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Secession in India typically refers to state secession, which is the withdrawal of one or more states from the Republic of India. Some have argued for secession as a natural right of revolution.

Many Separatist movements exist with thousands of members, however, with moderate local support and high voter participation in the democratic elections. The Khalistani Insurgency in Punjab was active in the 1980s and early 1990s, but is now largely crushed and subdued within India. Insurgency has occurred in North-East India, in the states of Tripura, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Assam, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. But now, the separatism and insurgency in northeast india has now become largely insignificant due to lack of local public support.

India has introduced several Armed Forces Special Powers Acts (AFSPA) to subdue insurgency in certain parts of the country.The law was first enforced in Manipur and later enforced in other insurgency-ridden north-eastern states. It was extended to most parts of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir in 1990 after the outbreak of an armed insurgency in 1989. Each Act gives soldiers immunity in specified regions against prosecution under state government unless the Indian government gives prior sanction for such prosecution. The government maintains that the AFSPA is necessary to restore order in regions like Indian territories Kashmir and Manipur.[1]

Jammu and Kashmir[edit]

Main article: Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir
Maharaja of Kashmir, Hari Singh (1895–1961)
The Instrument of Accession of Kashmir to India was accepted by Governor General Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma.

Maharaja Hari Singh became the ruler of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir in 1925, and he was the reigning monarch at the conclusion of British rule in the subcontinent in 1947. With the impending independence of India, the British announced that the British Paramountcy over the princely states would end, and the states were free to choose between the new Dominions of India and Pakistan or to remain independent. It was emphasized that independence was only a `theoretical possibility' because, during the long rule of the British in India, the states had come to depend on British Indian government for a variety of their needs including their internal and external security.

Jammu and Kashmir had a Muslim majority (77% Muslim by the previous census in 1941[2]). Following the logic of Partition, many people in Pakistan expected that Kashmir would join Pakistan. However, the predominant political movement in the Valley of Kashmir (Jammu and Kashmir National Conference) was secular and was allied with the Indian National Congress since the 1930s. So many in India too had expectations that Kashmir would join India.[3][4] The Maharaja was faced with indecision.[note 1]

On 22 October 1947, rebellious citizens from the western districts of the State and Pushtoon tribesmen from the Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan invaded the State, backed by Pakistan.[5][6] The Maharaja initially fought back but appealed for assistance to India,[7][8] who agreed on the condition that the ruler accede to India.[9] Maharaja Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession on 26 October 1947 in return for military aid and assistance,[10] which was accepted by the Governor General the next day.[11][12] While the Government of India accepted the accession, it added the proviso that it would be submitted to a "reference to the people" after the state is cleared of the invaders, since "only the people, not the Maharaja, could decide where Kashmiris wanted to live." It was a provisional accession.[13][14][15][note 2]

Once the Instrument of Accession was signed, Indian soldiers entered Kashmir with orders to evict the raiders. The resulting Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 lasted till the end of 1948. At the beginning of 1948, India took the matter to the United Nations Security Council. The Security Council passed a resolution asking Pakistan to withdraw its forces as well as the Pakistani nationals from the territory of Jammu and Kashmir, and India to withdraw the majority of its forces leaving only a sufficient number to maintain law and order, following which a plebiscite would be held. A ceasefire was agreed on 1 January 1949, supervised by UN observers.[16]

A special United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP) was set up to negotiate the withdrawal arrangements as per the Security Council resolution. The UNCIP made three visits to the subcontinent between 1948 and 1949, trying to find a solution agreeable to both India and Pakistan.[17] It passed a resolution in August 1948 proposing a three-part process. It was accepted by India but effectively rejected by Pakistan.[note 3]In the end, no withdrawal was ever carried out, India insisting that Pakistan had to withdraw first, and Pakistan contending that there was no guarantee that India would withdraw afterward.[18] No agreement could be reached between the two countries on the process of demilitarization.[19]

India and Pakistan fought two further wars in 1965 and 1971.[20] Following the latter war, the countries reached the Simla Agreement, agreeing on a Line of Control between their respective regions and committing to a peaceful resolution of the dispute through bilateral negotiations.

On 5 August 2019, the Government of India revoked the special status, or limited autonomy, granted under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution to Jammu and Kashmir—a region administered by India as a state which consists of the larger part of Kashmir which has been the subject of dispute among India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. The state has been bifurcated into a separate union territory for Jammu and Kashmir while the other Union Territory is Ladakh.[21] The decision to change the status of Jammu and Kashmir into two separate union territories came on August 5, 2019, when the Government of India abrogated Article 370 and 35A.[22] This marks the end of the special autonomous status granted by the Constitution of India. Foreseeing the Indian attempt to change demographics of Kashmir protests against the Indian government started which were followed by complete lock-down of Kashmir population.[23]Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir are being held by Pakistan.

Assam[edit]

Main article: Assam separatist movements

The militant organization United Liberation Front of Assam demands a separate country for the indigenous people of Assam. The Government of India had banned the ULFA in 1990 and has officially labelled it as a terrorist group, whereas the US State Department lists it under "Other groups of concern".[24] Military operations against it by the Indian Army that began in 1990 continue to the present. In the past two decades, some 10,000 people have died in the clash between the rebels and the government.[25] The Assamese secessionists have protested against the illegal migration from the neighboring regions. Since the mid-20th century, people from present-day Bangladesh (then known as East Pakistan) have been migrating to Assam. In 1961, the Government of Assam passed legislation making use of Assamese language compulsory; it had to be withdrawn later under pressure from Bengali speaking people in Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimgonj, So called Ishan Banga. In the 1980s the Brahmaputra valley saw six years of Assam agitation[26] triggered by the discovery of a sudden rise in registered voters on electoral rolls.

The Muslim United Liberation Tigers of Assam (MULTA), established in 1996, advocates a separate country for the Muslims of the region.[27] The United People's Democratic Solidarity (UPDS) demands a sovereign nation for the Karbi people. It was formed in March 1999 with the merger of two militant outfits in Assam's Karbi Anglong district, the Karbi National Volunteers (KNV) and Karbi People’s Front (KPF).[28] The United People's Democratic Solidarity signed a cease-fire agreement for one year with the Union Government on 23 May 2002. However, this led to a split in the UPDS with one faction deciding to continue with its subversive activities while the other commenced negotiations with the Government.[citation needed]

Nagaland[edit]

See also: Naga nationalism

The Nagalim is a proposed independent country for the Naga people. In the 1950s, the Naga National Council led a violent unsuccessful insurgency against the Government of India, demanding a separate country for the Nagas. The secessionist violence decreased considerably after the formation of the Naga-majority Nagaland state, and more militants surrendered after the Shillong Accord of 1975. However, the majority of Nagas, operating under the various factions of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland, continue to demand a separate country.

2014 General Elections of India recorded a voter turnout of more than 87% in Nagaland, which was the highest in India.[29][30]

Tripura[edit]

The National Liberation Front of Tripura (or NLFT) is a Tripuri nationalist organisation which seeks for Tripura to secede from India and establish an independent Tripuri state. It has actively participated in the Tripura Rebellion. The NLFT manifesto says that they want to expand what they describe as the Kingdom of God and Christ in Tripura. The Tripura National Volunteers (also known as the Tribal National Volunteers or Tripura National Volunteer Force) was founded in 1978 with assistance from the Mizo National Front. The group has significantly reduced terror activities and recently 88 cadres of NLFT surrendered to the Indian Government.

Bodoland[edit]

The National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) was an armed separatist outfit which sought to obtain a sovereign Boroland for the Bodo people. It is designated as a terrorist organisation by the Government of India.

Kamtapur[edit]

The Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (abbreviated KLO) is a terrorist militant organisation based in Northeast India whose objective is to carve out a separate Kamtapur nation from India. The proposed state is to comprise six districts in West Bengal and four contiguous districts of Assam which are Cooch Behar, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, North and South Dinajpur and Malda, Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Dhubri and Goalpara, Kishanganj districts in Bihar and Jhapa Disstt. in Nepal. The KLO was formed to address problems of the Koch Rajbongshi people such as large-scale unemployment, land alienation, perceived neglect of Kamtapuri language, identity, and grievances of economic deprivation .

Karbi Longri N.C. Hills[edit]

Karbi Longri N.C. Hills Liberation Front is a militant group operating in Karbi Anglong district and Dima Hasao district (formerly known as the North Cachar Hills district) of Assam, India. Thong Teron is the general secretary of KLNLF. Karbi Anglong NC Hills People's Resistance is the armed wing of the organization. KLNLF emerged from the United People's Democratic Solidarity, being the anti-peace talks faction of UDPS. After the split, there has been turf wars between the two groups.

Zomi Areas[edit]

The Zomi Revolutionary Army (Burmese: ဇိုမီး တော်လှန်ရေး တပ်မတော်; abbreviated ZRA) is an armed Zomi nationalist insurgent group formed in 1997, following an increase in ethnic tensions between the Kuki people (i.e. the Thadou) and the Paites tribe in Churachandpur district of Manipur, India. Its parent organisation, the Zomi Revolutionary Organisation, was founded on April 1993.

Hyyneitwerp[edit]

The Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (abbreviated HNLC) is a militant organization operating in Meghalaya, India. It claims to represent the Khasi-Jaintia tribal people, and its aim is to free Meghalaya from the alleged domination of the Garos and the outsiders (the "Dkhars") from the Indian mainland. It was proscribed in India on 16 November 2000, but the ban was later lifted, before banning it again in 2019.

Karbi Longri[edit]

The People's Democratic Council of Karbi Longri (PDCK) is an armed rebel outfit which seeks to obtain sovereignty of the Karbis.

Adivasi Areas[edit]

The Adivasi Cobra Force (abbreviated ACF), also known as the Adivasi Cobra Militant Force (abbreviated ACMF), was an militant insurgent group in Lower Assam, India, with the claimed objective of protecting the Adivasi people through armed combat.

Dimaraji[edit]

Dima Halam Daogah was an Indian extremist group operating mainly in Assam and Nagaland. The group laid down their arms on 1993 January 2013, and claimed to represent the Dimasa and their goal to create a Dimaland or Dimaraji in the two states.

Punjab[edit]

Khalistan[edit]

The Khalistan movement aimed to have a self government state for Sikhs. The territorial definition of the proposed Khalistan consists of Punjab, India and includes parts of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan which were part of Punjab at the time of Indian Independence in 1947 .[31][32][33]

After the partition of India, the majority of the Sikhs migrated from the Pakistani part to the Indian province of Punjab, which then included the parts of the present-day Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. Before Partition Jinnah promised an autonomous state in Pakistan for Sikhs, fearing Sikhs joining Pakistan Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi stated that Sikhs would get an autonomous region in India.

The brave Sikhs of Punjab are entitled to special consideration. I see nothing wrong in an area and a set-up in the North wherein the Sikhs can experience the glow of freedom.- Jawaharlal Nehru at Sis Ganj Sahib

Sikhs did not get an autonomous region or even a state so following India's independence in 1947, the Punjabi Suba movement lead by the Sikh political party Akali Dal trifurcated the Punjab state. Afterwards the government assured the Sikhs that only excess water would go to other states, after 5 years Chandigarh would be the capital and Sikhism would be considered a separate religion as it had been for the past centuries. Those promises were not fulfilled as 83.5% of Punjab's waters were and still are going to other states leading to desertification, Sikhs are still apart of the Hindu Marriage Act and Chandigarh is still a union territory. Subsequently, a section of the Sikh leaders started demanding more autonomy for the states, alleging that the central government was discriminating against Punjab. The early stages of the Sikh agitation for equal rights were peaceful, leading one commentator to note:

"...over 100,000 [Sikh] volunteers have been arrested. This high number of arrests is undoubtedly, a national record and so has been the peaceful nature in which the Satyagrahas [protests] of this magnitude have been handled by the Sikhs, with extreme tolerance."

On September 1981, Bhindranwale voluntarily offered his arrest in Amritsar, where he was detained and interrogated for twenty-five days, but was released because of lack of evidence. "For all I know, he [Bhindranwale] is completely innocent and is genuinely and exclusively dedicated to the teachings of the Gurus.” In December 1983, a senior officer in Chandigarh confessed: “It’s really shocking that we have so little against him [Bhindranwale] while we keep blaming him for all sorts of things.”

Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale with a spear, kirpan and Kashtanov Rifle ammunition

Bhindranwale and his followers were armed with traditional swords, shields and muskets. Few also had Dragunov Rifles, Kashganovs, Ak-74s and Ak-47s. These were licensed and supplied by the Indian Government. It was the peak of the Cold War and India was leaning towards Russia and Pakistan had allied with The United States of America. This is why Bhindranwale was carrying Russian made guns. The Indian Government started alleging that Bhindranwale was killing Hindus and allied with Pakistan to create Khalistan. The first time that the phrase Khalistan came was in the Hind Samachar newspaper group. The Indian secret operation called Black Cats was made by Indira Gandhi to disguise the Punjab Police as terrorists and kill Hindus in the countryside. Bhindranwale condemned these but it was not outlined on any newspapers as they were government controlled. He also made a speech that he did not hate Hindus and he had donated 5 lakhs to restore ald Hindu and Sikh architecture and Mandirs. He even adopted a Hindu women as his daughter.

In June 1984, the Indian Government ordered a military operation, Operation Blue Star to clear Harmandir Sahib, Amritsar and thirty other Gurdwaras of innocent Sikhs led by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale who were with many other pilgrims in Gurdwaras. During this operation, the Indian army had around 3000 casualties with 700 injuries, and 200–250 Sikh militants were killed. The handling of the operation, damage to the holy shrine and loss of life on both sides, led to widespread criticism of the Indian Government. The Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her two Sikh bodyguards in retaliation. Following her death 17,000 of Sikhs were killed in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.[34] The subsequent Punjab insurgency saw several secessionist militant groups becoming active in Punjab, supported by a section of the Sikh diaspora.

See also[edit]

  • Insurgent groups in Northeast India
  • Naxalite-Maoist insurgency

Further reading[edit]

  • Racine, Jean-Luc (2013). Secessionism in independent India: Failed attempts, irredentism, and accommodations. Secessionism and Separatism in Europe and Asia: To have a state of one’s own. Routledge. pp. 147–163.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "India campaign over 'draconian' anti-insurgent law". BBC News. 17 October 2011.
  2. ^ Snedden 2003.
  3. ^ Guha, Ramachandra (2008), India after Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy, Pan Macmillan, ISBN 978-0330396110: "Pakistan naturally expected Kashmir, with its Muslim majority, to join it. India thought that the religious factor was irrelevant, especially since the leading political party, the National Conference, was known to be non-sectarian."
  4. ^ Snedden, Christopher (2015), Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris, Oxford University Press, pp. 172–, ISBN 978-1-84904-342-7: "Senior Pakistanis, many of whom had once naively simply expected that J&K would join Pakistan, had come to believe that India had been deliberately conniving with Hari Singh to obtain J&K's accession. To try to prevent India's acquisition, some of these Pakistanis sent the Pukhtoons to capture J&K for Pakistan."
  5. ^ "Quick guide: Kashmir dispute". BBC News. 29 June 2006. Retrieved 14 June 2009.
  6. ^ "Who changed the face of '47 war?". Times of India. 14 August 2005. Retrieved 14 August 2005.
  7. ^ http://www.getmistified.com/competition_docs/2013_Topic_I_Kashmir.pdf
  8. ^ http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/4425/9/09_chapter%202.pdf
  9. ^ Stein, Burton. 1998. A History of India. Oxford University Press. 432 pages. ISBN 0-19-565446-3. Page 368.
  10. ^ Šumit Ganguly (13 February 1999). The Crisis in Kashmir: Portents of War, Hopes of Peace. Cambridge University Press. pp. 10–. ISBN 978-0-521-65566-8.
  11. ^ "Rediff on the NeT Special: The Real Kashmir Story". Rediff.com. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
  12. ^ "Rediff on the NeT: An interview with Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw". Rediff.com. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
  13. ^ Varshney 1992, p. 194.
  14. ^ Humayun Mirza (1 January 2002). From Plassey to Pakistan: The Family History of Iskander Mirza, the First President of Pakistan. University Press of America. p. 161. ISBN 978-0-7618-2349-0.
  15. ^ Nyla Ali Khan (15 September 2010). Islam, Women, and Violence in Kashmir: Between India and Pakistan. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 30–. ISBN 978-0-230-11352-7.
  16. ^ Subramaniam, Arjun (2016), India's Wars: A Military History, 1947–1971, Harper Collins India, ISBN 978-9351777496. Excerpt at How the map of Jammu and Kashmir could have been significantly different today, Scroll.in
  17. ^ Schofield 2003, p. 70.
  18. ^ Varshney 1992, p. 212.
  19. ^ Korbel 1953, pp. 506–507.
  20. ^ Zulqurnain, Zafar. "India couldn't beat us in 1965, can't beat the stronger Pakistan of today either". The Express Tribune. The Express Tribune. Retrieved 23. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  21. ^ https://indianexpress.com/article/india/28-states-9-union-territories-here-is-the-new-map-of-india-6099663/
  22. ^ https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/jammu-and-kashmir-union-territories-today-article-370-special-status-6095406/
  23. ^ https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-india-49261752/article-370-kashmir-protests-over-loss-of-special-status
  24. ^ Country Reports on Terrorism, 2006
  25. ^ Five killed in Assam bomb blasts - Dawn
  26. ^ Hazarika 2003
  27. ^ "Muslim United Liberation Tigers of Assam (MULTA)". South Asia Terrorism Portal. Retrieved 14 August 2009.
  28. ^ SATP - UPDS
  29. ^ "State-Wise Voter Turnout in General Election 2014". Election Commission of India. Government of India. Press Information Bureau. 21 May 2014. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  30. ^ "Assessment for Tripuras in India", Minorities at Risk Project, UNHCR Refworld, 31 December 2003, retrieved 15 March 2009
  31. ^ Crenshaw, Martha (1995). Terrorism in Context. Pennsylvania State University. p. 364. ISBN 978-0-271-01015-1.
  32. ^ The foreign policy of Pakistan: ethnic impacts on diplomacy, 1971-1994 ISBN 1-86064-169-5 - Mehtab Ali Shah "Such is the political, psychological and religious attachment of the Sikhs to that city that a Khalistan without Lahore would be like a Germany without Berlin."
  33. ^ Amritsar to Lahore: A Journey Across the India-Pakistan Border - Stephen Alter ISBN 0-8122-1743-8 "Ever since the separatist movement gathered force in the 1980s, Pakistan has sided with the Sikhs, the territorial ambitions of Khalistan have at times included Chandigarh, sections of the Indian Punjab, including whole North India and some parts of western states of India."
  34. ^ Deol, Harnik (2000). Religion and nationalism in India: the case of the Punjab. Psychology Press. p. 109. ISBN 978-0-415-20108-7. Retrieved 22 July 2011.

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Schofield (2003, p. 54): In his letter to Lord Mountbatten on 26 October 1947, the Maharaja wrote, "I wanted to take time to decide which Dominion I should accede... whether it is not in the best interests of both the Dominions and my State to stay independent, of course with cordial relations with both.
  2. ^ Kashmiri leader Sheikh Abdullah noted in the UN Security Council in 1948: ""the (plebiscite) offer (was) made by the Prime Minister of India when, I think, he had not the slightest need for making it, for Kashmir was in distress... The Government of India could have easily accepted the accession and said, "All right, we accept your accession and we shall render this help." There was no necessity for the Prime Minister of India to add the proviso while accepting the accession that "India does not want to take advantage of the difficult situation in Kashmir."(Varshney 1992, p. 195)
  3. ^ Korbel (1953, p. 502): "Though India accepted the resolution, Pakistan attached to its acceptance so many reservations, qualifications, and assumptions as to make its answer `tantamount to rejection'.