947 and by April 1948, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) asked Pakistan to remove all state and non-state actors from J&K. Also, India was asked to reduce its military forces to just maintain law and order. Kashmir was instructed to install an interim government with all the genuine stakeholders involved. As soon as this was done, the UN was to appoint a Plebiscite Administrator to understand the wishes of the people.
Nobody welcomed this outcome because India wanted Pakistan to be admonished internationally for interfering. Pakistan didn’t want a plebiscite because the wishes of the people didn’t align with their interests. But they go along with it.
The interim government is set up. Sheikh Abdullah is made the Prime Minister of J&K and Maharaja Hari Singh is stated as the titular Head of State.
The on-ground skirmishes continue and Kashmir remained at war.
Pakistan occupied Skardu in September 1948. The India army took Dras and Kargil by November and secured the Srinagar-Kargil-Leh road. India also held the Zoji La Pass. But, under the instructions of Prime Minister Nehru, India stops the expansion efforts. He elaborated the growing demographic demarcation between Kashmiri Kashmir and Punjabi Kashmir. If Indian Army were to take the valley by force, the Kashmiri speaking Kashmir that only listened to Sheikh Abdullah wouldn’t react well to Indian presence in the region.
India was busy drafting her Constitution in 1948 so finally on 31st December 1948, Nehru agrees to a ceasefire and the first Indo-Pak war ends in a stalemate.
India started working towards neutralizing Maharaja Hari Singh to prepare for the incoming plebiscite. The masterfully political team of Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel made Hari Singh abdicate his throne and physically leave the state. His son Yuvraj Karan Singh was made Regent and sent to Srinagar to meet Sheikh Abdullah and his cabinet.
Both India as well as Pakistan dragged their feet on appointing a plebiscite so the UN considered exploring other options to deal with the situation. One such plan was the Dixon plan (September 1950) which was devised by Sir Owen Dixon. This distinguished Australian jurist didn’t believe in a consolidated plebiscite as Kashmir was 5 distinct regions under one Maharaja. Under the Dixon Plan, Jammu was mostly Hindu, Ladakh was mainly Buddhist so they should stay with India; Gilgit and the Muzaffarabad-Poonch-Mirpur belt were predominantly Muslim, so they should go to Pakistan. As Ladakh remained with India, Pakistan didn’t agree to this plan because the Indus flows from Tibet through Ladakh into Baltistan (a territory now occupied by Pakistan). This plan was immediately shot down.
As there was no plebiscite allocated to the region, local politics started taking a turn for the worse. On 17th October 1950, Sheikh Abdullah enacted the Big Landed Estates Abolition Act as a populist measure to consolidate political power against Congress. The reason this was a populist act is that it benefited the majority while impacting the minority Kashmiri pandits and the Jammu Hindu communities who owned most of the agrarian land.
This act was a radically leftist reform that stated that the land belonged to the tiller, not the leaser. Those that worked on the land own the land; not those who paid for it. Obviously, the Hindu landowners lost a lot of property. When Sheikh Abdullah announced an election in November 1951, his constituent assembly was formed with an unopposable majority. To add to that, the main opposition party the Praja Parishad boycotted the elections so the National Conference retained all the power. This populist assembly immediately went to work by abolishing the role of the Regent and they then elect Yuvraj Karan Singh as J&K’s first constitutional head titled the Sadr-e-Riyasat (November 1952). Monarchy was officially old news in India.
In a surprising move, Revenue Minister Mirza Afzal Beg announced that no compensation will be allocated to the landowners whose property was attached to the Landed Estate Abolition Act. Praja Parishad incited violent protests in the valley in retaliation.
New Delhi was forced to intervene on account of rising political pressures so the Second Kashmir Accords, also known as the Delhi Agreement of 1952 is signed. This agreement vitalised the state of Kashmir which was now completely independent of the centre. Kashmir got to have its own flag and call their head of state Prime Minister. They also only had to follow those constitutional laws that were attached under the original Instrument of Accession which was minorly ratified by their own Constituent Assembly.
This was dubbed as Article 370. It provided Kashmir the autonomy they craved while making it a part of the Indian Union.
Political activists, analysts and opportunists saw Article 370 as a threat to India. Bhartiya Jana Sangh leader Shyama Prasad Mookerjee arrived in the state to support the Praja Parishad agitation against the Estate Act that continued after the Second Kashmir Accord. Sheikh Abdullah continued his populist streak and had Shyama Prasad Mookerjee arrested who shockingly died in custody (June 1953).
The already simmering embers of communal violence turn into a blazing inferno. Nehru is forced to dismiss the Abdullah Government. Kashmir’s Sadar-e-Riyasat is dismissed, Sheikh Abdullah and some of his cabinet members are arrested.
In a surprising turn of events, the pro-India faction of the National Conference gets sworn into power in August 1953 and Bakshi Gulam Mohammed is sworn in as the PM. They reaccept the terms of accession and request closer links with India.
It didn’t work out. By 1954, the state is placed under the President of India. Several Central Acts, Presidential Ordinances are applied to Jammu and Kashmir. By 1965, Sadr-e-Riyasat is renamed as the Governor of J&K, and the Prime Minister of J&K becomes the Chief Minister of State.
Despite Article 370, the state has transitioned from autonomy to integration.
Meanwhile, Pakistan keeps throwing diplomatic tantrums about the Indus. In September 1960, the Indus Water Treaty is signed between Pandit Nehru and Ayub Khan. Under this landmark agreement, Pakistan retained three major rivers namely Indus, Jhelum, Chenab (all flow through J&K) out of the six rivers that form the Indus River System. India was allowed to exploit 20% of this water, but India is yet to utilise this right. Indians respected the human rights of their neighbours.
Strategically though, Pakistan still remained insecure because India can change its mind someday in the future. Also, these insecurities weren’t just about water.
There also was the red threat that was hurtling towards Kashmir. The Chinese Civil War of 1950 had begun and the Communist party won. They also occupied Singkiang and Tibet while fighting their civil war.
In a gruesome error of judgement, the Indian consulate in Singkiang closes down as India was busy with internal problems. Annexation of Singkiang and the takeover of Kashgar is followed by China’s advance towards Ladakh. Ladakh’s borders hadn’t been formalised since the Treaty of Chushul (1842). Simultaneously, Nehru received intelligence from Lhasa on Chinese deployment in Tibet.
India was officially fighting enemies on both her external borders.
An attempt is made by Pandit Nehru to appease the Chinese. Slogans of, “Hindi Chini Bhai-Bhai” raised everywhere and Indian consulates in Tibet and Kashgar simultaneously shut down. India squandered a golden opportunity to settle this border issue and the Panchsheel Agreement of 1954 is signed.
China still invades Ladakh in October 1962. Aksai Chin in North Eastern Kashmir annexed and a road linking Singkiang and Tibet is planned by China. If you are one of the few people who were surprised by New Delhi’s reaction to the Doklam standoff of 2017, you shouldn’t be anymore. China has had a history of redrawing the borders without the consent of its neighbours in the name of building roads.
India tries to stand firm against this Chinese incursion but she takes a heavy beating in spite of a ceasefire being announced. Additionally, Pakistan trades certain areas of Gilgit- Baltistan (originally a part of Kashmir) with the Chinese without consulting Indians or the locals. India also loses Minsar which was awarded to Ladakh in the Peace treaty between Ladakh and Tibet at Tingmosgang (1684).
To simplify it geographically, half of Kashmir was with Pakistan and the half of the Pakistani half was leased to China.
What was India to do?
To at least appease the Kashmiris, Article 35A, which comes from Article 370 was introduced via a Presidential Order in 1954. Article 35A enables the J&K legislature to define the state’s permanent residents and the special rights and privileges they receive. This limits any non-Kashmiris from buying or selling property in J&K. It unfortunately also dissuaded businesses from setting up shops in the Valley. This massively affected the employment opportunities offered to the people thereby directly affecting their standard of living.
An impatient Pakistan launches Operation Gibraltar in August 1965 sensing India’s physical and psychological fatigue. They also presuppose a mood rebellion among the Kashmiris against India. Under Major General Akhtar Hussain Malik’s leadership, these militants crossed the Ceasefire Lline (CFL, now called LoC) but the people in Kashmir hand them over to local police.
Like a spurned Goddess, India retaliates with a full scaled military attack.
In 1966, a ceasefire agreement named the Tashkent Agreement is signed and it sets the clock back to the 1949 ceasefire obligations between both the nations.
Kashmir is unable to recognise the friend from the foe.
All of this ultimately flared into a full-fledged war in 1971.
On 30th January 1971, IA Aircraft gets hijacked by the National Liberation Front, which is now known as the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF). In retaliation, India bans Pakistan from flying over Indian airspace. This becomes a problem for Pakistan which is trying to fight a Civil War.
Geography and culture always separated East Pakistan and West Pakistan. When the Awami League won the Pakistani General elections led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from East Pakistan, General Yahya Khan cracks down on the league and Mujibur Rahman is not allowed to be the Prime Minister. Violent protests ensue, but General Yahya Khan maintained a firm control on the situation. This doesn’t however stop refugees from East Pakistan coming into India. Pakistan also couldn’t do anything about that as their troop movement was hampered by the airspace ban.
India takes sides and sends help to East Pakistani (now Bangladesh) freedom fighters officially kickstarting the 1971 Indo-Pak war. This war quickly ends on 16th December 1971 when Lt. General Niazi surrenders to the Indian army in Dhaka with over 90,000 Prisoners of War (PoW).
Bangladesh is born. India also manages to liberate some strategic areas in J&K from Pakistan.
Despite winning however, India doesn’t push to find a lasting solution to J&K issue when they could have.
On 2nd July 1972, the Simla Accord of 1972 signed between President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Notably, the Cease fire line was converted to Line of Control. India also returns all the captured Pakistani POWs. Kashmir is all but forgotten while this accord is being discussed. This leads to signs of dissatisfaction cropping up in Kashmir.
Armed movements like the Al-Fatah crop up everywhere and espionage, dacoity, armed robbery runs rampant in the valley. In an attempt to calm the rising tide, India initiates fresh talks with Sheikh Abdullah on 24th February 1975. This ultimately leads to the signing of the Third Accord on Kashmir.
Article 370 and Article 35A are retained but the Indian parliament is given the right to veto any act of the J&K Legislative Assembly. In return, all the Al-Fatah miscreants are released from prison, and Sheikh Abdullah is reinstated as the Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.
In a cynical turn of events, Jayaprakash Narayan leads political unrest across India as Indira Gandhi is under fire for election malpractice. Sheikh Abdullah distances himself from Congress and begins speculating on a possible merger with POJK. He feels like he’s done enough for India.
In one fell swoop, he renames 2500 J&K villages to have Islamic names. He delivers communal speeches in mosques. He singles out the minority pandits of Kashmir. The Islamification of Kashmir had begun.
Before he could implement his plans however, he dies on 8th September 1982. His son Dr. Farooq Abdullah takes over as the Chief Minister after a brief power struggle with his brother-in-law G. M. Shah. The valley though remains shrouded in violence.
In a parallel development, the upper landscape of J&K like the Siachen Glacier was largely ignored on account of their geographical hostility. Siachen was left out of all discussions. It could act as a fresh water reserve that can come in handy during dire times. So, the moment India receives intelligence that Pakistan is shopping around for high altitude gear, she launches Operation Meghdoot on 13th April 1984.
The 70km long stretch of the Siachen Glacier and some key passes in the region are captured. India also captures some 3000 kms of extra territory in J&K. A dismayed Pakistan was busy running the Punjab Insurgency under General Akhtar Abdur Rahman who had set his eyes on Kashmir.
Terrorism across the border was about to begin, and the Indian army was unequipped to deal with it. Three Al-Fatah captured men revealed that they had been sent back from POJK with money and told to wait for the call for Kashmir Jihad. As they were civilians, our army couldn’t stop them by law.
These incidences among others convince Indira Gandhi to replace Dr. Abdullah with G M Shah. As J&K Governor B. K. Nehru was against this move, he was replaced by Jag Mohan Malhotra. Just when things seemed to stabilise, India then gets caught up in Operation Blue Star and its aftermath.
Indira Gandhi’s assassination and the ensuing Anti-Sikh riots of 1984 take the spotlight away from Kashmir. Under G. M. Shah, communal violence in the Valley intensifies.
G.M. Shah resigns in 1986 when the Congress withdraws support and Kashmir comes under President’s rule again. Rajiv Gandhi steps in and reinstates Dr. Farooq Abdullah as the Chief Minister on 7th November 1986 on the condition of a coalition with the congress party.
A fourth Kashmir Accord is signed and in a rare display of strength, India stages Operation Brasstacks.
Operation Brasstacks was the biggest land exercise performed since the Second World War and from 18th November 1986 onwards, Indian troops were stationed just a 100 miles away from Pakistani troops.
Pakistan now looks for opportunities to even the playing field.
The 1987 J&K elections served as an ignition point. Elections were rigged so Pakistan unleashes the insidious Operation Topac. The corrupt Indian political climate provides the right situation for Pakistan to wage vitriolic unrest in the Valley.
The Congress — National conference alliance of 1987 creates a lot of negativity in Kashmiri politics. The Muslim United Front is opposed to this alliance and as their candidates lost the elections, they rebelled and were to be put behind bars. To evade arrest, some of them fled to POJK or Pakistan.
Due to rampant unemployment and political chaos, the youth of Kashmir decided to let the bullet, not the ballet, decide who rules Kashmir.
Operation Topac Amaru was launched during Zia-ul-Haq’s presidency. It’s first phase contained low level insurgency which were upped during the second phase. POJK under Operation Topac was turned into a safe haven for young, disenchanted Kashmiris where they were trained, armed, and sent back to the valley to fight.
Everything leads to and ends in violence. Militancy now ran rampantly across Kashmir.
To add to this, global news about liberal protests lead by youngsters was in vogue. The Tiananmen Protests in China, Muslims rising against the USSR in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan lead to increased militancy among the youngsters of the Valley. By 1989, their attacks get bolder.
J&K BJP leader T. L. Taploo was assassinated. Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of Home minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed was kidnapped for ransom and later released in exchange of five terrorists.
Operation Topac was doing its job. A reticent Benazir Bhutto was convinced into one-upping the operation by Pakistani Army Chief General Mirza Afzal Beg and ISI Chief Hamid Gul.
In New Delhi, the Bofors Scandal rocks the Rajiv Gandhi government and consequently the Congress Party lost in 1989 to the National Front lead by V.P Singh. India’s 7th Prime Minister V. P. Singh decides to solely focus on the Sri Lankan Civil War effectively bringing India’s Foreign exchange reserves to a an all-time low.
Operation Topac gathers steam under ISI chief Lt. Gen S. R. Kallue. Kashmir kept burning and it seemed like Kashmir was going to go with Pakistan. Kashmiri Pandits were once again caught in the crossfire and they were threatened to convert or go.
The Kashmiri pandits were forced in exile from their own homes in the early 90s. Everyone against the militancy was killed, abductions were and everyday thing and what was believed to be a 10-day exile turned into one that hasn’t ended yet. These Kashmiri pandits became refugees in their own country.
The instability just increased with every passing second.
The Anti Mandal Agitation happened, and V. P. Singh’s government fell. A shortlived Chandrashekhar government followed and unfortunately Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated.
Taking advantage of this instability, the new ISI chief Lt. General Assad Durrani accelerated the insurgency in J&K. The extremely porous borders weren’t being checked for terrorism and chants of “Kashmir banega Pakistan” and “Azaad Kashmir” resound in the valley.
The Muslim United Front transformed itself into the All Party Hurriyat Conference in 1993. The Hurriyat included Jamaat-e-Islami, the Muslim Conference, Ittehadul Muslimeen, The Mirwaiz of Srinagar, and the JKLF. They collectively wanted the people to decide not anyone in Delhi or Islamabad. They were asking for “Azaadi” or freedom from occupied forces.
This insurgency was unfortunately supplemented through radical religionization. The Ahle Hadith mosques became preaching centres of traditionalism and the authority of the Quran above all law. Their strength rose from 500 to about 2000 in just 15 years. A point to note is that the funding of these mosques comes from outside the country.
In 1994, the ISI set up the United Jihad Council to manage the terrorist arms. Both the Hizbul Mujahideen and the Hizb-e-Islami became the swords of the Hurriyat which reported to the council. The Indian Army tried to grapple with this and a strong political message was sent with a resolution that passed in the Indian Parliament. A joint call by both the houses of the parliament made it very clear that the former maharaja’s entire territory belonged to India. India will therefore aspire to return all the territories to the union of India.
Foreign terror outfits like the Lashkar-e-Toiba and the LeT arrived in the valley. They created disruption by propagating absolute anarchy.
People just kept dying.
Between 1993 and 1997, more than 1,000 security personnel killed. The loss of life in the value had far exceeded the value of the land.
To make things worse, India and Pakistan both became nuclear powers in 1998 inviting more foreign interference in the region.
Just a year later, Pakistan indiscriminately shells the border town of Kargil. This shelling leads to Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee signing the Lahore Declaration of 1999 which resolved to implemented the Simla Agreement.
Before the verdict on the agreement is out, Pakistani Army Chief, Gen. Musharraf attacked Kargil on 9th May 1999. It takes the Indian army two months to recapture each peak. Along with all the life lost, the Lahore Treaty is also a casualty of this war.
On a positive note, Kashmiri Militancy goes down in the wake of Pakistan’s defeat.
Musharraf met Vajpayee in 2001 but their peace talks fall through. Furthermore, merely five months after this meeting there’s an attack on the Indian parliament. The terrorists who were identified were part of Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed led by Maulana Masood Azhar, who was released in exchange of hostages during the 1999 commercial airplane hijack.
These attacks on Indian democracy stalled all possibilities of peace talks. India demanded that the leaders of these groups got arrested, and their financial assets get seized. It took till 2019 to list Maulana Masood Azhar as a global terrorist. Troops remained mobilized at the borders of Punjab and Kashmir. Kashmir goes to polls in the shadow of doubt and uncertainty and a new regional party — the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) wins the election using a message of hope. Mufti Mohammad Sayeed becomes the new Chief Minister of the State. Kashmiris demanded development, peace and Indo-Pak sit downs which PDP started delivering to some extent.
However, the attacks of 9/11 shine an international limelight on terrorism and Kashmir where terrorism insurgency was common. Any and all peace talks were pushed into secrecy. Secret talks continue between both governments for years.
By 2005, trade opened across the LoC and the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus becomes operational. Kashmir starts coming alive. Operation Topac seemed to be winding down. Things seemed to improve.
When peace seems to finally grace the Valley, Musharraf resigns as Army chief, then president in late 2007. He also fled to England. The moment he left, ISI and Pakistani military changed their mind and Operation Topac was back on. With Operation Topac, the rise of insurgency increases once again. Development, infrastructure and tourism in the valley suffer.
To control the situation, the Centre enacts Acts like the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) which add fuel to the fire. Kashmiri youth views these decisions with disdain and incites the youth more than inspiring them.
Furthermore, when the Shree Amarnathji Shrine Board is allocated land in 2008 to set up shelters for Hindu pilgrims, the dissatisfaction boils over. Stone pelting emerges as the newest form of protest and the army starts using pellet guns on civilians.
Those killed were anointed as martyrs. In despair, the J&K government falls leading to an election which is won by a young Omar Abdullah wins and came to power in 2008. He promised to repeal ASPCA but he couldn’t as long as Operation Topac was still operational.
To add to this, the $62 billion China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) infrastructure development project starts between Pakistan and China. China shares a border with Kashmir. This development project was to pass through Gilgit where a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) would be set up in the Gilgit-Baltistan area. This project would largely depend on Indus to generate power. India thus has a leg up here as she sits on the resources.
That didn’t stop Pakistan from attacking India. Whether it was the Pathankot Attack of 2016, the Uri Attack of 2016 or the Pulwama attack of 2019. India retaliated with killing Hizbul commander Burhan Wani, conducting retaliatory surgical strikes in POJK (2016), and an airstrike in Balakot (2019).
Stone pelting and pellet guns continue to cause physical and psychological damage in Jammu and Kashmir. No matter what the Indian Army tries to do, in the eyes of the locals, their September 2014 flood relief operation and acts of that kind are completely forgotten.
J&K came under Governor’s rule for the 8th time in 70 years after the BJP-PDP alliance falls through in 2018.
In a Machiavellian move, Amit Shah, India’s Home Minister scrapped Article 370 and Article 35A in one fell sweep and simultaneously broke the disputed land into two fragments. Jammu and Kashmir will now be a Union Territory with legislature while Ladakh will be a Union Territory without legislature.
A Union Territory with legislature like Delhi allocates a ‘partial statehood status’ to the territory along with an elected Chief Minister and a Council of Ministers recommended by the Lieutenant Governor.
A Union Territory without legislature like Chandigarh doesn’t have statehood as it is directly ruled by the Centre and doesn’t have a Chief Minister.
Only time will tell whether this story is now a ‘happily ever after’ or a ‘to be continued.’
