This blood which has disappeared without leaving a trace
Isn't part of written history: who will guide me to it?
It wasn't spilled in service of emperors-
It earned no honour, had no wish granted.
It wasn't offered in rituals of sacrifice-
No cup of absolution holds it in a temple.
It wasn't shed in any battle-
No one calligraphed it on banners of victory.
– Faiz Ahmed ‘Faiz’
Map of Partitioned India. Source- National Geographic
1947
The end of British rule in India was followed by the partition of the sub-continent into mainly Hindu-majority India and the Muslim-majority state of Pakistan. Two months later, Kashmir was attacked by armed tribesmen from Pakistan, later joined by the Pakistani army. In return for protection and support, the Maharaja of Kashmir signed a treaty of accession with India. This saw the first Indo-Pakistan war over the region.
1948-1949
India raised the Kashmir issue in the UN Security Council. UNSC passed resolution 47 calling for a referendum in the territory and demilitarisation of the region. India and Pakistan signed an agreement to establish a ceasefire line as recommended by the UN and the region became divided.
Kashmir ceasefire line.
1951-1953
Elections for the Constituent Assembly of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir were held in September-October 1951. Sheikh Abdullah was appointed Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. India refused the promised referendum. Indian government dismissed Sheikh Abdullah as the PM in 1953 due to his pro-referendum stand.
Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in conversation with J&K Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah
1962
China gradually occupied Eastern Kashmir- Aksai Chin. This led to the first Sino-India war in October 1962. India, never having anticipated a war with China was heavily unprepared for the standoff. The war ended a month later when China declared a ceasefire by securing its borders in the Western sector.
A file photo of Indian officers occupying one of the forts in the Ladakh region of northern India during border clashes between India and China. Photo: Getty Images
Poster Design
1965-1972
The second Kashmir war took place between India and Pakistan in 1965. This war saw the largest amassing of troops in Kashmir since the Partition of India in 1947. The war ended in a ceasefire declared through UNSC Resolution 211, and both countries returned to their previous positions. The third Indo-Pakistan war was fought in 1971, ending with Pakistan’s defeat. The Simla Agreement was an outcome of this war and turned the Kashmir ceasefire line into the Line of Control and called for a final settlement of the Kashmir dispute.
Indian army soldiers fire on Pakistani positions, 1971. | Punjab Press / AFP
1987-1989
1987 is considered a watershed moment in Kashmir’s history. The state elections were believed to be rigged in favour of the Congress-National Conference alliance in order to prevent the central government from losing control of the state’s politics. This gave impetus to a pro-independence insurgency as the people saw armed revolt as the only way forward. 1987-89 saw police atrocities including rape and torture of the protesting Kashmiri population.
Jama’at-e-Islami J&K’s Muhammad Yusuf Shah leading an election rally in Maisuma in 1987.
Image- Kashmir Life.
I
1990
By this time local youths had started joining militancy
Kashmir Insurgency and the imposition of AFSPA Source- Pakistankakhudahafiz
In 1990, Kashmiri Pandits were given three choices — convert to Islam, leave Kashmir or get killed. Source- The Quint
By this time local youths had started joining militancy
1990 marked the beginning of the insurgency in the region. Kashmir was being plagued by communal separatism. Hit lists of Hindu Pandits were in circulation and there were threatening slogans over loudspeakers from mosques, and on the streets against Hinduism. Pandits were being targeted and killed by Islamic militants. Since then more than 200,000 Pandits have fled the valley.
India imposed Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Jammu and Kashmir. “Indian security forces have been deployed in Jammu and Kashmir for decades, officially tasked with protecting civilians, upholding national security and combatting violence by armed groups. However, in the name of security operations, security force personnel have committed many grave human rights violations which have gone unpunished.” (Amnesty International, 2015). With the imposition of AFSPA, Human Rights violations in Kashmir have risen significantly, nearly half of which go unreported.
1999
1999 saw another India-Pakistan war after militants crossed from Pakistani-administered Kashmir into the Indian-administered Kargil district. India repulsed the attack, accused Pakistan of being behind it, and broke off relations.
Indian soldiers in Batalik during the Kargil War.
Photo: PMO
2010
Unrest against Indian troops was growing in the valley and mass protests began in May 2010 against extrajudicial killings, torture and mass repression at the hands of Indian government forces. In several places, Indian troops open fired at peaceful protestors chanting "Go India! Go back" and "We want freedom".
Mass protests in Kashmir against the Indian government. Source- CS Monitor
Indian paramilitary soldiers chase Kashmiri protesters in Srinagar. Photograph: Farooq Khan/EPA
A woman holds the body of a relative at his home north of Srinagar on September 6, 2010. Source- CNN
Mass protests in Kashmir against the Indian government. Source- CS Monitor
2011
2011 saw a drop in violence in the valley. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah announced an amnesty for the 1,200 young men who threw stones at security forces during the anti-government protests in the Kashmir Valley the previous year.
In August 2011 "At 38 places visited in north Kashmir, there were 2,156 unidentified dead bodies buried in unmarked graves." These graves were a result of the 22-year-long insurgency in Kashmir when Human rights abuses were routine and the Indian troops resorted to abductions, torture and extra-judicial executions on a wide scale.
2013
The government of India secretly hanged Afzal Guru, a prime accused in the attack on parliament in December 2001. Guru was buried inside Tihar Jail. Internet and mobile services were blocked in Kashmir and a curfew was imposed. News of the execution sparked protests in the valley. “Score of people defied the curfew and clashed with troops who fired tear gas shells to disperse the crowds.”
Afzal Guru
Source- Outlook IndiaI
2015
The Bhartiya Janta Party forms a coalition government with the People's Democratic Party in Kashmir. This was the first time the Hindu nationalist BJP had been in government in India's only Muslim-majority state. Muslim separatist leaders in Indian-administered Kashmir closed shops, businesses and government departments in protest at the enforcement of a colonial-era ban on eating beef.
An elderly Kashmiri man sits in front of a closed shop during a local strike in Srinagar, Kashmir. Photo: The Indian Express
2016
Indian authorities imposed an indefinite curfew in most parts of Kashmir, a day after government forces killed the top rebel commander Burhan Wani. Shops, businesses, schools and government offices were shut, mobile and internet services were suspended. This was the first longest curfew in the history of Kashmir that lasted for 53 days.
The Kashmir valley has been rocked by violence since the killing of Burhan Wani on 9 July
Source-BBC
2019
Indian government scrapped article 370 that gave Jammu and Kashmir a special status and significant authority over their affairs. This was seen as an utter disregard for democratic institutions and processes. Fearing a backlash from the people, India deployed tens of thousands of troops across the Kashmir valley. Public movements were banned, schools and colleges shut down indefinitely and two former chief ministers of J&K — Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti — were put under house arrest ahead of the announcement. Following the abrogation of Article 370, Kashmir saw the longest internet blackout starting in August 2019 and continuing up to February 2021, bringing life to a standstill.
Map showing the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
Source- The Guardian
In October 2019, the state of Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated to create two union territories– Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. This move was seen as yet another attempt by the Indian government to strengthen its stronghold over the region.
2022
Today, three years after revoking the region’s special autonomous status Indian authorities are restricting free expression, peaceful assembly, and other basic rights in Jammu and Kashmir. There has been an increase in unlawful killings and a reduction in human rights.
Kashmir is bleeding.
“Let us raise our hands then and pray. Pray for those who have wrongfully suffered injustice because of our nationalistic haste. And pray for ourselves too. That a time will come when we will rise from our nationalistic intoxication. That our souls have not become so wounded by then that they are beyond repair. That it is not too late by then for us to seek salvation.” – Apoorvanand