Published Paper Details:

The Kashmir conflict has remained one of India's most persistent national security challenges since 1947, but the mass displacement of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990 marked a critical turning point in insurgency dynamics. This episode underscored the limitations of India's counterinsurgency (COIN) framework, raising urgent questions about minority protection, governance, and military strategy. Over the subsequent three decades, India's COIN doctrine evolved through successive phases shaped by the Kargil War (1999), recurrent cycles of militancy, civil unrest (2008-2016), and the intensification of cross-border terrorism. The abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 constituted a constitutional and doctrinal watershed, fundamentally reconfiguring the security architecture of Jammu and Kashmir. This study critically traces the trajectory of India's COIN doctrine across these phases, situating it within the broader geopolitical contest involving India, Pakistan, Kashmiri separatists, and foreign fighters. The roots of the conflict lie in the 1947 partition, when competing claims over Jammu and Kashmir emerged: Pakistan asserted its case on religious and cultural grounds, while India's claim rested on the accession decision of the princely ruler under conditions of external aggression. By examining these historical foundations alongside doctrinal shifts, the research highlights how India's counterinsurgency strategies have oscillated between militarization, developmental interventions, and constitutional integration, reflecting the complex interplay of security imperatives and democratic governance.