Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir

The origin of the Jammu and Kashmir insurgency can be traced back to the partition of India when Pakistan attacked Kashmir to capture it. Since then, India and Pakistan have fought three wars over this.

Many terrorist organizations are active in Kashmir.

• JeM (Jaish-e-Mohammed): Formed by Masood Azhar with the stated objective of uniting Kashmir with Pakistan. JeM was behind various terrorist activities, including the attack on Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly.
• HM (Hizbul Mujahideen)
• HuM (Harkat-ul-Mujahideen) 
• LeT (Lashkar-e-Taiba)
• The Resistance Front (shadow organization of LeT)
• People’s Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF): A newer front group linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed that became active in the post-2023 phase of militancy

The unrest in Kashmir is not a new incident. The Valley has been the victim of such violence for many years. It started in 1947 with the State’s accession to India but worsened at the end of the 1980s (1988)  with the rise in the militant insurgency. Reasons are

• Geographical: The presence of an envious neighbour in the form of Pakistan, which incites the sentiments of the Kashmiri people.
• Historical Background: The demand for a plebiscite has been there since 1947, which the people feel is their legal right as per the instrument of accession. However, due to the actions of Pakistan and changed conditions since 1950, a plebiscite cannot be performed in the Valley. It has enraged generations of Kashmiri people.  
• Economic reasons 
  • Unemployment is a significant reason for youth frustration. Tourism has been down due to the disturbed security situation. 
  • Kashmir has limited industries and enterprises. Due to harsh weather conditions, there are limited days of productive work.
• Mujahideen Infiltration: After the victory over the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, Mujahideen fighters, with the aid of Pakistan, slowly infiltrated Kashmir to spread a radical Islamist ideology. 
• Political Reasons : 
  • Perceptions of the domination of politics in the State by one or two families (i.e. Abdullahs and Muftis) 
  • The immediate reason was the widely perceived rigging of state elections in 1987. 
  • Laws like AFSPA, regular curfews, presence of armed forces, allegations of human rights violations
  • Use of pellet guns on the protestors, including children. 
• Weakening of Decentralization: History shows that Pakistan has tried to foster an anti-India jihad in Jammu and Kashmir since 1947 but without much success until the late 1980s. In the 1980s, they succeeded because, till that time, Article 370 of the Constitution had been rendered a dead letter.  
• Social Cause/Wahhabization of Kashmiris: Increasing radicalization has choked the more tolerant Sufi tradition and introduced a new Wahhabi culture in the Valley.
• New Generation raised in troubled times: The present generation of Kashmir was raised during troubled times that started in the 1990s. Hence, they feel alienated from the political establishment.
• Social Media: The new generation having access to the internet has been radicalized by anti-India propaganda spread on the internet. Messaging apps such as Telegram and WhatsApp have helped the militants to mobilize the crowds and indulge them in stone-pelting incidents. 
• Lone-Wolf Trend: Security agencies have observed a shift from large terror modules to small, tech-enabled cells and self-radicalised youth. Online propaganda, encrypted platforms and cross-border handlers now play a bigger role than physical training camps, making detection more difficult. 
• “Doval Doctrine” which posits that under no circumstance should the State be seen as yielding, either tangibly or symbolically