Post-1947

In 1949, the Indian government obliged Hari Singh to leave Jammu and Kashmir, and yield the government to Sheikh Abdullah, the leader of a popular political party, the National Conference Party. Since then, a bitter enmity has been developed between India and Pakistan and three wars have taken place between them over Kashmir.

The growing dispute over Kashmir also lead to the rise of terrorism in the state. The year 1989 saw the intensification of conflict in Jammu and Kashmir as Mujahadeens from Afghanistan slowly infiltrated the region following the end of the Soviet-Afghan War the same year. [1]However, what started as essentially an indigenous popular uprising in Indian-administered Kashmir, has undergone drastic changes in the last decade.

Militancy and military

Since it began in the late 1980s, violence has increased significantly in strength. Many separatists have carried out attacks on Indian military installations in response to Indian military occupation.

India claims most of the separatist militant groups, who it calls “terrorists”, are based in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, also known as Azad Kashmir (”Azad” meaning free). Some like the All Parties Hurriyat Conference and the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, demand an independent Kashmir. Other groups such as Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed favour a Pakistani-Kashmir.

Both the organisations no longer operate under these names after they were banned by the Indian and Pakistani government, and by other countries including the USA and UK, when it was found that a few of these organisations may have close ties to Al Qaeda. Of the larger militant groups, the Hizbul Mujahideen, a militant organisation based in Indian administered Kashmir, unlike other groups, has only kept its name.[3]. Despite casualties, the militants are still believed to number thousands rather than hundreds. Several new separatist organizations have also emerged.

India claims it is the presence of these numerous anti-India insurgent groups that has compelled New Delhi to deploy more than 600,000 security personnel in Jammu and Kashmir, supported by thousands of Indian paramilitary groups such as the Rashtriya rifles, and the Romeo Force. Further consolidating Indian control in Kashmir are hundreds of counter-insurgents known collectively as the Ikhwanis.

Made up of former militants, the groups were abandoned by India in the early part of this decade, allowing anti-Indian militants to slowly kill off the Ikhwanis, including the notorious Ikhwani leader, Kukka Parray. Pakistan claims that this number of military personnel is not needed for such a small group of separatists and that India simply wants control over the entire Kashmir region. In response Pakistan has increased its military personnel in it territory. The region remains as one of the most heavily militarised zones in the world.

Militant groups

India says that over the last two years, a militant group, Lashkar-e-Toiba has split into two factions: Al Mansurin and Al Nasirin. Another new militant group reported to have emerged is the Save Kashmir Movement. Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (formerly known as Harkat-ul-Ansar) and Lashkar-e-Toiba are believed to be operating from Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir and Muridke, Pakistan respectively. Other less well known groups are the Freedom Force and Farzandan-e-Milat.

A smaller militant group, Al Badr, has been active in Kashmir for many years and is still believed to be functioning. All Parties Hurriyat Conference, an organisation that uses moderate means to press for the rights of the Kashmiris, is often considered as the mediator between New Delhi and these “terrorist” groups.

Not much is known about collaboration between the various militant groups, but most say they are members of an alliance known as the United Jihad Council (UJC).[6] The two groups which India says were behind the December 2001 attack on the Indian parliament in New Delhi - known then as Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Toiba are believed to be members of the UJC. India says that it was Jaish-e-Mohammed that attacked the Jammu and Kashmir State Assembly in Srinagar in October 2001. It is also known that the Jaish-e-Mohammed was responsible for the hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight IC-814 to Kandahar, which forced the Government of India to release Maulana Masood Azhar, the chief of the Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist group.[8]

Who is responsible?

According to Indian authorities, Kashmiri militants are sponsored by Pakistan; an allegation which Islamabad strongly denies. India claims that there are also several other Afghan, Egyptian, Yemeni and Bangladeshi militants active in Jammu and Kashmir.

Not all Kashmiri separatists and militant organizations share the same ideology. Some fight in the name of religion, some are pro-Pakistan and some favour an independent Kashmir. Furthermore, not all the militants are muslims. Recent reports indicate that a growing minority of the fighters are Hindu militants who have taken up arms for money. They are primarily in these terrorist outfits due to unemployement and a lucrative package.

Pakistan calls some of these separatist militants as “freedom fighters” and says that it supports their effort for the cause of the Kashmiris only morally. India, however, claims that Islamabad supports these groups financially. India has been trying to convince the international community that Pakistan’s intelligence organisation, Inter-Service Intelligence, is the main supplier of funds and arms to these groups; a claim that Islamabad has dismissed as rubbish.