Kashmir 1989–90: Veterans call for reckoning over state failures & forgotten exodus
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Chandigarh: The Kashmir insurgency of 1989–90 remains one of the most turbulent and tragic episodes in India's contemporary history. It was not merely the rise of an armed rebellion—it signified a complete breakdown of state authority, intelligence apparatus, and moral leadership.
These views were expressed on Saturday at a literary event held at the Chandigarh Press Club, where key voices from the military and strategic community came together to reflect on these defining events and the enduring lessons they offer.
General V P Malik (retd), former Chief of the Army Staff, questioned the deeper systemic failures that led to the Valley's implosion. "Why did the law and order and security situation in Jammu and Kashmir collapse so completely in 1990?" he asked.
"How did the culture of Kashmiriyat—rooted in peaceful coexistence—get overtaken by militant Islamist ideology?" Gen. Malik emphasized the need to study the past to safeguard the future, noting that the Kashmir crisis carries significant lessons for today's policymakers.
Former army chief also spoke about deep necked corruption in the Jammu and Kashmir administration/government at that time.
Col Daljeet Singh Cheema, author and motivational speaker, traced the insurgency to Pakistan's long-standing refusal to accept the terms of Partition.
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He argued that after suffering a decisive defeat in the 1971 war, Pakistan shifted its strategy, adopting General Zia-ul-Haq's doctrine of "Bleed India with a thousand cuts"—a strategy that fuels insurgency through proxy warfare and religious radicalization.
"An Islamic state that believes it can rely solely on Allah and its Army, and sees its faith as superior, will not change its policy easily," Col. Cheema warned.
The event marked the formal launch of a book on Kashmir Insurgency authored by Colonel Yoginder Kandhari (retd). Drawing from firsthand experiences, RTI disclosures, and interviews with key stakeholders, Kandhari's work offers a hard-hitting account of how institutional silence, media inaction, and policy paralysis contributed to one of modern India's most successful campaigns of ethnic cleansing—the exodus of the Kashmiri Pandit community.
Col Charan Jeev Singh (retd) further highlighted the administrative collapse and the conspicuous absence of timely state response. Veterans, including Col Jagdeep Singh (retd), also shared personal insights, emotional and strategic costs of those years.
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