Fluidity of armed conflict in Kashmir: from the international humanitarian law perspective

Abstract

Kashmir has been an area of dispute since past more than seven decades challenging the peace and stability of the South-Asian region. The conflict in Kashmir that began as territorial dispute gradually several dimensions in the form of religion, self-determination, nationalism and separatism further complicating the issue. The paper has not just traced the conflict since its inception but also looked into the recent developments like the surgical strikes, human shield and stone pelting to analyse the sharp changes that have occurred affecting the nature of the conflict and making it more fluid. The aim of the paper is to identify as to what rules of international humanitarian law would apply to Kashmir conflict in the present scenario. However, the paper has not dealt with the overlapping topics of human rights and terrorism.