When news spread in early July that Indian troops had killed a charismatic commander of Indian-controlled Kashmir’s biggest rebel group, the public response was spontaneous and immense. Tens of thousands of angry youths poured out of their homes in towns and villages across the Himalayan region, hurling rocks and bricks and clashing with Indian troops.
Indian police men watch from distance as Kashmiri Muslims shout pro freedom and pro Pakistani slogans during the funeral of Riyaz Ahmad Shah, a civilian killed by government forces in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2016. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
A strict curfew and a series of communications blackouts since then have failed to stop the protesters, who are seeking an end to Indian rule in Kashmir, even as residents have struggled to cope with shortages of food, medicine and other necessities. The clashes, with protesters mostly throwing rocks and government forces responding with bullets and shotgun pellets, has left more than 60 civilians and two policemen dead. Thousands of civilians have been injured and hundreds of members of various government security forces. On Wednesday, two soldiers were killed when they were ambushed by suspected rebels near the town of Baramulla, army officials said.
But Kashmir’s fury at Indian rule is not new. The stunning mountain region has known little but conflict since 1947, when British rule of the subcontinent ended with the creation of India and Pakistan.
THE HISTORY
In this Nov. 9, 1947 photo, Indian Sikh troops take up roadside positions on the Baramula Road to help force invaders further away from the Kashmir capital, Srinagar. A raid by armed tribesmen from north-western Pakistan forced Maharaja Hari Singh of the Himalayan kingdom of Jammu and Kashmir to seek help from India, which offered military assistance on the condition that the kingdom accede to India. The ruler accepted but insisted that the region would remain a largely autonomous state within the Indian union, with India managing its foreign affairs, defense, and telecommunication. The Indian military entered the region soon after, and the tribal raid spiraled into the first of two wars between India and Pakistan over Kashmir. The war ended in 1948 with a United Nations brokered ceasefire. (AP Photo/Max Desfor)
Captured by Indian troops when they attempted to infiltrate through government lines, Pathan tribesmen huddle together before a tent at Srinagar Airport in India’s Kashmir Province, Nov. 9, 1947. Tribesmen invaded the province from Pakistan’s northwest frontier province but showed little desire for a standup fight with well-equipped Indian troops who were rushed into Kashmir Province to repel the invaders. (AP Photo/Max Desfor)
In 1947, the kingdom of Jammu and Kashmir was asked to join with either India or Pakistan. But Maharaja Hari Singh, the unpopular Hindu ruler of the Muslim-majority region, wanted to stay independent.
However, local armed uprisings that flared in various parts of Kashmir, along with a raid by tribesmen from northwestern Pakistan, forced Singh to seek help from India, which offered military assistance on condition that the kingdom link itself to India. The ruler accepted, but insisted that Kashmir remain a largely autonomous state within the Indian union, with India managing its foreign affairs, defense and telecommunications.
A Pathan has his hand tied behind his back after he was captured in the Kashmir region, near Baramulla, India, Nov. 9, 1947. When caught, he had a cartridge belt with ammunition and was wearing four pairs of pants, three shirts and other miscellaneous pieces of clothing. The clothing was loot his loot from the villages. (AP Photo/Max Desfor)
The Indian military entered the region soon after, with the tribal raid spiraling into the first of two wars between India and Pakistan over Kashmir. The first war ended in 1948 with a U.N.-brokered cease-fire. Nonetheless, Kashmir was divided between the two young nations by the heavily militarized Line of Control, with the promise of a U.N.-sponsored referendum in the future.
In Indian-controlled Kashmir, many saw the transition as the mere transfer of power from their Hindu king to Hindu-majority India. Kashmiri discontent against India started taking root as successive Indian governments breached the pact of Kashmir’s autonomy. Local governments were toppled one after another, and largely peaceful movements against Indian control were suppressed harshly.
Pakistan regularly raised the Kashmir dispute in international forums, including in the U.N. Meanwhile, India began calling the region an integral part of the nation, insisting that Kashmir’s lawmakers had ratified the accession to New Delhi.
As the deadlock persisted, India and Pakistan went to war again in 1965, with little changing on the ground. Several rounds of talks followed, but the impasse continued.
Refugee camp a few miles outside Muzaffarabad, capital of Azad Kashmir in September 1965, where they are being given medical treatment and food warm clothing etc. Photos of refugees from Indian-held Kashmir, most of whom lived within a few miles of the cease-fire line. These refugees who have escaped tell tales of atrocities and shootings at hands of Indian troops or militiamen in Kashmir. (AP Photo)
An armed Indian patrol moves through a paddy field near Badgam in Kashmir, Aug. 5, 1965. India and Pakistan, who both claim all of Kashmir, have been strengthening their forces along the ceasefire line. (AP Photo)
In the mid-1980s, dissident political groups in Indian-held Kashmir united to contest elections for the state assembly. The Muslim United Front quickly emerged as a formidable force against Kashmir’s pro-India political elite. However, the United Front lost the 1987 election, which was widely believed to have been heavily rigged.
A strong public backlash followed. Some young United Front activists crossed over to Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, where the Pakistani military began arming and training Kashmiri nationalists.
By 1989, Kashmir was in the throes of a full-blown rebellion.
Kashmiri children look at the damage done to a post office in Srinagar after a bomb went off, one of two that exploded, Friday, Feb. 9, 1990 in Srinagar. (AP Photo/Qaiser Mirza)
Women are held on a roadside in Chota Bazar area of Srinagar, Thursday, May 24, 1990, while Indian army carry out a search of their homes for Muslim militants seeking independence of Kashmir from India. The area has been searched at least 15 times before. (AP Photo/Barbara Walton)
India poured more troops into the already heavily militarized region. In response, thousands of Kashmiris streamed back from the Pakistani-controlled portion with weapons, staging bloody attacks on Indian security forces and pro-India Kashmiri politicians. Indian soldiers, empowered with emergency laws giving them legal impunity, carried out a brutal military crackdown, leaving Kashmiris exhausted and traumatized. More than 68,000 people have been killed since then.
Kashmir rebels suffered a major setback after 9/11, when the U.S. pressured Pakistan to rein in the militants. Indian troops largely crushed the militancy after that, though popular demands for “azadi,” – freedom – remain ingrained in the Kashmiri psyche.
In the last decade, the region has made a transition from armed rebellion to unarmed uprisings, with tens of thousands of civilians repeatedly taking to the streets to protest Indian rule, often leading to clashes between rock-throwing residents and Indian troops. The protests are usually quelled by force, often resulting in deaths.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
In this June 28, 2012 file photo, Indian Hindu pilgrims walk in line as they journey to the to the remote Himalayan shrine of Amarnath at 3,888 m (12,756 ft) above sea level to worship an icy stalagmite representing Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction, near Shashnag, 115 kms (71 miles) from Srinagar, India. In 2008, a government decision, later revoked, to transfer land to the Hindu shrine in Kashmir set off a summer of protests. The next year, the alleged rape and murder of two young women by government forces set off the violence. In 2010, the trigger was a police investigation into allegations that soldiers shot dead three civilians and then staged a fake gun battle to make it appear the dead were militants and claim rewards for the killings. at least 200 people were killed and hundreds wounded as troops fired live ammunition into the crowds as young men and women took to the streets, hurling rocks and abuse at Indian forces. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)
In 2008, a government decision — later revoked — to transfer land to a Hindu shrine in Kashmir set off a summer of protests. The following year, the alleged rape and murder of two young women by government forces set off fresh violence.
In 2010, the trigger for protests was a police investigation into allegations that soldiers had shot three civilians dead, and then staged a fake gun battle to make it appear that the dead were militants in order to claim rewards for the killings.
Over those three years hundreds of thousands of young men and women took to the streets, hurling rocks and insults at Indian forces. At least 200 people were killed and hundreds wounded as troops fired into the crowds, inciting further protests.
The Bodies of 16 militants lie in an Indian Army camp in Beerwah village, 40 kms from Srinagar in central Kashmir Monday, September 22, 1997. The sixteen militants, including 14 foreign nationals, were killed in an encounter with the Indian Army in Latun village 47 kms from Srinagar Sunday. Militants in Kashmir are fighting with Indian security forces to liberate Kashmir from India. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
The crackdowns appear to be pushing many educated young Kashmiris, who grew up politically radicalized amid decades of brutal conflict, toward armed rebel groups. Young Kashmiri boys began snatching weapons from Indian forces and training themselves deep inside Kashmir’s forests.
Despite that, the number of militants has apparently remained tiny, with security experts estimating there has not been more than 200 for the last several years.
ANTI-INDIA GROUPS
The All Parties Hurriyat Conference is a conglomerate of social, religious and political groups formed in 1993. It advocates the U.N.-sponsored right to self-determination for Kashmir or three-way talks that include India, Pakistan and Kashmiri leadership to resolve the dispute.
The Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front was one of the first armed rebel groups. It favors an independent, united Kashmir. Currently led by Mohammed Yasin Malik, the group gave up armed rebellion in 1994, soon after Indian authorities released Malik from jail after four years.
Hizbul Mujahideen is Kashmir’s largest and only surviving indigenous armed rebel group. Formed in 1990, the group demands Kashmir’s merger with Pakistan. Its supreme commander, Syed Salahuddin, is based in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. The group was led in Indian Kashmir by Burhan Wani until his death on July 8, which sparked the current clashes.
Syed Salahuddin, supreme commander of Pakistani Kashmiri militant group Hizbul Muhajideen, gestures during a press conference in Karachi, Pakistan on Monday, March, 31, 2008. (AP Photo/Shakil Adil)
Kashmiri villagers walk to attend the funeral of Burhan Wani, chief of operations of Indian Kashmir’s largest rebel group Hizbul Mujahideen, in Tral, some 38 Kilometers (24 miles) south of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, July 9, 2016. Indian troops fired on protesters in Kashmir as tens of thousands of Kashmiris defied a curfew imposed in most parts of the troubled region Saturday and participated in the funeral of the top rebel commander killed by Indian government forces, officials and locals said. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
Kashmiri villagers carry body of Burhan Wani, chief of operations of Indian Kashmir’s largest rebel group Hizbul Mujahideen, during his funeral procession in Tral, some 38 Kilometers (24 miles) south of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, July 9, 2016. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
Lashkar-e-Taiba is a Pakistan-based group fighting for the merger of Indian-controlled Kashmir with Pakistan. The United States lists it as a terrorist group. Its leader, Hafiz Saeed, is on a U.S. terrorist list, with a $10 million bounty on his head. He’s also one of India’s most wanted men. New Delhi blames the group for several deadly attacks in Kashmir and Indian cities, including the 2008 Mumbai attack that killed 166 people.
PRO-INDIA GROUPS
The Jammu Kashmir National Conference is a pro-India political group that has ruled Kashmir for much of the time since 1947. Its most recent leaders, Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah, the current opposition leader in the state assembly, are seen as the strongest proponents of India in Kashmir.
Jammu Kashmir state Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, left, and his father and Indian Minister for New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah listen to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, unseen, speak during a press conference in Srinagar, India, Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)
The Jammu Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party emerged in the early 2000s as the strongest opponent to the National Conference, strategically using pro-separatist views for electoral gains. It came to power in 2002. It currently rules Indian-controlled Kashmir in coalition with India’s ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.
Indian paramilitary soldier throws exploded tear gas shell at Kashmiri Muslim protesters during a protest at the end of day long curfew in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Friday, Aug. 12, 2016. Curfew and protests have continued across the valley amidst outrage over the killing of a top rebel leader by Indian troops in early July, 2016. The red spot on the image is due to lens flare. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin )
An Indian soldier stands guard during a protest in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Friday, July 15, 2016. Clashes between Indian troops and protesters continued despite a curfew imposed in the disputed Himalayan region to suppress anti-India violence following the Friday killing of Burhan Wani, chief of operations of Hizbul Mujahideen, Kashmir’s largest rebel group. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)
A Kashmiri woman pleads with Indian paramilitary soldiers to let her cross a temporary checkpoint during curfew in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, July 12, 2016. Curfew imposed in the disputed Himalayan region continues for the fourth consecutive day to suppress anti-India violence following the Friday killing of Burhan Wani, chief of operations of Hizbul Mujahideen, Kashmir’s largest rebel group. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
Indian policemen keep guard from the window of a residential house during curfew in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, July 13, 2016. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)
A masked Kashmiri participates in a torch light protest in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Thursday, July 21, 2016. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)
Kashmiri Muslim protesters taunt Indian policemen as they clash in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Monday, July 11, 2016. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
An Indian paramilitary soldier falls down as he tries to kick back an exploded tear gas shell thrown back at them by Kashmiri Muslim protesters at the end of a day long curfew in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Monday, Aug. 8, 2016. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
A burqa-clad woman walks past graffiti of Burhan Wani, right, a top rebel commander and a civilian who was killed earlier this month during curfew in Srinagar, Indian-controlled Kashmir, Friday, Aug. 12, 2016. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
Cows feed from a pile of garbage that has been lying unattended to on a road during the ninth straight day of curfew in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sunday, July 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
Indian paramilitary soldier questions a Kashmiri man selling milk before turning him back near a temporary checkpoint during curfew in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Friday, July 29, 2016. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
A Kashmiri woman weeps during a joint funeral of four civilians at Aripanthan village, west of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, Aug.16, 2016. Government forces in Indian-controlled Kashmir shot and killed four civilians and injured at least 15 others Tuesday as clashes intensified with anti-India protesters in the troubled region, police said. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)
The body of an elderly Kashmiri civilian Ghulam Mohammad Mir, who succumbed to injury allegedly attained during a protest last week, is carried on a stretcher outside a hospital in Srinagar, India, Wednesday, July 20, 2016. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)
Kashmiris shout pro freedom slogans during a joint funeral of four civilains at Aripanthan village, west of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, Aug.16, 2016. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)
Gulzar Ahmed, allegedly beaten up by Indian soldiers who picked him along with several others at Khrew village, recovers at a local hospital in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016. Residents of Khrew, in Indian-controlled Kashmir, say a young college teacher has been killed while he was in the custody of the Indian army after soldiers picked up dozens of villagers from their homes in the Himalayan region. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
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One thought on “AP EXPLAINS: For 69 years, Kashmir is torn by deadly strife”
Let there be no doubt – this is not about freedom, this is about jihad. The Hindu minority population of Kashmir have been persecuted and driven out of the valley and the Islamists have taken control. Any part of the world where Muslims become a majority will go through this crisis. It hasnt helped that the Indianized Sufi Islam (when Islam got civilized by Hinduism) has now become more radicalized due to Saudi salafi funding. Hence the attack on civilians, goverment officials and troops. Thousand of Indian soldiers have been killed by Pakistani trained jihadis. These Kashmiri Islamists are now idolizing a terrorist gang leader who was killed by Indian soldiers recently. Don’t fall for this freedom trap – India wont give up an inch of its territory like any other power of the world.
AP Images Blog 
Let there be no doubt – this is not about freedom, this is about jihad. The Hindu minority population of Kashmir have been persecuted and driven out of the valley and the Islamists have taken control. Any part of the world where Muslims become a majority will go through this crisis. It hasnt helped that the Indianized Sufi Islam (when Islam got civilized by Hinduism) has now become more radicalized due to Saudi salafi funding. Hence the attack on civilians, goverment officials and troops. Thousand of Indian soldiers have been killed by Pakistani trained jihadis. These Kashmiri Islamists are now idolizing a terrorist gang leader who was killed by Indian soldiers recently. Don’t fall for this freedom trap – India wont give up an inch of its territory like any other power of the world.
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