Long thread, but in light of the Congress Party of Indias new propaganda & lies trying to suggest they were not responsible for the ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Hindus in 1990, instead shifting blame to BJP, it’s needed. Please take the time to read.
The problems for Kashmir started in the 1950’s with local Kashmiri muslim elites and their bureaucrat colleagues who learned they could make large some of money from New Delhi and the central government of India to fight secessionists. They formed an oligarchy to control Kashmir.
“through this wealth this minority of Kashmiri Muslims created an effective oligarchy w/ which they've controlled Kashmir ever since.” “A nexus of the elite, business class, top ranking bureaucrats & politicians” building their own wealth to the detriment of the average Kashmiri.
This elite nexus chose Urdu as the state language of Kashmir as only the elite were educated in it at that time, thus they could monopolize lucrative State Government jobs. The new elite Muslim oligarchs working against the average Kashmiri.
The next blow to Kashmiri people came from Pakistan. In 1958 after a military coup the new leader of Pakistan, General Ayub Khan, pursued Kashmir promising that Pakistan would never give up claim to all of Kashmir. In 1965, Pakistan invaded Kashmir trying to take it by force.
After the 1971 war where Pakistan was defeated by India & split in half, Abdullah and Kashmir moved closer to India & the Kashmir Accord was signed by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Chief Minister Sheikh Abdullah. “Kashmir had very much become part of India by this time”
A group of pro-Pakistan secessionists known as the Plebiscite Front kept secessionist sentiment alive. Pakistan and the secessionists had made little progress because of Sheik Abdullah’s anti-Pakistan sentiment but this would not last, Congress would turn Abdullah against India.
Things changed when in 1977, the State Congress Party withdrew support for Abdullah. In retaliation, he started pushing for plebiscite & even independence so it was the Congress Party that started the first seeds of a drive for independent Kashmir within the local Kashmir govt.
With Congress withdrawing support for Abdullah, the Islamization of Kashmir began in earnest in 198O with the Abdullah govt changing names of about 2500 villages to Islamic names while he started giving communal speeches in mosques in a campaign to change the Kashmiri people.
In this effort by Abdullah to change the Kashmiri people and turn them against India, an elected member of the State Parliament released a pamphlet called “The Conspiracy of Converting Kashmir Muslim Majority into a Minority.”
Side note: With the new Domicile law for Kashmir in 2020, Pakistan ran this article claiming ‘India’s new domicile law part of conspiracy to turn Muslim-majority IOK into minority’ Pakistan and their allies haven't change their strategies much. 
Saudi influence. In 1979, Saudi held an Islamic Conference in Srinagar & in 1980 set up the Jhelum Valley (JV) Medical College were they were able to funnel large sums of money into Kashmir. Evidence suggest doctors in this hospital sowed the seeds of radical Islam & communalism
In the 80’s through Saudi funding, Madrassas were setup throughout Kashmir. Through these institutions, the seeds of Islamic fundamentalism were planted in Kashmiris minds from a young age. Children were instructed to fight for Islam. They were taught hatred for Kashmiri Hindus.
With the stage set thanks to Congress, Abdullah, Pakistan & Saudi, the first outbreaks of violence started in 1986 when Islamic fundamentalists attacked the minority Kashmiri Hindus. Dozens of Hindus were killed and 24 Hindu temples burnt by Muslim mobs.
All of these violent attacks were carried out in the name of Islam and it was observed that most of the attacks happened on Friday evenings after Muslims dispersed from the local mosques. Mosques became a platform for political speeches with Imams who were trained in Pakistan.
Also throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s, Kashmiri youth were influenced by the Jamaat-i-Islami party. Jamaats offered education & their teachings included criticism of non-Muslims and anti-India messages. They were radicalizing the Muslim youth.
Earlier, Abdullah did ban these Jammat madrassas. As a result, the Jammats took up positions in govt schools to continue their propaganda until more madrassas came up. During this time, many Kashmiri Muslim youth were being trained across the border in Pakistan.
By the mid 80’s sentiment among Kashiri youth was “Islam is in Danger” “By 89, Indian government estimated about 10,000 Kashmiri youth had gone to Pakistan to undergo training” The emerging younger generation of Kashmiri Muslims had been indoctrinated with Islamic fundamentalism.
Not only were youth indoctrinated with Islamic fundamentalism, the thousands who were receiving training across the border in Pakistan were being provided with money & financial support & weapons. It paid to be a Jihadi. To newly radicalized Kashmiri youth, he felt he had power.
With large swaths of Kashmiri Muslims indoctrinated in Islamic fundamentalism & Jihad, the 1987 State Election arrived. The Muslim United Front (MUF), a coalition of Jamaat-i-Islami & Ummat-i-Islami had high hopes but the National Conference-Congress alliance won in a landslide.
Following their defeat, some of the candidates of the parties of the MUF, Abdul Ghani Lone, Yasin Malik (JKLF) & Syed Salahuddin (Hizbul Mujahadin) became the face of insurgency in Kashmir. Since they were already radicalized, the stage to transition to insurgency was already set
Their cause was religiously & ideologically fueled & as discussed in the mid 80’s under Abdullah & the National Conference, anti-India sentiment had already been seeded in the Muslim population. If Congress had done more to intervene in State affairs, it could have been averted.
With Pakistans involvement in Kashmir. Slogans “Pakistan se kya rishta? La ilaha ilallah” (What is the relation with Pakistan? There is no God but God.) followed by “Azaadi ka matlab kya? La ilaha ilallah” (What is the meaning of freedom? There is no God but God.) were chanted.
“Those who coined and floated these slogans went on to form the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Force (JKLF). The JKLF wanted to liberate Kashmir. In fact its founder, Hashim Qureshi, later fled to Western Europe for asylum after the Pakistanis hijacked his organization”
Driving some of this was the same elite Muslim oligarchy mentioned earlier that has maintained power in Kashmir throughout. “In 1990 a report showed that almost a thousand of the elite Kashmiri Muslims were on the payroll of the ISI.” (more to follow)
What had begun with a large group of Islamic fundamentalist in their drive to become part of Pakistan, became a mass movement. Fueled by Pakistan & the radicalization taught in madrassas built with Saudi funding they began terrorizing the Hindus of the Kashmir Valley.
A shift in popularity of the separationists movement came in 89 when they successfully kidnapped the India’s Home Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed’s daughter in Srinagar & successfully negotiated for the release of their colleagues from prison. They felt power over the Indian govt.
What had begun with a large group of Islamic fundamentalist in their drive to become part of Pakistan, became a mass movement. Fueled by Pakistan & the radicalization taught in madrassas built with Saudi funding they began terrorizing the Hindus of the Kashmir Valley.
A problem preventing fundamentalists from swaying the population to join Pakistan was the large Hindu population of Kashmir.
The solution was to eliminate the Hindus from Kashmir. “by resorting to the systematic killings of Hindus, spreading fear through newspaper ads & pamphlets ordering them to leave or face death, Pakistan was able to overcome this major obstacle.”
Moving forwards with new gained confidence and religious zeal, January 20, 1990 was to be Kashmiri Independence Day. There were reportedly between January 1 and January 19, 1990, 319 violent acts - 21 armed attacks, 114 bomb blasts, 112 arsons, and 72 incidents of mob violence.
Leading up to exodus, killings & rapes of Hindus were followed with warnings for Hindus to get out. Large demonstrations were held w/ the slogan: "Asi gachi Pakistan, batni rosin batta gatssin." (We will become a part of Pakistan, Pandit women can stay but Pandit men must leave)
In this process of ethnic cleansing of Hindus from Kashmir by Islamic fundamentalists, mosque speakers blared "Leave, Convert, or Die". Many Hindus were brutally murdered, many Hindu women were raped. Almost a half million Hindus became refugees in their own country.
I created this thread to dispel the propaganda of the Congress Party & their supporters dismissing their involvement in the ethnic cleansing of Hindus from Kashmir by Islamic fundamentalist and radical Islamic terrorist backed by Pakistan. Congress could have prevented it.
It wasn't just Congress, it was Pakistan & Saudi played a role. Most importantly, it was the religion of Islam that lends itself too radicalization. All one needs to do to become an Islamic fundamentalist is take the Quran & Hadith seriously. Islam breeds terrorism & needs reform
Always take the time to study your history, without knowing your history, you are doomed to repeat it. I’m sorry for the people of India that under decades of Congress rule, the govt has withheld truth about your history so you will have to do the research and learn on your own.
Credit for the information contained in this thread goes to this research report from Stanford University. web.stanford.edu/class/e297a/Ka…
