How much Jammu and Kashmir has suffered: A chronology of events to make you recall

The valley of Kashmir has been plagued by violence, terrorist attacks and LoC violations constantly. After Union government decided to abrogate Article 370 and 35A, it has become important to know why Jammu and Kashmir has been embroiled in such tension and what has happened so far in the region;

• India and Pakistan, since both the countries gained their independence from the British in 1947, have fought four wars of which three were fought over the Kashmir dispute .
• In 1947, Britain decided to leave India and divide the nation into two countries- India and Pakistan. Kashmir was one of 565 princely states with a majority of Muslim population and a Hindu ruler, Maharaja Hari Singh. These princely states had to either join India or Pakistan or remain a sovereign nation. Kashmir’s ruler chose to remain a free nation.
• In 1947, just a few days after both the countries gained their independence, Pakistani army in the guise of local tribal people invaded the Valley. Kashmir’s army had no chance of holding them back. Hari Singh contacted Vallabhbhai Patel in distress and agreed to sign the instrument of accession with India, following which India moved its armed forces to Kashmir to resist the invasion and protect the Maharaja from the invaders. The war continued till 1948 after which India called for a ceasefire and approached the United Nations Security Council. The resolution calls for a referendum on the status in the region and calls to demilitarise the Valley. The referendum had to be held in presence of the Indian Army.
• In 1951, India held its first elections in Kashmir. India claimed that these elections make referendum unnecessary. One of the most prominent leaders of Kashmir and Prime Minister of Kashmir Sheikh Abdullah was arrested in 1953 after his opinions had changed in favour of the referendum.

• By the 1950s, China started to slowly occupy the north western part of Kashmir which is known as Aksai Chin. A war broke out in 1962 between India and China in which India lost and Aksai Chin fell into the hands of the Chinese.
• Pakistan again tried to invade Kashmir in 1965 after the death of Prime Minister Nehru. The war ended with a ceasefire agreement which was signed in Tashkent, Soviet Union.
• With Indira Gandhi as Prime Minister and rising number of refugees from East Pakistan in India, India decided to go to war with Pakistan in 1971. This was is known as the Bangladesh Liberation war. Pakistan lost the war and India had 90,000 Pakistani POWs who were to be repatriated after the signing of Simla Agreement between Indira Gandhi and Bhutto. In this agreement, the Ceasefire line was turned into the Line-Of-Control (LOC).
• The Opposition Plebiscite Front in India demanded extensive autonomy and dropped their demands for a referendum. Sheikh Abdullah became the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir in 1974. He died in 1984.

• There were allegations by the Kashmiri population that elections were rigged in the 1987, causing apprehensions among the people, fuelling the first wave of extreme anti-India waves. This gave birth to various separatist groups such as Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front. India has always accused Pakistan of helping and funding the insurgency. 100 protesters were killed after Indian Army opened fire in a protest at Gawakadal Bridge. This led to attacks on the Hindu population in Kashmir and thousands of them had to flee the Valley. India imposed the Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA) in 1990s to control the insurgency.
• A short scale conflict took place between India and Pakistan in 1999. It started after Pakistani Army captured the Indian Army posts after Indian Army left the posts for winters. India recaptured all the posts and Pakistani army had to pull back.
• In 2010, major protests and demonstrations broke out after a demonstrator was killed by the Army.
• In 2011, National Human Rights Commission found 2000 unidentified bodies near the Line-Of-control in unmarked graves.
• In 2013, Mohammad Afzal Guru was hanged over his role in the 2001 Parliament Attack. He was a member of Jaish-e-Mohammed. This ignited major protests in the Valley, resulting in the death of two young Kashmiri men.

• In 2014, Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister of India. Modi accused Pakistan of waging proxy war against India in Kashmir. The same year, India and Pakistan accused each other of ceasefire violations.
• BJP made the state government with the People’s Democratic Party in Kashmir. This was the first time in Indian political history that the BJP came in power in Jammu and Kashmir. Mufti Mohammad Sayeed became the Chief Minister. Later that year, one person died in the Valley in a protest against Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Kashmir. Mufti died in 2016 and his daughter, Mehbooba Mufti became the Chief Minister of the state.
• The same year, a young Kashmiri and a militant, Burhan Wani died in an encounter by the Indian security forces. An indefinite curfew was imposed in the state in July. By August, the curfew was lifted from most areas in the state. About 70 civilians along with two security personnel died over those 50 days.
• In September 2016, India and Pakistan threatened each other of war after 18 soldiers were killed in an attack on an Indian Army base in Uri. Within a few days, India claimed to have carried out a surgical strike in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. Pakistan denied all claims.
• In 2017, thousands of civilians ignored the curfew imposed after the death of a rebel commander, Sabzar Ahmad Bhat and attended his funeral. A couple of months later a bus carrying pilgrims was attacked by the militants, killing seven and injuring several.
• On February 14, 2019, a convoy of vehicles carrying security personnel on the Jammu Srinagar National Highway was attacked by a vehicle-borne suicide bomber at Lethpora in the Pulwama district, Jammu and Kashmir. The attack killed 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel.
• On August 5, 2019, the special status of the state was stripped after the abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35A of the Indian Constitution.

With inputs from BBC