Analysis of the Indian Government's Counterinsurgency Campaign in Jammu and Kashmir

The Indian government is involved in the longest and most costly counterinsurgency campaign that is conducted by a nation state in modern history. The Kashmir conflict is complex and contains a conflict of interests with multiple players struggling for a variety of agendas that include independence of Kashmir by the separatists, preservation of a secular nation fought for by India, and unification of a Muslim state contested by Pakistan. This study analyzes in depth the insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir and the Indian governments and security forces response to these conditions. This paper focuses on the Indian government's counterinsurgency campaign strategy from 1989 to present and critiques the use of the instruments of national power in defeating the insurgency.