Militarization of Jammu and Kashmir

Abstract

Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah’s disillusionment with Indian democracy and his dismal reassessment of India’s proclamation of republicanism, secularism, and democracy proved uncannily prophetic. After Abdullah’s untimely death on 8 September 1982, the National Conference (NC) was led by his oldest son, Farooq Abdullah, until 2002, when he chose to step down as president of the party. In a curious turn of events since then, however, the NC nominated Farooq Abdullah as its chief ministerial candidate for the 2008 assembly elections. Subsequent to Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah’s death, Farooq Abdullah took over as head of government and led the NC to a resounding victory in the assembly elections in 1983. At that point in India’s political history, Indira Gandhi was attempting to bolster her political platform by making overt and covert appeals to Hindu majoritarianism against grossly exaggerated secessionist threats from Muslim and Sikh minorities (for a thorough discussion of Hindu majoritarianism, see Bose 1997). Indira Gandhi’s mobilization of Hindu fanaticism worked wonders for the Congress in the Jammu region, where it won 22 out of 32 assembly seats. But the performance of the Congress in the Muslim-dominated Kashmir Valley was dismal, where it won just 3 seats, and 1 in Ladakh.