This book investigates the factors that led to the breakdown of democracy and the rise of violent separatism in Jammu and Kashmir in the 1980s, and how the risk of a large-scale war has grown in South Asia in the 1990s. Solutions to this conflict need to be based on knowledge about what caused it as well as perspectives on why this conflict is so particularly dangerous. Widmalm offers answers in this book, with systematic comparisons over time to establish the causes of the conflict. He refutes the contention that ethnic factors are the main cause, while acknowledging that ethnic dividing lines are salient features of the conflict today. Interviews with representatives of the Indian government, the ISI in Pakistan and separatist leaders in Jammu and Kashmir are also incorporated.
Author(s): Sten Widmalm
Edition: 1
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2002
Language: English
Pages: 228
Cover
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
List of maps
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Chapter 1: Introduction
The questions
The arguments and the structure of the book
A brief note on the sources and their interpretation
Chapter 2: Explaining Violent Separatism
The ethnic factor
Socioeconomic development and conflict
Political explanations
Chapter 3: Jammu and Kashmir in Transition
Jammu and Kashmir and the conflict at independence
Jammu and Kashmir on the eve of independence
Partition and accession
The First War between India and Pakistan and the introduction of the United Nations observers
The recurring Kashmir conflict and the Cold War
The special status of Jammu and Kashmir in the Indian Union
United Nations attempts at negotiation between the wars
Relapse into war
Democracy is coming
Chapter 4: The Rise and Fall of Democracy in Jammu and Kashmir 1977–1989
The democratic breakthrough of 1977
The decline of democracy in Jammu and Kashmir 1983–1989
The fatal dismissal
The election cartel: consociationalism taken too far
'To hell with the democratic process'
Alternative explanations
Socioeconomic conditions
The Pakistan factor
The political explanation
Chapter 5: Avoiding Violent Separatism in India
Exit, voice and loyalty to the nation
Why separatism turned violent in Jammu and Kashmir
Separatism and integration in Tamil Nadu
The demand for Dravida Nadu
From separatism to regional autonomy
Loyalty to the union in West Bengal
Bengali Esprit
The insignificance of separatism in West Bengal
Turbulence, exit and voice in West Bengal
The CPI(M) before and after the emergency
How to resist Central Government intervention
Conclusion
Chapter 6: 'The Most Dangerous Place in the World'
Going to war by accident
The Kashmir Conflict 1990–2000
Conflict trends in Jammu and Kashmir 1990–1998
The proliferation of the Kashmir conflict 1998–2000
Less or more danger at the dawn of a new era?
Chapter 7: Epilogue: The Causes of Violent Separatism and the Role of Ethnicity
The ethnic factor
Notes
Appendix
Bibliography
Index
