Investor Presentaiton
Raising the Stakes in Jammu and Kashmir
Crisis Group Asia Report N°310, 5 August 2020
Page 7
India
logue until Pakistan cracked down on "cross-border terrorism”. 29 In any case,
and Pakistan's failure to include Kashmiris in their bilateral talks had soured locals
on the
process, increasing their distrust of both countries.30
Developments within Jammu and Kashmir aggravated tensions on the ground. In
2008, street protests erupted over the transfer of land by the state government to a
Hindu shrine, which Kashmiri Muslims perceived as a concession to hardline Hindu
sentiments. 3¹ Excessive force by the security agencies to counter Kashmiri dissent
sparked more unrest. Mass protests erupted again in 2010 over the extrajudicial kill-
ing of three civilians, leading to at least 120 more civilian deaths when police fired on
protesters.32
By then, young Kashmiris had started joining militant ranks in larger numbers.33
The trend only accelerated after the Hindu nationalist BJP came to power in New
Delhi in May 2014, as many feared the ideology animating the new government
would translate into hardline policies toward Kashmir. The BJP's intention of revok-
ing Article 370 stoked anti-India sentiment, particularly since it was now a coalition
partner in the state government. 34 The antipathy grew further after devastating floods
in Kashmir that September, with New Delhi failing in most locals' eyes to provide
timely assistance. 35 With security forces deployed in huge numbers with little to no
oversight, rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings, torture and custodial deaths,
increased.36 The end result was an upsurge of militancy and renewed popular sup-
port for the insurgency. Since 2016, disgruntled young Kashmiris have picked up
arms again, launching a new and violent phase of the Kashmir conflict.
29 "India-Pakistan talks stalled after attacks", Reuters, 16 December 2008.
3º Crisis Group Report, Steps Towards Peace, op. cit. See also Coll, op. cit.
31 The land transfer also triggered anxieties that the move was aimed at settling Hindus in the state,
upsetting the Muslim-majority region's demography. "Chronology of Amarnath land row", Times of
India, 6 August 2008; A.G. Noorani, "Why Jammu erupts", Frontline, 26 September 2008.
32 The protests erupted after the deaths of three young men, whom security forces claimed were Paki-
stani "infiltrators". Investigations showed that government forces had in fact shot three civilians
to earn rewards. Muzamil Jaleel, "Fake encounter at LoC: 3 arrested, probe ordered", The Indian
Express, 29 May 2010.
33 The 2010 unrest kickstarted what some have since called the "new age of militancy” in Kashmir,
as more youth started joining militant ranks. Fahad Shah, "Kashmir's young rebels", The Diplomat,
22 August 2015. See also Gowhar Geelani, Kashmir: Rage and Reason (Rupa, 2019).
34 The coalition government, which brought together the BJP and the regional People's Democratic
Party (PDP), was formed in March 2015. Ramachandra Guha, "Distrust, Discontent and Alienation:
Kashmir during the Modi Years" in Niraja Gopal Jayal (ed.), Re-forming India: The Nation Today
(New Delhi, 2019).
35 "Economic crisis looms over Jammu and Kashmir after 2014 floods", India Today, 28 May 2015.
36 For details of serious rights abuses by security personnel, see the following three publications of
the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): "Report on the Situation of
Human Rights in Kashmir: Developments in the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir from June
2016 to April 2018", 14 June 2018; “General Human Rights Concerns in Azad Jammu and Kashmir
and Gilgit-Baltistan", 14 June 2018; and "Update of the Situation of Human Rights in Indian-
administered Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan-administered Kashmir from May 2018 to April
2019", 8 July 2019. See also "Denied': Failure of Accountability for Human Rights Violations by
Security Personnel in Jammu and Kashmir", Amnesty International, 2015.View entire presentation