As the April 2017 elections approached, various separatist organizations in the state, including the umbrella organization, the All Party Hurriyat Conference, called for a boycott. This was nothing new, and on previous occasions, most Kashmiris ignored the instructions and turned out to the polls in substantial numbers. This time, however, even the capital city, Srinagar, saw a precipitous decline in voter turnout. A mere 7.14 percent of the eligible electorate turned up to the polls during the first week of April—the worst showing in three decades. Violence was so widespread in the other constituency, Anantnag, that one of the candidates asked the election commission to postpone the election until late May, which it did.

These events reflect growing discontent among many Kashmiris. Government apologists in New Delhi may point to Pakistani chicanery and instigation as the source of the problem, but the fact is that harsh Indian counterinsurgency policies in the state are also to blame.

A REPRESSIVE STRATEGY

There is, of course, little question that Pakistan’s political leadership views the recent turmoil with considerable glee. Furthermore, there is evidence that Pakistan has long provided both material and other forms of support to Kashmiri separatists, who have been waging a campaign against the Indian state since 1989. Worse still, Pakistan has also aided a host of terrorist organizations that have wreaked havoc across the state for the past several decades.

A concerted Indian counterinsurgency strategy has worn down these terrorist entities, but the campaign has not been cost-free. It has involved the presence of a vast military and police apparatus in the state, widespread use of curfews and detentions, and, on occasion, heavy-handed use of force. Although directed primarily at Pakistan-based terrorists, the dragnet has inevitably swept up significant numbers of young Kashmiri men over the years. Many of these men have endured routine harassment, been subjected to harsh (and degrading) interrogation, and been detained without trial for indefinite periods of time.

Many Kashmiri men have endured routine harassment, been subjected to degrading interrogation, and been detained without trial for indefinite periods of time.

These practices have continued despite the successful conduct of a series of mostly free and fair elections for local and state offices. The failure of elected governments to end these security policies despite the ebbing of the insurgency has contributed to simmering resentment across a wide swath of the population, but these grievances are no doubt most concentrated among the young Kashmiri men who have borne the brunt of aggravation at the hands of security forces.

The clearest indication of these frustrations came last year when Indian security forces managed to corner and kill a young Kashmiri terrorist, Burhan Wani, who was affiliated with the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen. Unlike his Pakistan-based counterparts, Wani hailed from Kashmir and was a savvy user of social media. In killing him, Indian intelligence had wholly failed to understand the extent of support that he had enjoyed. Massive crowds turned up at his funeral and large-scale protests ensued thereafter. Mufti appealed for calm, but her pleas were of no avail.