Introduction to Geopolitics

tanzeems
) have arisen.
“The main political division among Kashmir Muslims now is between those wishing
to accede to Pakistan and those wanting an independent state” (Malik, 2002, p. 357).
The similarity among all of the Muslims, however, is the desire to be free from India.
Tanzeems
are responsible for murders, rapes, and kidnappings of both Hindus and fellow
Muslims. Because 
tanzeems
are plentiful and uncoordinated, rivalries result that spur
violence between groups. Fundamentalist groups also attack fellow Muslims that act in
a way that violates their ideologies. For example, a teenager reports that his father was
murdered because he consumed alcohol: “The Hizbul Mujahidden had warned him about
drinking but when he didn’t care they killed him” (Chhachhi, 2002, p. 201).
In 1987, following elections that were thought to be fixed (given the very poor
performance of the Muslim United Front in the elections), the youth of Kashmir began
to protest and many were arrested. Disaffected youth, who believed they were perse-
cuted for their religious beliefs and ethnicity, were sought by the Inter-Services
Intelligence (ISI—the Pakistani Intelligence Service) who promised “arms and training
to these ‘boys’ to launch armed struggles against India” (Santhanam 
et al.
, 2003). These
recruits came mostly from the Islamic Students League (ISL). In the mid-1990s, due to
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the enormous amount of casualties within the 
tanzeems
, there was a “drying up of young
Kashmiri recruits. . . . School dropouts and rowdy elements began to dominate. . . .  Rape
became common in the Valley while innocent civilians were murdered on the suspicion
that they were ‘informers’ ” (Santhanam 
et al
., 2003, p. 28). According to a four-member
all-woman team who set out to assess the situation in 1994:
Many people reported the recruitment of thousands of Kashmiri youth from
poor families. . . .  Someone remarked, “The sons of the rich in India and
Pakistan go to America to study, for better opportunities. Our boys go out to
learn how to use the gun. The power brokers are not interested in stopping the
war, their children are not being sacrificed.”
(Women’s Initiative, 2002, pp. 89–90)
Lack of opportunity for young men, oppression by Indian security forces, a willing
sponsor, and nationalist and religious ideology combined to fuel the 
tanzeems
.
The
tanzeem
itself could become the most meaningful geopolitical structure,
promoting disputes and violence between groups despite claims of a common cause.
Brief description of four 
tanzeems
shows the mixture of shared and divergent goals.
Hizbul Mujahideen
(HUM) emerged as an important 
tanzeem
, headquartered in Srinagar.
It is sponsored by the Pakistan government, ISI, and Jamaat-e-Islami, a political party
in Pakistan. The objectives of the HUM are to succeed from India via armed combat
and to merge with Pakistan. In 1990, Jamaat-e-Islami and the ISI took control of 
HUM. Now HUM is considered the militant wing of 
J & K Jamaat-e-Islami
(JKJEI).
JKJEI is closely linked with the 
Jamaat-e-Islami
(JEI)