Present struggle

The Kashmir dispute primarily involves the life and the future of thirteen million people. Because of its impact on the relations between India and Pakistan, this directly affects the peace and stability of the South Asian sub-continent, a region that contains one-fifth of the total human race.

The people of Kashmir have never reconciled themselves to the occupation of

India

. They never accepted the validity of unconstitutional instrument of accession to

India

, signed by Dogra ruler. There have been several peaceful and unarmed uprisings against Indian occupation, notably in 1953, 1964, 1975 and 1986. Since 1947,

India

and

Pakistan

have waged three major wars over Kashmir, which caused great loss to the life and property of Kashmiris. Thousands of unarmed Kashmiris have lost their lives to Indian military and para-military forces in mass peaceful demonstrations in 1953, 1958, 1962, 1965, 1971, 1981, 1984, 1986, and 1987. Although ruling regimes in Kashmir ruthlessly suppressed these uprisings by brute force but did not succeed to root off the liberation movement from the hearts of the people. The general elections of 1987 were brazenly and massively rigged by the pro Indian coalition. Democratic rights of people were suppressed and all voices of dissent were brutally gagged. Having exhausted all peaceful avenues of winning the inalienable right of self determination, the youth of Kashmir switched over to the path of militancy. The ranks of freedom fighters swelled rapidly to thousands in the course of a few months. This crippled the state administration. The so called Indian democracy restored to brute force against the agitating people but having failed to impose the authority, even with the help of indiscriminate firings on unarmed demonstrators, Farooq Abdullah’s regime was forced to resign by

India

in January 1990. New Delhi again installed Jagmohan as the governor who on the behest of Indian policy makers retaliated against freedom struggle by planned massacre of people, burning houses and business establishments, torture, rape, arrests, plunder, arson, custodial killings, indefinite curfews, censorship on press, banning political parties and arresting political and religious leadership. In order to subvert any move that would organize and provide leadership to the movement, Maulana Abbas Ansari, Shabir Ahmed Shah, Abdul Gani Lone, professor Abdul Gani Bhat, Syed Ali Geelani and Qazi Nisar Ahmed and others were arrested and exiled to remote areas of India. After their release in 1992, they have tried to give the right direction to the ongoing freedom struggle. “All parties Hurriyet (Freedom) Conference” (A.P.H.C) was founded in 1993 to unite various political parties of Jammu and Kashmir demanding the right of self determination. At the moment, the political scene is characterized by polarization which has become sharper and sharper from 1987 elections. On one hand there is the alignment of pro Indian forces and on the other hand, pitted against these, is the freedom movement working in different ways at different levels through several organizations which are united by one ideology and the similar long term objectives under the banner of A.P.H.C.