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Kashmir Insurgency
Pranav Patel and Abhishek Singh Aminah Hussain
Objective of Committee Delegates of the Kashmiri Insurgency of 1989 will debate and create resolutions in order to settle disputes and conflicts regarding the border issue between India and Pakistan. As a crisis committee, delegates will experience several crises such as decreases in Indian military monetary value, human rights violations, and political misconceptions between the two countries. For a successful committee, the delegates are expected to develop unique ideas as well as work together to create directives. By doing so, the Insurgency in Kashmir may be resolved by either dividing Kashmir between India or Pakistan or allowing Kashmir to have its own independence.
Background The infamous Kashmir Insurgency has its roots in the overall conflict between India and Pakistan. The conflicts of the two nations dates back to the late 1940s. In August 1947, India became independent from the British Empire and was split into two regions regarding the two major religious groups in the subcontinent. The Muslim population became Pakistan and the Hindu population became India. This partition was not necessarily the most peaceful split, but rather a bloody and gruesome one that required force to split the once peaceful religious groups. Upon the Indian Independence Act of 1947, the Dominion of Pakistan and the Dominion of India came to be with the Radcliffe line separating the two (UNIPOM). Hindus and Muslims once lived peacefully with each other; however, with the emergence of British rule in the subcontinent, there was a divide between the two that lives on to this day. Along with the split of two religious groups, there was a region in the midst of the violence that
both dominions’ governments argued over. The Princely State of Kashmir was up for grabs by India and Pakistan; however, Maharaja Hari Singh denied acceding to either state since the Hindu ruler, himself, and the Muslim population caused confusion on which state they should accede to. After several requests, Pakistan thus decided to attack Kashmir, but Hari Singh was not ready for a war. Thus, Maharaja Singh requested help (armed assistance) from India, but India was only ready to aid Kashmir if they signed a particular agreement. The Instrument of Accession was signed and executed by Maharaja Singh on October 26, 1947. The agreement went under the the provisions of the Indian Independence Act of 1947 and agreed that the state of Kashmir would accede to India. The document was signed, the agreement was done, and Kashmir acceded to India, thus causing troubles with Pakistan and their desires that leads to the India-Pakistan War of 1947 (HRW 1993). The war was initially fought by the tribal groups and the Jammu Kashmir State forces. Before the instrument was signed, pro-Pakistani tribesmen entered the northern region of Kashmir and made their way to the capital, Srinagar, which caused Indian troops to be sent north to aid the state forces. The British command blocked the Pakistani army, as they saw the state as part of Indian control. Once the Pakistani Army reached the “Line of Control” a formal ceasefire was issued at 23:59 on the night of 31 December 1948 . However, after assessing the conflict, India stands as a clear victor of the war as they were able to defend two thirds of Kashmir and Pakistan only acquired one third of Kashmir (Amnesty International 2015). However, this was not the only war fought between the nations. After a devastating loss against China in 1962, India had a weary army and Pakistan saw this as an opportunity to finally take back what they never had. Pakistan decided 1965 was the perfect year to strike India. Currently, a majority of Kashmir was Indian-administered, one third
was Pakistani-administered, and a small portion was Chinese occupied (BBC 2002). To instigate the war, Pakistan sent thousands of disguised Pakistani troops across the Line of Control border to cause unrest within the Kashmir Valley and particularly with the Muslim population. After such instigation, the Indian army proceeded with the war and captured numerous posts in Kashmir, which were later returned due to the Tashkent Agreement. The United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics decided to intervene when they noticed that this small scale war would soon become a larger one. Both Pakistan and India were coerced to pull back troops, return any newly conquered regions, and ultimately adhere to the ceasefire line declared in 1949 (Amnesty International 2015). The India-Pakistan War of 1965 made a full circle as both nations ended up where they first began. Even after two gruesome wars, India and Pakistan were not done just yet. The India-Pakistan War of 1971 over East Pakistan emerged. Along with the partition of British India into Pakistan and India in 1947, there was also a small region on the eastern side of India that was called East Pakistan. Throughout the decades, a growing friction between Western and Eastern Pakistanis caused a distinction between the two population. As Eastern Pakistanis were primarily Bengali, there was a linguistic divide that caused the failure of West Pakistan to recognize their eastern counterparts as equals. In 1970, Field Marshall, General Yahya Khan, held an election in West and East Pakistan for the next Prime Minister; however, there was a regional divide in the election results thus causing violence. On March 3, 1971, fighting escalated between the two Pakistani regions and East Pakistan caught the attention of the Indian government (HRW 1999). India decided to support East Pakistan in their resistance in order to create an independent state for Eastern Pakistanis, now known as Bangladesh. Pakistan
surrendered on December 16, 1971, and India was recognized as a nation for diplomacy (BBC 2002). After the war of 1971, India and Pakistan's relations were in shambles. With both nations fearing any further destruction, they signed the Shimla Agreement that strictly stated that the ceasefire line of 1971 would act as the Line of Control border between the two (Chalk 2002). Although there was a mutual ceasefire, the Kashmiri government declared itself a part of India, which thus erupted unrest within Islamist political parties in Kashmir. The formation of militant wings in Pakistan in 1989 caused the Kashmir Insurgency, and it is your job, as representatives of all three regions, to declare the future of India, Pakistan, and Kashmir.
Cease the Separatists
On July 13, 1989, the infamous Kashmiri Insurgency came to be and the tensions between various Kashmiri insurgent groups, or separatists, and the Indian government rose to attention. The insurgency began on the idea of Kashmir being an autonomous state. The democratic development of the nation was limited till the late 1970s and by then it was too late. The representatives of the state had switched and favored insurgents with a violent succession from India. Disputed State elections led to be a catalyst to the rise of insurgents. The election of 1987 of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly was held in Kashmir with the Muslim United Front (MUF) competing for seats in the assembly. Numerous political parties of Islamic Kashmir collected to be the MUF and a major party of this group was the Jamaat-e-Islami. The
MUF gained popular support from the region’s separatists and pro-Pakistani Jamaat-e-Islami, in which they succeeded in the region winning 4 of the 43 electoral votes (Jacobs 2012). During their success, the ruling National Conference party recognized their progressing growth and were reported of rigging the election in favor of their party. With the rigging, along came widespread violence that lit the first sparks of the Kashmir Insurgency. The insurgency consisted of several groups from both sides of the conflict: the pro-Pakistani supporters and the pro-India supporters. The conflict caused death on both sides of these groups and civilians as well. The pro-Pakistani groups were more extreme than those of the Indian supporters. The Pakistani supporters consisted of some of the most high ranked terrorist groups in the world. They were supported by the Mujahideen, Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The pro-Indian supporters mainly consisted of their armies and the forces of Jammu Kashmir (Kaura 2017). Both sides clashed in an epic brawl between the nations with no clear winner. The groups supporting the Pakistanis wanted to spread the radical ideologies of Islam, and the supporters of India wanted revenge for the wrongdoings of Pakistan. The Pakistani ISI were also a part of the insurgency as they were the ones encouraging the the insurgents. They saw the people of Kashmir as fighting India, but needed a push to make them realize. It is the goal of this committee to resolve the Kashmir crisis and try and prevent the horror that were caused. The committee may decide on peaceful and diplomatic method, or they may resort to violence and war. The committee must work together and solve years of tension with strategic methods.
Questions to Consider: 1. In what ways can this Insurgency be solved? In peaceful manierism or will the committee resort to violence? 2. What ways can the culture differences be handled in a diplomatic way? 3. What ways can the committee resolve deep rooted causes of the Insurgency and prevent ever such occurrences again? 4. Will this Insurgence stay a conflict between Indian and Pakistan, or will the committee allow other nations to intervene?
Humanitarian Issues Despite the ongoing issues and border disputes, an even greater conflict was occurring between Pakistan and India… Humanitarian Issues. With the numerous wars and groups assembled during this conflict, human rights violations plays a big part. Like any major conflict in the world, this was no different. Neither side was innocent from the actions they committed in the war. Both Pakistan and India committed horrific acts to the opposing side. Humanitarian Issues are seen in every war, however they can always be prevented. In the Kashmir Insurgency the biggest issue that was seen was the death of innocent civilians. Throughout the crisis, several civilians were caught in the crossfire between the two nations. The death toll was atrocious Jammu and Kashmir state government reportedly recorded a total of
over 43,000 people killed. Of those killed, 21,323 were said to be “militants”, 13,226 “civilians” killed by armed groups, 5,369 security force personnel killed by armed groups, and 3,642 “civilians” killed by security forces (PAKUN). These numbers could very easily have been prevented if both sides were cautious of their actions. Both sides of the conflict refused to take precaution and were only determined to win no matter the consequences. These innocent lives could have been spared if the issues were dealt with before. Civilians were not the only ones that were affected by the lack of humanitarian rights. The people in the war also faced these issues. Soldiers in the war were abused and hurt by the opposite side. One instance being the Kashmiri Insurgents and the Indian military forces abuses on the prisoners. With around 6,000 soldiers killed as prisoners, it was a devastating act (HRW 1993). Even though the deaths of the civilians are important, the deaths of the soldiers matter as well. The soldiers were deprived of their simple human rights while they were being held as prisoners by the opposing side. These events took place during the the years of the Insurgency. This committee begins at the start of the Insurgency. It is this committee’s goal to decide the future of humanitarian issues during the Insurgency. Committee may lean towards a more cautious approach and prevent such atrocities from ever occurring. It may also lean towards an ambitious route to victory and fall in the same footsteps as people that committed these atrocities. It all depends on the members of this committee.
Questions to Consider: 1. How will the committee deal with starvation and famine in the nations during the Insurgency? 2. What would be consequences of the Humanitarian Violations that could occur? 3. How will the committee approach the Humanitarian Violations that could be in effect during the Crisis ? 4. Will the committee reach out for help from the UN or attempt to solve these issues internally? 5. What rules will be put in place for Prisoners of War in during the Insurgency?
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Mitra-Jha, Shreerupa. “At UN, India and Pakistan Spar over Human Rights Violations in Kashmir.” Firstpost, FIRSTPOST., 15 Sept. 2016, www.firstpost.com/world/at-united-nations-india-and-pakistan-engage-in-war-of-words-ov er-human-rights-violation-in-kashmir-3005174.html. THE HUMAN RIGHTS CRISIS IN KASHMIR. HRW, 1993, THE HUMAN RIGHTS CRISIS IN KASHMIR, www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/INDIA937.PDFv. “Amnesty International.” Document, Amnesty International Ltd Peter Benenson House, 1 July 2015, www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa20/1874/2015/en/.