Kashmir Background

Jammu and Kashmir Background

The origins of the conflict in Kashmir lie in the sub-continent\rquote s partition in 1947 which created the independent states of India and Pakistan. As a result of the partition, hundreds of nominally independent princely states were absorbed into the two new nations. However, Kashmir' s ruler, Maharaja Hari Singh, refused to accede to either nations, apparently in the hope that the state might be permitted to remain independent.

An invasion by Pakistani tribesmen, which many reports said included Pakistan army soldiers and irregulars in civil dress, in August and September 1947 and an uprising among the Kashmiri Muslims in the state' s western regions ultimately compelled the Maharaja to seek the assistance of Prime Minister Nehru of India, who agreed to send troops only if Kashmir formally acceded to India. On October 27, 1947, the Maharaja agreed to Kashmir's accession to India, on the condition that Kashmir be permitted to retain its own constitution.

Indian troops succeeded in halting Pakistani forces, driving them back to the western third of the state, which then acceded to Pakistan as Azad (free) Kashmir.

At the time, British authorities stated that the question of Kashmir' s accession should be settled by a plebiscite as soon as law and order was re-instated and the invading forces had left. But the plebiscite was never held. The Indian government argued f irst that the essential pre-condition to a plebiscite, the exit of Pakistani troops from Azad Kashmir , had not been met, and later that the Kashmiri people had effectively ratified accession b y voting in local elections and adopting a state constitution. United Nations intervention achieved a cease-fire on January 1, 1949.

Through the 1950s and 1960s, political discontent with the central government' s attempts to control politics in the state grew. Pro-independence and pro-plebiscite activists were repeatedly jailed. In 1964 the first militant group, the Jammu and Kashmir L iberation Front, was formed to fight for independence. On July 2, 1972, India and Pakistan signed the Simla Accord, under which both countries agreed to respect the cease-fire line and resolve differences over Kashmir by peaceful means through negotiation and meetings to discuss a final settlement .

In early 1993, Union Minister of state for Internal Security Rajesh Pilot spearheaded a new government initiative to negotiate a political settlement to the conflict.

In March, Krishna Rao was appointed as Governor, and several senior Kashmiri civil authorities returned to the state administrations. These efforts were almost immediately undermined, however, by an upsurge in violence which included the burning of a large section of Srinagar by security forces and a sharp increase in summary executions which provoked demonstrations in cities throughout the valley. Hard-line lements in the government and intelligence agencies seeking to impose a military solution were blamed for sabotaging efforts for a peaceful solution.

The rising tensions culminated in April 1993 in an unprecedented revolt by the Jammu and Kashmir police fo rce following the death of one of their colleagues in army custody. The stand-off ended when security forces stormed the headquarters and disarmed the police force. As a result, in May 1993, the army was ordered to assume unified command of all security o perations in Kashmir.