Seven Decades of Kashmir 1940-2010
Fact Sheet
The following document is a compilation of information gathered through government documents, books, articles, mainstream media reports and reports of independent fact-finding teams. It aims to offer hard facts relating to the history of Kashmir.
Location
Kashmir is located in the heart of South-Central Asia amongst the most populated countries of the world. It shares its boundaries with Afghanistan, China, India and Pakistan.
Area
Covering 84471 square miles, it is larger than 95 other independent countries in terms of area in the world. Nearly 36% of its territory is held under Indian control, 44% under Pakistani control which includes an area, which is less than 5% of the total, known as Azad Kashmir. The rest, namely Aksai-chin and Shaksgam are under Chinese control. Area under Indian control: Ladakh 15,597 sq. miles, Kashmir province: 6049 sq. miles, Jammu province: 9997 sq. miles. At present, the Kashmir Province comprises the districts of Srinagar, Budgam, Pulwama, Anantnag, Kupwara, Baramulla. Jammu Province comprises the districts of Jammu, Kathua, Poonch, Rajouri, Udhampur and Doda and Ladakh province has Leh and Kargil districts.
[http://www.kashmirstudygroup.net]
Population
The population of India-administered Kashmir in 2001 was 10 million, with 67% Muslims and 30% Hindus [Census 2001]. Following is a region wise composition.
J&K: Major Religion wise Population Groups, 2001
REGION | Buddhist | Hindu | Muslim | Other |
Kashmir Valley | - | 4% | 95% | - |
Jammu | - | 66% | 30% | 4% |
Ladakh | 50% | - | 46% | 3% |
Source: [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/south_asia/03/kashmir_future/html/]
Languages
Urdu (official) Kashmiri (mostly), regional languages like Dogri, Hindi, Dardi and Pahari. English is also used.
Chronology of Major Events
1846
Jammu and Kashmir Province was created under the Treaty of Amritsar between the East India company and Maharaja 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. British offers protection to the Maharaja and in return Gulab Singh acknowledges the supremacy of the British Government. Dogra rule begins in Kashmir.
1931 to 1934
High tax on poor peasants, lack of employment, poverty and alienation from power led Kashmiris to revolt against the Maharaja. The movement was brutally suppressed by the State forces. The Glancy Commission appointed by the Maharaja publishes a report in April 1932, confirming the grievances of the State's subjects and suggests recommendations providing for adequate representation of Muslims in the State's services; the Maharaja accepts these recommendations but delays implementation, leading to another agitation in 1934; the Maharaja grants a Constitution providing a Legislative Assembly for the people, but the Assembly turns out to be powerless.
[Prem Nath Bazaz, Struggle for Freedom in Kashmir, pp.140-160]
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 party constitution was amended so that anyone “irrespective of their caste, creed or religion” can become member of National Conference.
[M.J. Akbar, Kashmir: Behind the vale, pp. 76]
1942
National Conference supported the ‘Quit India’ movement.
1944
National Conference adopted a new vision for Jammu and Kashmir “We the people of Jammu & Kashmir…to perfect our union in the fullest equality and self-determination to raise ourselves and our children forever from the abyss of oppression and poverty, degradation and superstition, from medieval darkness and ignorance, into the sunlit valleys of plenty, ruled by freedom, science and honest toil…Women citizens shall be accorded equal rights with men…”
[http://www.kashmir-information.com/LegalDocs/Sheikh_Speech.html]
1944
Leader of the Hindu Mahasabha, V. D. Savarkar, came to generate support among the Kashmiri Pandits for a ‘Hindu Rashtra’. Pandit S.N. Fotedar, President of the Yuvak Sabha very bluntly told Savarkar that Hindu fundamentalism was as alien to the culture of Kashmir as Muslim fundamentalism.
[M.J. Akbar, Kashmir: Behind the vale, pp. 86]
1946
Cabinet Mission arrived in India to finalize the fate of the subcontinent. Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah sent a tough message to the Cabinet Mission, saying: ‘Today the national demand of the people of Kashmir is not merely the establishment of responsible government, but their right to absolute freedom from autocratic rule. The immensity of wrong done to our people by the ‘Sale Deed’ of 1846 can only be judged by looking into the actual living condition of the people’. Hari Singh, Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir did not join the Constituent Assembly of India.
[M.J. Akbar, Kashmir: Behind the vale, pp. 89]
1946
National Conference launches Quit Kashmir movement demanding abrogation of the Treaty of Amritsar and restoration of sovereignty to the people of Kashmir. This was a nationalist movement with strong anti-feudal content, directed against the Maharaja, nobles and landlords. Hari Singh’s response was a crackdown on the movement. His Prime Minister told the Hindustan Times (27th May 1946), “ We have been preparing for it for 11 months…we shall be ruthlessly firm and make no apology about it”. In three days twenty people died in police firing, hundreds were arrested, including Abdullah.
1947
Indian Independence Act: “All Indian princely states shall be released from their official commitments and treaty relationships with the British Empire, and will be free to join either dominion”.
[http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1947/pdf/ukpga_19470030_en.pdf]
In theory, rulers of Princely States were allowed to accede to either India or Pakistan, 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. 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. For instance, the fate of North West Frontier Province was subject to the result of referendum. 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.
[Collins & Lapierre, Mountbatten and Independent India, pp.36-37]
1947
On 15 August, the Indian subcontinent becomes independent. Kashmir signs Standstill Agreement with Pakistan. The Maharaja of Kashmir delays his decision in an effort to remain independent. The Maharaja was in no mood to join the Indian dominion and was supported by loyal Hindu fundamentalist leaders, who did not want to merge Kashmir with ‘secular India’. The working committee of All Jammu and Kashmir Rajya Hindu Sabha (the earliest incarnation of the present Bharatiya Janata Party in the state) formally adopted a resolution reiterating its faith in the Maharaja and extended its ‘support to whatever he was doing or might do on the issue of accession’. Barring the National Conference, other political parties including the Muslim Conference and the Chiefs of Gilgit region, advised the Maharaja against acceding to the Indian Union.
[V.P. Menon, Story of the integration of the Indian States
Balraj Puri, Kashmir: Insurgency and after]
1947
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’s forces fired upon demonstration, killing innocent people. People migrated from Poonch to Pakistan.
1947
Partition of India led to large scale communal riots. In Kashmir, there was not a single communal incident during the partition, despite the horror of neighbouring Punjab. Sheikh Abdullah said ‘we shall not believe the two nation theory which has spread so much poison. Kashmir showed the light at this juncture. When brother kills brother in the whole of Hindustan, Kashmir raised its voice of Hindu-Muslim unity’. [M.J. Akbar, Kashmir: Behind the vale, Introduction]
1947
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 were 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.
[Indiancomplaint to Security Council:
http://www.kashmir-information.com/LegalDocs/SecurityCouncil.html]
1947
Following invasion by the tribesmen from Pakistan, the Maharaja of the State of Jammu and Kashmir signs the Instrument of Accession (IOA) on 26 October. The Indian government promises military assistance if the IOA is signed (note that since this event, India has sent troops unconditionally to neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh). India accepts the accession, regarding it as 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). Clause 7 of IOA says: ‘Nothing in this instrument should be deemed to commit me in any way to acceptance of any future constitution of India…’
Plebiscite was also part of the formal commitment which Mountbatten made on behalf of the Government of India, in reply to Hari Singh’s nine-point acceptance of the IOA: ‘In the special circumstances mentioned by your Highness my Government have decided to accept the accession of Kashmir State to the Dominion of India. Consistently with their policy that in the case of any State where the issue of accession has been the subject of dispute, the question if accession should be decided in accordance with the wishes of the people of the State, it is my Government's wish that as soon as law and order have been restored in Kashmir and her soil cleared of the invader the question of the State's accession should be settled by a reference to the people'.
[Instrument of Accession:
http://www.kashmir-information.com/LegalDocs/KashmirAccession.html;
Mountbatten’s letter: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/kasmount.htm]
1947
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.
[Sheikh Abdullah, Flames of the China, p.97]
Nehru's address to Constituent Assembly of India on 25 November, 1947
‘Further we made it clear that as soon as law and order had been restored in Kashmir and her soil cleared of the invaders, the question of the State's accession should be settled by reference to the people…In order to establish our bonafides we have suggested that when the people are given the chance to decide their future this should be done under the supervision of an impartial tribunal such as the United Nations Organisation.’
[http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/nehru3.htm]
1947
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.
India takes the Kashmir problem to the United Nations (UN) Security Council.
Resolution 38 (1948): Adopted by the Security Council at its 229th meeting held on 17 January, 1948
THE SECURITY COUNCIL
Having heard statements on the situation in Kashmir from representatives of the Governments of India and Pakistan, recognising the urgency of the situation, taking note of the telegram addressed on 6 January by its President to each of the parties and of their replies thereto; and in which they affirmed their intention to conform to the Charter of the United Nations.
1. Calls upon both the Government of India and the Government of Pakistan to take immediately all measures within their power (including public appeals to their people) calculated to improve the situation, and to refrain from making any statements and from doing or causing to be done or permitting any acts which might aggravate the situation;
2. Further requests each of those Governments to inform the Council immediately of any material change in the situation which occurs or appears to either of them to be about to occur while the matter is under consideration by the Council, and consult with the Council thereon.
The Security Council voted on this Resolution on 17-1-48 with the following result:
In favour: Argentina, Belgium, Canada, China, Colombia, France, Syria, U.K. and U.S.A.
Against: None
Abstaining: Ukrainian S.S.R. and U.S.S.R. [http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/kashun38.htm]
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 demilitarization, one of them being whether the ‘Azad Kashmiri’ army is to be disbanded during the truce stage or the plebiscite stage.
[http://www.kashmiri-cc.ca/un/index.htm]
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, defense, foreign affairs and communications.
Temporary provisions with respect to the State of Jammu and Kashmir
(1) Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution,—
(a) the provisions of article 238 shall not apply in relation to the State of Jammu and Kashmir;
(b) the power of Parliament to make laws for the said State shall be limited to—
(i) those matters in the Union List and the Concurrent List which, in consultation with the Government of the State, are declared by the President to correspond to matters specified in the Instrument of Accession governing the accession of the State to the Dominion of India as the matters with respect to which the Dominion Legislature may make laws for that State; and
(ii) such other matters in the said Lists as, with the concurrence of the Government of the State, the President may by order specify.
[Excerpts from Article 370, http://lawmin.nic.in/coi/coiason29july08.pdf, pp. 243-244]
1949
As a result of protracted struggle against feudalism, a land reform committee was appointed. The maximum landholding was put at 22.75 acres, the rest went to tenants. The right of peasants on mortgaged property was reinstated, the tenant is now protected from ejection and his share of crop increased from half to two thirds, while the cost of seed and agricultural implements was now split. A debt commission was appointed to ameliorate the misery of usury. In just one decision the burden of debts was brought down by eighty percent.
[M.J. Akbar, Kashmir: Behind the vale, pp. 139]
1951
First post-independence election in Kashmir takes place. 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.
[http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/kashun91.htm]
1952
A Kashmiri delegation came to Delhi for talk with the Union Government. The consensus came to be known as the Delhi Agreement. Its main points are,
· Commitment to article 370
· Kashmiris would be citizens of India, but the state legislature would be empowered to confer special rights
· The president of India would be the head of Kashmir
· Kashmir would be allowed its own flag but not as a rival to tricolour
· The Supreme Court would ‘ for the time being’ have only appellate jurisdiction over Jammu and Kashmir
[http://jammukashmir.nic.in/profile/cntit5.htm]
1952
Jawaharlal Nehru in the Lok Sabha on August 7 said "...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]
[Selected works of Jawaharlal Nehru, vol. 19 pp. 295-6]
1953
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, who then gets the accession formally ratified in 1954, is installed in power.
[Prem Nath Bazaz, Democracy through Intimidation and Terror, p.15]
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.
[http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/kasun126.htm]
1959
Permit system for entry to the State is abolished. In October, the State constitution 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 the 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.
1964
Protest demonstrations occur in Kashmir valley and 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. This was followed by the announcement that the Indian National Congress would be formally launched in the state. Another symbol of difference, the title of Sadar-i-Riyasat for the equivalence of the Governor went and Kashmir came on par with the rest of the country by 1965.
[M.J. Akbar, Kashmir: Behind the vale, pp. 169]
1965
Sheikh Abdullah is arrested on his return to India from Mecca on account of his meeting with the Chinese Prime Minister Zhou En-lai at Algiers. Angry protests occur in Kashmir Valley; the Plebiscite Front initiates a satyagraha for Abdullah's release and many workers are arrested.
1965-1966
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.
[http://www.kashmir-information.com/LegalDocs/Tashkent.html]
1965
Kashmiri nationalists Amanullah Khan and Maqbool Butt form another Plebiscite Front with an armed wing called the Jammu and Kashmir National Liberation Front (NLF; this subsequently became the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, or JKLF, in 1967) 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.
[Victoria Schofield, Kashmir in Conflict, pp.114-116]
1971
Indian authorities claimed that Butt masterminded the hijacking of a Passenger Airline to Lahore, Pakistan, and the hijackers declared affiliation with JKLF under the leadership of Butt. The Pakistani authorities then arrested Butt and a number of others. He was released in 1974.
1971-1972
India 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 become independent Bangladesh. The cease-fire line in Kashmir becomes the 'Line of Control'. 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.
[http://www.kashmir-information.com/LegalDocs/SimlaAgreement.html]
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.
Kashmir Accord
· Article 370 would continue
· Residuary powers would remain with the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly; Delhi would retain control of any legislation dealing with the sovereignty of India.
· Kashmir could alter or modify any future provision, but only with the consent of the President of India.
· The state could review legislation after 1953 on the concurrent list and the President’s assent ‘would be sympathetically considered’.
· Article 356 and power of the Election commission would remain as they are.
1975
Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency in entire India under article 352 of Indian constitution, effectively bestowing on her the power to rule by decree, suspending election and civil liberties. Sheikh Abdullah stood by Indira Gandhi.
1976
Maqbool Butt is arrested on his return to the Valley; Amanullah Khan moved to England and NLF becomes Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF).
1977
Election in Kashmir. National Conference won an overwhelming victory.
1978
The Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act is passed. It provides for the detention of any individual without trial for two years, without being produced before a magistrate within 24 hours. To date, 50,000 people have been detained under this Act.
1982
Sheikh Abdullah passed away. His son Farooq Abdullah, who was inducted as a cabinet Minister only a few months ago, became the new Chief Minister.
1983
National Conference forms government after winning an allegedly rigged election. Farooq Abdullah does not agree to share power with Congress.
1984
Operation Blue star in Punjab. The centre falsely accuses the Kashmir government of refusing to arrest Sikh rebels in Jammu and Kashmir. Farooq was pressurized to leave his post; G.M. Shah replaced him as Chief Minister. Maqbool Butt is sentenced to death.
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.
1986
Kashmir was brought under Governor’s rule.
1987
National Conference – Congress alliance won another allegedly fixed election. Credibility of National Conference is completely ravaged. The Muslim United Front (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.
[Pankaj Mishra, The Birth of a Nation]
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.
1990
The Jammu & Kashmir Disturbed Areas Act is passed. Under the Act, the whole or part of the State can be declared disturbed area by the Central Government or the Governor. The whole valley of Kashmir and two Districts of Jammu have since been declared disturbed areas. The Act gives the police extraordinary powers of arrest and detention. 1990 also witnessed the beginning of extensive usage of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act (1985, amended 1987) in the J & K region.
Jagmohan is appointed as the Governor. Farooq Abdullah resigns. Indian security forces conducted extensive, warrant-less, and therefore illegal house-to-house searches in Srinagar, in an effort to find illegal weapons and root out any hidden militants. Hundreds of people were arrested, and many Kashmiris claimed that they had been dragged out of their homes, and were beaten and abused by the Indian soldiers.
As word of the searches spread the next morning (January 20, 1990), thousands of Kashmiris took to the streets in protest, demanding independence. Jagmohan responded by putting the city under curfew. That evening, a large group of protesters shouting pro-independence slogans, reached Srinagar's Gawakadal Bridge over the Jhelum River. There, CRPF troops responded by surrounding the bridge and opening fire on the unarmed crowd, which included women and children, with automatic weapons. At least hundred people were killed. Gawakadal bridge massacre became the catalyst which propelled the subsequent mass upsurge.
At the end of February, an estimated 400,000 kashmiris take to the streets of Srinagar, demanding a plebiscite.
[Victoria Schofield, Kashmir in conflict: India, Pakistan and the unending war]
1990
Lassa Kaul, director of Srinagar Doordarshan, is killed by the militants for pro-India media policy. Two Pandits were killed allegedly by JKLF one year ago to revenge the death sentence of Maqbool Butt.
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.
1990
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. The draconian Armed Forces (Jammu & Kashmir) Special Powers Act (AFSPA) is applied in Jammu and Kashmir, allowing the Indian armed forces to act with impunity in the region.
[http://www.indiatogether.org/peace/kashmir/intro.htm]
1991
Kashmiris hold anti-Pakistan demonstrations in Srinagar following the killing of a JKLF area commander by the Hizbul Mujahideen.
1992
Pakistan forces arrest 500 JKLF marchers led by Amanulla Khan in POK to prevent their bid to cross the border.
1994
JKLF chief Yasin Malik released; declares renunciation of violence.
1996
Indian armed forces storm JKLF (Amnanullah group) Hazratbal office. Thirty three people killed.
1996
Another state assembly election is held under the shadow of manipulation. Farooq Abdullah is sworn in as Chief Minister.
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.'
[Victoria Schofield, Kashmir in Conflict, New York 2000, pp.207-208]
1999
Indian army patrols detect intruders from Pakistan on Kargil ridges in Kashmir. India declares it will fight to regain lost territory. The infiltrators are supposedly 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.
1990-2000
Renegade militants sponsored by the Indian security forces are used for extrajudicial executions of militants, besides human right activists, journalists and other civilians. Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and Harkat-ul-Mujahedin dominated the militancy in Kashmir. Torture of innocents by Indian security force continued unabatedly. Many youths disappeared, after being picked up by Indian armed forces.
[Amnesty International, Impunity must end in Jammu and Kashmir, 2001]
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. No judicial inquiry has been conducted on the Sikh massacre till date.
[Pankaj Mishra, Death in Kashmir]
2000
The State Autonomy Committee 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.
[BBC News, Anger over Kashmir decision]
2001
India and Pakistan fail to arrive at a joint agreement at Agra Summit. India accuses Pakistan of engaging in cross-border terrorism. Pakistan denies the accusations. The Indian Parliament was attacked, allegedly by Kashmiri militants, leading to immediate escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan, and a massive build up of troops along the border.
2002
Passage of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA). This law was used mainly in Kashmir, till it was repealed in 2005; 99.9 % of those held under this Act were Muslims.
Abdul Ghani Lone, a leading and popular leader of the Peoples Conference is assassinated by unidentified gunmen.
Enforced Disappearence
Enforced Disappearance is abduction or kidnapping, carried out by State agents, or organized groups and individuals who act with State support or tolerance, in which the victim "disappears". Authorities neither accept responsibility for the dead, nor account for the whereabouts of the victim. Legal recourse including petitions of habeas corpus, remain ineffective.
Since 1989, when armed conflict started in Kashmir, more than 8,000 people have disappeared after their arrest by the law enforcing agencies. Majority of them are non-combatant Kashmiris. Even the government has admitted the phenomenon. The then Chief Minister of J&K state, Mufti Muhammad Sayeed on February 25, 2003 informed the State Assembly in Jammu that "Three thousand seven hundred and forty four persons are missing in between 2000 to 2002. 1,553 persons got disappeared in 2000. 1586 went missing in 2001 and 605 in 2002".
Thousands lost in Kashmir mass graves
Hundreds of unidentified graves – believed to contain victims of unlawful killings, enforced disappearances, torture and other abuses - have been found in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir.
The findings appear in the report Facts under Ground, issued on 29 March by the Srinagar-based Association of the Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP). The report details the existence of multiple graves which, because of their proximity to Pakistan controlled-areas, are in areas not accessible without the specific permission of the security forces. Since 2006, the graves of at least 940 people are reported to have been discovered in 18 villages in Uri district alone.
The findings appear in the report Facts under Ground, issued on 29 March by the Srinagar-based Association of the Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP). The report details the existence of multiple graves which, because of their proximity to Pakistan controlled-areas, are in areas not accessible without the specific permission of the security forces. Since 2006, the graves of at least 940 people are reported to have been discovered in 18 villages in Uri district alone.
Unlawful killings, enforced disappearances and torture are violations of both international human rights law and international humanitarian law, set out in treaties to which India is a state party. They also constitute international crimes.
Amnesty International has called on the Indian government to unequivocally condemn enforced disappearances in Jammu and Kashmir and ensure that prompt, thorough, independent and impartial investigations into all sites of mass graves in the region are immediately carried out by forensic experts in line with the relevant UN Model Protocol.
[Amnesty International:
http://www.amnesty.org/en/appeals-for-action/thousands-lost-kashmir-mass-graves
2004
Passage of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Ordinance, which subsequently promulgated as an Act. It provides extraordinary powers to the armed forces.
Syed Salahuddin, chief of Hizbul Mujahideen showed his willingness to declare a ceasefire if the Indian Government withdraws its troops from Jammu and Kashmir and begins tripartite negotiations. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh states that India will not accept any proposal for redrawing of the international border or further division of the country.
2007
Prime Minister tells the PDP – partner in Jammu Kashmir coalition government – that reduction in civilian areas of the state is not possible immediately and that any decision on this can be taken only after assessing the infiltration level. The Northern Command’s General Officer Commanding-in-Chief puts the deployment of army personnel in the state to 337,000. On the strength of militants active in the state, the army commander said that data from various agencies have revealed the headcount at 1,140.
2008
Kashmir saw the biggest pro-freedom rallies since 1990. It began after the Kashmir government promised to give forest land to the trust that runs the Amarnath shrine. Life in the entire valley was paralysed for many days.
2009
Pro-independence movement once again takes the street, this time to protest against the murder and rape of two women by Indian armed forces in Shopian district.
2010
The current phase of protests started on June 11th, when a teenager was killed by a smoke shell fired by Indian security forces. People of Kashmir came out on the streets, en-masse, to demonstrate against this killing. Instead of punishing the culprits who were responsible for this murder, protesters were met with live bullets, tear gas shells, batons, curfew and scores of arrests. More than a hundred people have become martyred in hundred days of protestAbuse of Article 370 by India
- The State was put in a status inferior to that of other States. Parliament had to amend the Constitution four times, by means of the 59th, 64th, 67th and 68th Constitution Amendments, to extend the President's Rule imposed in Punjab on May 11, 1987. For the State of Jammu and Kashmir the same result was accomplished, from 1990 to 1996, by mere executive orders under Article 370.
- On July 30, 1986, the President made an order under Article 370, extending to Kashmir Article 249 of the Constitution in order to empower Parliament to legislate even on a matter in the State List on the strength of a Rajya Sabha resolution.
- The Nehru-Abdullah Agreement in July 1952 ("the Delhi Agreement") confirmed that "the residuary powers of legislation" (on matters not mentioned in the State List or the Concurrent List), which Article 248 and Entry 97 (Union List) confer on the Union, will not apply to Kashmir. The order of 1986 purported to apply to the State Article 249, which empowers Parliament to legislate even on a matter in the State List if a Rajya Sabha resolution so authorises it by a two-thirds vote. But it so amended Article 249 in its application to Kashmir as in effect to apply Article 248 instead.
From Jan. 1989 to August 31, 2010 | |
Total Killings * | 93,379 |
Custodial Killings | 6,974 |
Civilians Arrested | 118,060 |
Structures Arsoned/Destroyed | 105,866 |
Women Widowed | 22,734 |
Children Orphaned | 107,366 |
Women gang-raped / Molested | 9,946 |
August 2010 | |
Total Killings * | 72 |
Men | 37 |
Women | 4 |
Children | 31 |
Custodial Killings | 3 |
Tortured/Critically Injured | 1505 |
Civilians Arrested | 236 |
Structures Arsoned/Destroyed | 1 |
Disappeared | 0 |
Women Widowed | 3 |
Children Orphaned | 9 |
Women gang-raped / Molested | 20 |
*Including custody
thank you for compiling it.
ReplyDeletehelped me know my place better.