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Stuck in my mind Kashmir A Tale of a Blazing Dreamland(Part 2)
Ashik Kabir
ashikk992@gmail.com
JKLF was composed largely of young Kashmiris, many of whom had received training in Pakistan and were determined to liberate Kashmir and unite it with the Pakistani controlled province of “ Azad Kashmir”. The JKLF initiated a wave of strikes, bombings and assassinations designed to end Indian control of Kashmir. In December 1989, JKLF abducted the daughter of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, the newly appointed Kashmiri Muslim Home minister of India and threatened to kill her, unless they free five JKLF members. When the exchange was made, the jubilant crowds throughout the valley raised the banner of liberation front and called for India to “ Quit India” . In the counter act, the center dismissed Farooq government and imposed President’s rule.The insurgency and the collapse political order in Kashmir led to an extended period of military rule from 1990 to 1996.
Although the secular, proindependence JKLF and its allies continued to enjoy widespread popular support, the movement began to fragment as dream of freedom was fading. JKLF was challenged by pro- Pakistani Islamic guerrilla group, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HUM) and numerous outside Jihadi group based in Pakistan. HUM was closely linked to the Jamaat-i-Islami, a Pakistani based Islamic fundamentalist party, that unlike the JKLF, supported the merger of Kashmir with Pakistan. The group became best financed and best- armed militant movement in the valley.
In February 1993, the JKLF, the HUM and various militant groups opposed to Indian rule in Kashmir came together to form All-parties Hurriyat (freedom) Conference (APHC). By mid 1990’s the conflict in Jammu and Kashmir had entered a completely new phase as the Government of India attempted to restore the political process in the state. In 1996 the NC won with two-third majority in the assembly elections and Farooq Abdullah was elected to head the first civilian government since 1990.
By mid 1990’s the indigenously in Kashmir began to yield to a new Jihadi phase led by Pan-Islamic ‘guest militants’ spawned by the Afghanistan war. The Jihadis attempt to liberate Kashmir led to
increased violence and terrorism . The tensions were high as both India and Pakistan were nuclear armed by then. The result was expansion of the conflict beyond the borders of Kashmir. The major Jihadi groups operating in the area are Laskar-e- Taiba (Let), Jaish-e- Mohammad (Jem), Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen., Harkat-ul-Mujahideen. Of these the Pakistan based Let and Jem are most prominent in terrorist operations against India. The Let gained notoriety in the late 1990’s because of its high profile suicide attacks in Jammu and Kashmir and in other parts of India. It launched attacks on the Srinagar airport, the Red Fort in delhi and was held responsible for devastating bombing of the Indian Parliament in December 2001. Let was placed on the list of terrorist groups by the United states in December 2001 and was banned by the Pakistan Government.
The Jem was founded in January 2000 by Maulana Azar Masood, a former member of HUM, who was captured and jailed in Srinagar. HUM secured his release by hijacking an Indian airliner in 1999.
Hizbul Mujahideen is Kashmir’s largest and the only surviving indigenous armed rebel group which was formed in 1990. The group demands Kashmir’s merger with Pakistan. Its supreme commander Syed Salahuddin is based in Muzaffarbad, the capital of Pakistan- controlled Kashmir.
The group was led in Indian Kashmir by Burhan Wani until his death on July 8 this year. The Jammu Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party emerged in early 2000s as the stromgest opponent to the NC, with pro-separatist leanings for electoral gains. It soon came to power in 2002 and currently ruling Indian Kashmir in coalition with India’s ruling Hindu Nationalist BJP. No government can yield to demand for a plebiscite and politically survive.
The conflict is in the words that Kashmir being a part of India denies the “ two nation theory” and is a guarantor of Indian secularism hardly stands when Kashmir is held a force of occupation.