Kashmir and the North East

The essentials

Jammu and Kashmir has three social and political regions: Jammu, the Kashmir valley and Ladakh. The Kashmir issue has had external dimensions (the dispute with Pakistan) and internal dimensions (the status of the state within India and demands for autonomy). Sheikh Abdullah, who led the state after accession, was dismissed in 1953. Following an agreement with Indira Gandhi in 1974, he became Chief Minister again. After his death in 1982 his son Farooq Abdullah led the National Conference.

The 1987 Assembly election was widely alleged to have been unfair. Partly because of this discontent, and with support from across the border, an armed insurgency began around 1989. Militancy, security operations and the migration of Kashmiri Pandits from the valley marked the 1990s. Elections were held again in 1996 and 2002. In August 2019 the special provisions under Article 370 were made inoperative, and the state was reorganised into two Union Territories.

North-East: the region consists of seven states (often called the “seven sisters”), with Sikkim later added to the North-Eastern Council. Its issues have included demands for autonomy, secessionist movements and opposition to outsiders.

Key points

• Several states were carved out of Assam: Nagaland (1963), Meghalaya (1972) and Mizoram (1987).
• Mizoram: after a famine in 1959, the Mizo National Front led by Laldenga began an armed struggle for independence in 1966. The Mizoram Accord was signed in 1986 with Rajiv Gandhi, and Laldenga became Chief Minister; Mizoram has since been one of the more peaceful states of the region.
• Nagaland: the Naga National Council led by Angami Zapu Phizo demanded independence; the conflict has seen long negotiations.
• Assam movement (1979–85): led by the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) against illegal migrants, mainly from Bangladesh. It ended with the Assam Accord of 1985 and the formation of the AGP government.
• Lesson: negotiation and power-sharing have often worked better than force.

Exam tips

• Remember the three regions of J&K and the years of the Mizoram (1986) and Assam (1985) accords.
• Link Laldenga to Mizoram and AASU to Assam.

Common mistakes

• Thinking the Mizoram Accord was signed in 1966; the struggle began in 1966 and the accord came in 1986.
• Confusing the Assam movement against outsiders with the demand for separate states.