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HOW FAR CAN THE KASHMIR CONFLICT 1989-2009 BE ATTRIBUTED TO 'FUNDAMENTALIST'RELIGIOUS EMPOWERMENT?
By Gurtej Singh A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of therequirements for the degree of Master of Strategic Studies atSchool of Government, Victoria University of Wellington. June 2009
 
 
MSS Dissertation: Gurtej Singh
ii
 Abstract
The Kashmir conflict 1989-2009 is a representation of 
‘fundamentalist’ religious
empowerment. This conflict is not a stand-alone phenomenon. The origins of thisSouth Asian conflict could be traced back to the fundamentalist Hindutvamindset that preceded the two-nation theory of Pakistan and subsequentIslamisation by decades, especially the way Hindu institutions were protectedand flourished during the colonial period. This study develops a framework of understanding how India and Pakistan are constantly perched on the precipice of  war since 1947, caught in
a paired-
minority conflict”
, engaging occasionally inthe battleground but increasingly in games of stealth and intelligence.Indianstrategic culture does not accept the legitimacy of Pakistan while the latter isentangled in the mindset of strategic inferiority and displaying a lack of professionalism. The nuclear tests of 1998 transformed India into a winner and anemerging power, whereas Pakistan is on the verge of a collapse and struggling forforeign aid. This study develops an argument on how this fundamentalist conflictgradually progressed to an insurgency in Kashmir with implications beyondSouth Asia.
 
MSS Dissertation: Gurtej Singh
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 Acknowledgements
There are many people I need to thank for their contribution to this dissertation.They have all contributed in their own way, making me see the bigger picture while I spent my formative years in Punjab in the 1970s and 1980s and later when work took me to Kashmir in the 1990s.My dissertation supervisor Professor Jim Veitch deserves much credit forinspiring me to marry my life experiences with academic training in strategicstudies. During this process, Professor Veitch shared his extensive expertise onconflict and religion, particularly in South East Asia, South Asia and the MiddleEast, in counter terrorism, intelligence, transnational crime and religion, anddiplomacy. I am also thankful to Negar Partow who as a course lecturer for someof the strategic studies papers enhanced my knowledge about Islamisation, theMiddle East and terrorism. The library staff of the university deserves all thepraise for helping me whenever I faced a problem with referencing software or with interloan requests for booksFinally, I would like to thank those who have kept me sane while I wrote thisdissertation. My wife, Amarjit Kaur, who has been wonderful and supportive andmy children who gave me a quiet space to write. My colleagues at work; MichaelFlett, Foreman Foto, and Stephen Collins who accommodated me all the while, when I would take a day off at short notice for research purposes. Stephendeserves a special mention as he not only took a keen interest in various eventsrelated to this dissertation but also read the draft for me and offered valuablesuggestions.
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