DW: You were jailed for 8 months under the Public Safety Act, soon after New Delhi abrogated Kashmir’s special status last year. How do you feel about it?
Omar Abdullah: My arrest did not trouble me much; what bothered me was that Kashmir’s political leaders and activists were detained and put under house arrest without any legal justification. Kashmir’s political leadership feels hurt and betrayed.
Nothing can justify the Indian government’s step last year to strip Kashmir of its [semi-autonomous] status. It violated the country’s constitution by splitting the state into two union territories. People in Kashmir were not consulted or taken into confidence over it.
Read more: Kashmir: A year of lockdown and lost autonomy
Regional political parties are joining forces to restore Kashmir’s status through a legal battle. Do you think they have any chance to succeed?
It is an important development. We are fighting a democratic battle to undo New Delhi’s August 5, 2019, measures. We are hopeful that we will receive justice from the Supreme Court. It is not an electoral alliance; it’s our political “meeting point” to restore Kashmir’ status.
There has been no political activity in the region since New Delhi’s abrupt move last year. Apart from the legal battle, what other steps you plan to take to restore Kashmir’s special status?
We will fight this battle on several fronts. At present, we are facing a pandemic, so we need to improvise our methods. Once we have a proper structure in place, we will formulate a strategy. It will be a combination of social media campaigns and communication with people through other ways.
We will keep the issue alive. We will continue to raise it in Parliament and engage with like-minded political parties.
You said recently that you would not contest state elections while the region continues to be a union territory. What is the rationale behind it?
Jammu and Kashmir‘s special status was an important and indispensable part of the state’s accession to the Indian federation. The status that we had enjoyed was not a favor to us; it was the basis of Kashmir’s accession to India. There is no question of my contesting any election under present circumstances.
Read more: Modi’s government strengthens hold on India-administered Kashmir
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) argues that it abrogated Kashmir’s special status to curb separatist activities and terrorism in the region. Isn’t it a valid reason in your opinion?
It is a flawed argument. For the past three decades, Kashmir has faced militancy because of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Also, militancy has not stopped in the region since August 5, 2019, which proves that the Indian government’s argument is wrong.
How are people in Kashmir reacting to the post-August 2019 political situation?
People are agitated and disappointed. They have yet to come to terms with the implications of the government’s decisions. Many are still in a state of shock. The voice of the common people is missing in the debate about Kashmir. It doesn’t augur well for the state.
Read more: Kashmiris feel ‘alienated’ 6 months after India ‘annexation’
Omar Abdullah served as chief minister of the Indian-administered Kashmir from 2009 to 2015. He is also the vice president of the National Conference party.
The interview was conducted by Murali Krishnan.
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India-Pakistan rivalry: Kashmiris pay a high price
An unprecedented danger?
On February 27, Pakistan’s military said that it had shot down two Indian fighter jets over disputed Kashmir. A Pakistani military spokesman said the jets were shot down after they’d entered Pakistani airspace. It is the first time in history that two nuclear-armed powers have conducted air strikes against each other.
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India-Pakistan rivalry: Kashmiris pay a high price
India drops bombs inside Pakistan
The Pakistani military has released this image to show that Indian warplanes struck inside Pakistani territory for the first time since the countries went to war in 1971. India said the air strike was in response to a recent suicide attack on Indian troops based in Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan said there were no casualties and that its airforce repelled India’s aircraft.
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India-Pakistan rivalry: Kashmiris pay a high price
No military solution
Some Indian civil society members believe New Delhi cannot exonerate itself from responsibility by accusing Islamabad of creating unrest in the Kashmir valley. A number of rights organizations demand that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government reduce the number of troops in Kashmir and let the people decide their fate.
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India-Pakistan rivalry: Kashmiris pay a high price
No end to the violence
On February 14, at least 41 Indian paramilitary police were killed in a suicide bombing near the capital of India-administered Kashmir. The Pakistan-based Jihadi group, Jaish-e-Mohammad, claimed responsibility. The attack, the worst on Indian troops since the insurgency in Kashmir began in 1989, spiked tensions and triggered fears of an armed confrontation between the two nuclear-armed powers.
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India-Pakistan rivalry: Kashmiris pay a high price
A bitter conflict
Since 1989, Muslim insurgents have been fighting Indian forces in the Indian-administered part of Kashmir – a region of 12 million people, about 70 percent of whom are Muslim. India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars since independence in 1947 over Kashmir, which they both claim in full but rule in part.
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India-Pakistan rivalry: Kashmiris pay a high price
India strikes down a militant rebellion
In October 2016, the Indian military has launched an offensive against armed rebels in Kashmir, surrounding at least 20 villages in Shopian district. New Delhi accused Islamabad of backing the militants, who cross over the Pakistani-Indian “Line of Control” and launch attacks on India’s paramilitary forces.
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India-Pakistan rivalry: Kashmiris pay a high price
Death of a Kashmiri separatist
The security situation in the Indian part of Kashmir deteriorated after the killing of Burhan Wani, a young separatist leader, in July 2016. Protests against Indian rule and clashes between separatists and soldiers have claimed hundreds of lives since then.
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India-Pakistan rivalry: Kashmiris pay a high price
The Uri attack
In September 2016, Islamist militants killed at least 17 Indian soldiers and wounded 30 in India-administered Kashmir. The Indian army said the rebels had infiltrated the Indian part of Kashmir from Pakistan, with initial investigations suggesting that the militants belonged to the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad group, which has been active in Kashmir for over a decade.
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India-Pakistan rivalry: Kashmiris pay a high price
Rights violations
Indian authorities banned a number of social media websites in Kashmir after video clips showing troops committing grave human rights violations went viral on the Internet. One such video that showed a Kashmiri protester tied to an Indian army jeep — apparently as a human shield — generated outrage on social media.
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India-Pakistan rivalry: Kashmiris pay a high price
Demilitarization of Kashmir
Those in favor of an independent Kashmir want Pakistan and India to step aside and let the Kashmiri people decide their future. “It is time India and Pakistan announce the timetable for withdrawal of their forces from the portions they control and hold an internationally supervised referendum,” Toqeer Gilani, the president of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front in Pakistani Kashmir, told DW.
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India-Pakistan rivalry: Kashmiris pay a high price
No chance for secession
But most Kashmir observers don’t see it happening in the near future. They say that while the Indian strategy to deal strictly with militants and separatists in Kashmir has partly worked out, sooner or later New Delhi will have to find a political solution to the crisis. Secession, they say, does not stand a chance.
Author: Shamil Shams