Introduction
South Asia is one of the poorest and most conflict prone nations in the world. Most South Asian countries have suffered
from poor governance, lack of rule of law, corruption, lack of
accountability, and human rights violations.1 In addition, the
region of South Asia as a whole has yet to fully engage itself
with issues pertaining to security sector reform.2 The broader notion of a full-fledged security agenda has not become
an integral element of the ongoing security discourse, which
remains essentially state-centric.3 In the case of India’s Jammu
and Kashmir state (IJK), the efforts to pursue Security Sector
Reform (SSR)5 have remained mostly sparse and fragmented.
It is only now, in the post-9/11 security environment that issues
pertaining to SSR have begun to have greater resonance in India’s national and state governments. Historically, conventional
threats such as the Pakistan-India rivalry, the nuclear dimension,
and contested land borders with China dominated India’s security focus. However, the new security situation since 9/11 and
the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks have lent greater urgency to
the problematic issues of rising Islamic militancy and violence
germinating in IJK.
This article seeks to assess India’s current security situation in
IJK. The article posits that India can effectively enforce the rule
of law in IJK through modern policing methods rather than
relying on strict authoritarian measures. It will highlight how
despite the non-enabling environment, opportunities to support SSR activities do exist and can be implemented effectively.
First, a brief account of the modern history and evolution of the
international India-Pakistan Kashmir dispute and the separate,
but interrelated internal clash between Kashmiri Muslims
and the Indian government is necessary to understanding the
complexity inherent in the Kashmir region. Second, this article
sets out to identify the challenges and lessons in the implementation of SSR activities in the region. Lastly, this article ends by
developing a set of recommendations aimed at improving India’s
policing and rule of law activities. To this end, the proposals
contained in this article will attempt to provide an operational
framework for the Indian and IJK governments. Further, the
recommendations will assist IJK policymakers to develop a holistic approach to building an effective and professional security
apparatus that can successfully gain the trust of the local popu-
3