How did insurgency develop in Indian-administered Kashmir during the late 1980s and early 1990s?

The development of insurgency in Indian-administered Kashmir during the late 1980s and early 1990s was driven by widespread disillusionment with the democratic process and a desire to resist control by the Indian union government.12

As local militant organizations began to emerge in the late 1980s, they increasingly adopted separatist agendas. By the early 1990s, this militancy had evolved into a full-scale insurgency, prompting a significant crackdown campaign by Indian security forces. During this period, militant groups—such as Hizb ul-Mujahideen—targeted civilians, including the Kashmiri Pandits. The systematic persecution and threats against this native Hindu population led to their mass exodus from the Vale of Kashmir in 1990.312

Indian authorities have long maintained that these insurgent groups were cultivated and supported by Pakistan’s military and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) as part of a proxy war against India. This subconventional approach allowed Pakistan to exert pressure on India while maintaining plausible deniability.4