Page 496 - SSB Interview: The Complete Guide, Second Edition

After the invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union, mujahideen fighters,
with the aid of Pakistan, slowly infiltrated Kashmir with the goal of spreading
a radical Islamist ideology.

Religion
Jammu and Kashmir is the only Muslim majority state in Hindu-majority

India. Indian-American journalist Asra Nomani states that while India itself is
a secular state, Muslims are politically, culturally and economically
marginalised when compared to Hindus in India as a whole. The

Government’s decision to transfer 99 acres of forest land to a Hindu
organisation solidified this feeling and led to one of the largest protest rallies
in Jammu and Kashmir.

Other reasons

The Indian National Census shows that Kashmir lags behind other states in
most socio-development indicators such as literacy rates and has unusually
high levels of unemployment. This contributes to anti-government sentiment.

Kunan Poshpora Mass Rape

The Kunan Poshpora mass rape occurred on 23 February 1991, when units of

the Indian Army launched a search and interrogation operation in the village
of Kunan Poshpora, located in Kashmir’s remote Kupwara District. At least
53 women were allegedly gang-raped by soldiers that night. However, human

rights organisations including Human Rights Watch have reported that the
number of raped women could be as high as 100. Although the Indian

government’s investigations into the incident rejected the allegations as
“baseless”, international human rights organisations have expressed serious
doubts about the integrity of these investigations and the manner in which
they were conducted, stating that the Indian government launched a

“campaign to acquit the Army of charges of human rights violations and
discredit those who brought the charges”.

According to reports, on 23 February 1991 at approximately 11 pm,

th
soldiers from the 4 Rajputana Rifles cordoned off the village of Kunan