1931

Movement launched against Dogra rule in the princely State.

1932

All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference founded by Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah and Mirwaiz Yusuf Shah.

1939

Muslim Conference renamed National Conference (NC) by Sheikh Abdullah.

1946

NC launches Quit Kashmir movement against Maharajah Hari Singh. Sheikh Abdullah arrested.

1947

Tribal invasion launched from newly independent Pakistan. Sheikh Abdullah released from prison. The Maharaja accedes to the Indian Union. Sheikh Abdullah appointed head of the emergency administration. Indian Army enters the State to repel Pakistani raiders.

1948

India refers Kashmir issue to the United Nations (UN) Security Council and offers to hold a plebiscite under UN supervision, after tribal raiders are moved back. On 13 August, a UN Commission proposes that the State's future be decided in accordance with the will of the people. On 20 December, Pakistan, too, accepts the UN resolution.

1949

A cease-fire between Indian and Pakistani forces leaves 84,000 sq. km of Kashmir under Pakistan's control. On 17 October, India's Constituent Assembly adopts Article 370 of the Constitution that ensures special status for Jammu and Kashmir.

1951

An interim Constitution for the State comes into force in November.

1952

An agreement is arrived at on 24 July between Sheikh Abdullah and the Government of India. It provided for the State's autonomy within the Indian Union.

1953

On August 9, Sheikh Abdullah dismissed as Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and arrested. Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed succeeds Sheikh Abdullah. The governments of India and Pakistan agree to appoint a plebiscite administrator by the end of April 1954.

1956

State Constituent Assembly adopts the State's Constitution. One of the provisions of the Constitution made Jammu and Kashmir an integral part of the Indian Union.

1963

Violence and demonstrations reported across the Valley, on December 27, when a holy relic is found missing from the Hazratbal shrine.

1964

The holy relic is recovered on January 4. Sheikh Abdullah released on April 8. Conspiracy charges filed against Sheikh Abdullah dropped. On April 29, Sheikh Abdullah calls on Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Less than a month later, on May 25, Sheikh Abdullah goes to Pakistan at Nehru's instance for talks with Field Marshal Ayub Khan. Nehru passes away on May 27. Protest demonstrations held in Kashmir on December 21, against extending Article 356 and Article 357 of the Constitution to Jammu and Kashmir State.

1965

India and Pakistan go to war. Armed Pakistani infiltrators cross the cease-fire line on August 5 and, a month later, in September, the international border, near Chhamb. The war ends in a fresh cease-fire on September 23. Tashkent Agreement signed by the Indian Prime Minister and the Pakistani President on ending the war.

The Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) is formed in Pakistan held Kashmir with the aim of fighting for the secession of J&K from India.

1972

Shimla Agreement concluded on July 2 between Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, President of Pakistan and Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India. Resolution of Kashmir dispute postponed for a later meeting between the heads of governments of the two countries.

1974

Kashmir Accord signed on November 3 by the envoy of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Mirza Mohammed Afzal Beg envoy of Sheikh Abdullah.

1975

Sheikh Abdullah sworn in as Chief Minister on February 25 with the support of the Congress Legislature Party.

1977

Sheikh Abdullah resigns on March 27, after Congress party withdraws support to his government. State Assembly dissolved. On June 30, elections held to the State Assembly, widely regarded as the first free and fair elections in the State. National Conference wins 47 out of 76 seats.

1981

On January 23, Sheikh Abdullah formally nominates his son Farooq Abdullah as his political heir.

1982

Sheikh Abdullah passes away on September 8. Farooq Abdullah appointed Chief Minister.

1983

Farooq Abdullah leads the National conference to victory in the June Legislative Assembly elections.

1984

Jagmohan appointed Governor in April and Farooq Abdullah's government is dismissed on July 2. Farooq Abdullah's brother-in-law, G. M. Shah sworn in as Chief Minister with the support of Congress party.

1986

G. M. Shah Government dismissed on March 7. Farooq Abdullah concludes an agreement with Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and is sworn in as Chief Minister.

1987

Muslim United Front (MUF) founded as a political front of several Islamic organizations in the State. MUF opposes the National Conference-Congress electoral alliance. Farooq Abdullah wins the elections, held in March, to the State Legislative Assembly, amidst allegations of widespread rigging.

1988

Protests and anti-India demonstrations held in the Valley. Police open fire on the protestors, killing at least ten people. Protests continue and curfew is imposed in the Valley in August.

1989

July 31

Bomb blast occurs outside Srinagar Telegraph Office, which, the JKLF terms, is the first violent incident in the State's insurgency.

July

General (Retd) K V. Krishna Rao appointed Governor of the State.

August

Yusuf Halwai, a National Conference worker, is shot dead by terrorists.

December 8

Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of the then Union Home Minister, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, kidnapped by the JKLF.

December 13

Rubaiya released in exchange for five JKLF leaders. Victory celebrations held in Srinagar to mark leaders' release.

December 15

Five people killed in police firing, curfew imposed in the Valley

1990

January 19

Replacing Krishna Rao, Jagmohan appointed Governor of the State for a second time; Farooq Abdullah resigns as the State's Chief Minister.

January 20

35 protestors killed in Gawakadal bridge–police firing, Srinagar.

February 13

Lassa Koul, Director, Srinagar Doordarshan (television station), killed by terrorists.

March 1

Police firing on mass protests leave more than 40 persons dead. First reports surface of mass exodus by Kashmiri Pundits.

April 6

H.l. Khera, General Manager of a large public sector enterprise, Hindustan Machine Tools, and Mushir-ul-Haq, Vice-Chancellor, Kashmir University, abducted in Srinagar, and killed four days later, on April 10, by Jammu and Kashmir Students Liberation Force (JKSLF) activists.

May

Mohammed Din Gujjar, the shepherd who had alerted Indian security forces about the presence of Pakistani Army personnel in Indian controlled Kashmir (as part of Operation Gibraltar, 1965), killed by terrorists.

May 21

Mirwaiz Maulvi Farooq, the Imam of Juma Masjid and a noted religious and political leader of the State assassinated.

The funeral procession of the Mirwaiz is fired upon by security forces; an estimated 50 mourners killed in the firing.

May 24

Girish Chandra Saxena, a former head of India's external intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), replaces Jagmohan as Governor of the State.

1991

February 27

Nahida Imtiaz, daughter of Saifuddin Soz, then a senior NC leader, abducted by terrorists of Ikhwan-ul Muslimeen and later set free, on April 8, in exchange for a terrorist.

March-April

Three NC activists killed by terrorists on March 13, 23 and April 18.; Mir Ghulam Mustafa, noted MUF activist instrumental in the negotiations for the release of Rubiya Sayeed, killed on March 23.

March 31

Two Swedes, engineers employed with Uri Hydel Project, abducted by Muslim Janbaz Force (MJF); the two give a slip to their captors within a week, on July 6

June 28

K. Doraiswamy, a senior executive with the Indian Oil Corporation abducted by Ikhwan activists and released subsequently, on August 20, in exchange for the release of four terrorists.

August 13

S. L. Khosa, an insurance executive, abducted by Ikhwan activists and released three months later in exchange for a terrorist.

September

K C Gupta, a bank executive, abducted by Hizbullah activists, released later for a top Hizbullah terrorist.

The brother-in-law of the then Union Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad, abducted by Al-Umar, and set free in exchange for some terrorists.

Several teachers and doctors in Srinagar abducted by Al-Umar, and released in exchange for seven terrorists.

1992

January 26

Baharatiya Janata Party (BJP) holds Ekta Yatra (unity march) and hoists the Indian tricolour in Srinagar amidst total curfew and tight security. Heavy firing by terrorists reported across Srinagar during the event.

June 22

Six Israelis taken hostage by a terrorist front calling itself Pasdaran-e-Inquilabi Islam; Two abductors and a hostage die later in a scuffle between the abductors and the hostages.

May

Mushtaq Zargar, chief of Al-Umar arrested.

1993

January 6

Border Security Force (BSF) men indiscriminately fire and kill 40 persons in Sopore; also burn down a part of the town in retaliation for the killing of two colleagues.

March 9

All Party Huriyat Conference (APHC) founded as a united political front of all groups committed to the secession of Jammu and Kashmir State from India.

March 11

General (Retd) K . V. Krishna Rao assumes office as Governor for a second time.

April 22

State policemen strike work protesting the death of a constable in army custody.

May 1

Mushtaq Ahmed alias Israil Khan, intelligence chief of Ikhwan and a key figure in the 1991-abduction of several government executives, killed.

October 7

Operation Sahayak launched in four phases to clear Sopore of terrorists.

October 15

Hazratbal mosque besieged by terrorists and surrounded by security forces.

October 21

BSF fires at a group of protestors in Bij Behara; sixty people killed.

November 16

Hazratbal siege ends peacefully; terrorists holding the mosque surrender.

November 19

Nasrullah Mansur Langrayal, Chief Commander, Harkat-ul Mujahideen (HuM), arrested in Doda.

December 19

Master Ahsan Dar, J&K chief of Hizb-ul Mujahideen (HM) arrested.

1994

January

In a maiden attempt to secure the release of Langrayal, terrorists abduct two BSF men; government refuses to release Langrayal; terrorists kill abducted BSF men.

February 11

Maulana Masood Azhar, General Secretary of the HuM and Sajjad Afghani, the outfit's J&K military chief, arrested in Srinagar.

March 29

Lt. Gen. E.W Fernandes, Director General of Military Intelligence and four other senior officers killed in a bomb explosion while they were inspecting seized weapons in Badamibagh Cantonment. Lt. Gen. Fernandes is the highest ranking military officer to be killed by the insurgents till date.

May 17

JKLF leader Yasin Malik released from jail, declares renunciation of violence.

June 6

Two foreigners abducted by HuA to obtain the release of Langrayal, Masood and Afghani.

June 19

The Mirwaiz of South Kashmir, Qazi Nissar Ahmad, who demanded the unconditional release of the hostages, killed allegedly by Hizb-ul Mujahideen.

June 23

Following a hue and cry within the State and 'appeals' from Pakistan, the two foreign hostages held in captivity since June 6 released

October-November

Four foreign nationals taken hostage by HuA in the Indian capital, Delhi. Release of Langrayal, Masood and Afghani demanded.

Police stumble upon their hide-out in the northern Indian State of Uttar Pradesh and free the hostages. A British national of Pakistani origin, Ahmed Omar Sheikh, the mastermind behind the abductions, arrested.

1995

March 7

Following intelligence reports that terrorists of Hizbolla and the HuA are holed up in the Charar-e-Sharief shrine, security forces cordon off the town. The terrorists' joint group within the shrine is subsequently led by Mast Gul of the Hizbolla.

May 11

Army storms Charar-e-Sharief shrine; Mast Gul and Mohammad Zubair, leader of the HuA group, escape. A top terrorist of HuA, Abu Jindal arrested while escaping site of siege; The shrine and a part of the town burnt down in the storming.

July 3

Four foreigners abducted from Pahalgam; A shadowy outfit, Al Faran claims responsibility; Demands release of 21 terrorists held in Indian jails, including that of top HuA leaders.

July 7

HuA reiterates ban on Amarnath Yatra, a ban that was imposed by most terrorist groups in 1994 demanding removal of security bunkers around Hazartbal shrine; All terrorist outfits except HuA withdraw ban after security forces' bunkers are removed.

July 8

One of the four persons abducted from Pahalgam, Childs, an American, escapes from captivity; Abductors take two more foreigners hostage.

July 20

Bomb explosion in Jammu set off by HuA kills 20 persons and threatens Amarnath Yatra.

August 5-9

Amarnath Yatra held amidst sporadic attacks on pilgrims by HuA; No casualties.

December 4

Four terrorists killed in Darban, Anantnag district; A Turkish terrorist Abdul Hameed 'Turki', reported to be the leader of the Al Faran, also among terrorists killed. Security forces find no trace of foreign hostages. Indian security forces took custody of hostages, HuA alleges.

December 13

Indian intelligence sources hold that HuA terrorists killed hostages on this day, on Turki's orders, before he was killed by Indian security forces.

1996

March 30

Security forces storm JKLF's (Ammanullah's group) Hazratbal office; 33 terrorists killed wiping out JKLF (Ammanullah) entirely.

April

Elections for six parliamentary seats in the State held successfully.

June

Indian and Pakistani diplomats meet in Islamabad and announce an eight-point agenda for peace talks, including Kashmir; To set up mechanism to tackle Kashmir.

September

Elections to the State Legislative Assembly conducted successfully. Farooq Abdullah sworn in Chief Minister.

1997

March

Elections to the Legislative Council held; National Conference wins all but one seat; BJP bags a lone seat.

October 8

United States officially identifies HuA as terrorist outfit.

November 1

A top Lashkar-e Toiba terrorist, Abu Zabair, in-charge of terrorist activities in the border districts of Poonch and Rajouri killed by Indian Army, in Surankot area, Poonch.

November 4

Two microlight, pilotless aircraft found in Rajouri district; Lends new technological dimension to the ongoing insurgency in the Valley.

December 2

BSF men destroy HuA's main communication channel in the Valley.

1998

Year of terrorist massacres, eight instances where terrorists massacred civilian minorities of the State.

January 30

Panic firing by security forces on a search operation in Marwah, Doda district, kills nine civilians and injures forty others.

September

Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Sharief meet in New York; Announce agreement to resume peace talks, beginning with diplomats discussing peace, security and Kashmir in Islamabad.

October 4

Over 700 Islamic terrorists owing allegiance to Osama Bin Laden crossed over from Pakistan to Kashmir to participate in the insurgency, a London newspaper, Sunday Times reports.

1999

February

Indian and Pakistan Prime Ministers meet in Lahore; Sign Joint Declaration expressing resolve to settle all contentious issues between the two countries, including Kashmir, through bilateral dialogue.

April 7

Top Harkat-ul Mujahideen terrorist, Abu Bakar, killed in Surankote, Rajouri district.

May 26

India launches air attacks on intruders in Kargil.

June 13

Talks, in New Delhi, between Foreign Ministers of Pakistan and India fail to resolve the crisis; India continues military campaign against intruders.

July 4

US-Pakistan joint statement released, Pakistan agrees to "persuade" intruders to withdraw from Kargil heights.

July 11

Kargil intruders reported to be withdrawing.

September 7

BJP's candidate for Anantnag Parliament constituency, Haider Noorani killed in bomb blast during campaigning in Bijbehara.

September 13

Top Huriyat leaders including Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mohammad Yasin Malik chief of JKLF, arrested under Public Safety Act (PSA) while campaigning against the Parliamentary elections.

October 4

Two top Huriyat leaders, Mirwaiz Moulvi Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik (who was arrested earlier and released) arrested in Srinagar under PSA.

December 24

Indian Airlines Flight IC 814 from Kathmandu to New Delhi, hijacked enroute. Hijackers force the plane to Amritsar, Lahore, Dubai, and their final destination, Kandhar.

December 30

Lashkar-e Toiba's J&K chief Abu Muwaih killed at Shankarpora in Jammu

December 31

Three terrorists flown to Kandahar along with Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh. Hostages released, hijackers and released prisoners permitted to leave Kandahar; reach Pakistan. The released terrorists include two Pakistani nationals Maulana Masood Azhar and Ahmad Umar Syed Sheikh and a Kashmiri Mushtaq Ahmad Zargar.