The Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) is a regional political party in the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu and ...

. Founded as the ''All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference'' by

Sheikh Abdullah Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah (5 December 1905 – 8 September 1982) was an Indian politician who played a central role in the politics of Jammu and Kashmir Abdullah was the founding leader of the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference (later rena ...

and

Chaudhry Ghulam Abbas Chaudhry Ghulam Abbas (4 February 1904 – 18 December 1967) was a leading politician of Jammu and Kashmir and the President of the Muslim Conference party. After his migration to Pakistan administered Kashmir in 1947, he became the head of t ...

in 1932 in the

princely state of Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir, officially known as the Princely State of Kashmir and Jammu, was a princely state during the Company rule in India from 1757 to 1858 as well as the British Raj in India from 1846 to 1952. The princely state was created afte ...

, the organisation renamed itself to "National Conference" in 1939 in order to represent all the people of the state. It supported the accession of the princely state to India in 1947. Prior to that, in 1941, a group led by Ghulam Abbas broke off from the National Conference and revived the old Muslim Conference. The revived Muslim Conference supported the accession of the princely state to Pakistan and led the movement for

Azad Kashmir Azad Jammu and Kashmir (; ), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir, is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee: * * * and constituting the western portion of the larger Ka ...

. Since 1947, the National Conference was in power in Jammu and Kashmir in one form or another till 2002, and again between 2009 and 2015. It implemented land reforms in the state, ensured the state's autonomy under the

Article 370 Article 370 of the Indian constitution gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, a region located in the northern part of Indian subcontinent and part of the larger region of Kashmir which has been the subject of a dispute between India, Pa ...

of the Indian Constitution, and formulated a separate

Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir The Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir was the legal Constitution which established the framework for the state government of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The constitution was adopted on 17 November 1956, and came into effect on 26 J ...

in 1957. Sheikh Abdullah's son

Farooq Abdullah Farooq Abdullah (born 21 October 1937) is an Indian politician who was Ex. President of Jammu & Kashmir National Conference. He has served as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir on several occasions since 1982, and as the union minister fo ...

(1981–2002, 2009–present) and grandson

Omar Abdullah Omar Abdullah (; born 10 March 1970) is an Indian politician and former Chief Minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. He became the 11th and the youngest Chief Minister of the State of Jammu and Kashmir, after forming a governme ...

(2002–2009) have led the party after Sheikh Abdullah's death. The party is a member of the

People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration The People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) is a political alliance between the several regional political parties in Jammu and Kashmir campaigning for autonomy for the region by restoring special status along with Article 35A of the ...

electoral alliance.

History

The pre-independence period

In October 1932,

founded the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference in collaboration with

Mirwaiz Yusuf Shah Mirwaiz Muhammad Yusuf Shah (19 February 1894 – 12 December 1968) was a mirwaiz of Kashmir. He also served as a President of Azad Kashmir. Early life Yusuf Shah was born on 19 February 1894 (13 Shaban 1311 Hijri) at Rajauri kadal to Ghu ...

and

. On 11 June 1939 it was renamed as the All Jammu and Kashmir National Conference. This prompted a section of the leadership to break away and re-establish the Muslim Conference, with links to the

All-India Muslim League The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party established in Dhaka in 1906 when a group of prominent Muslim politicians met the Viceroy of British India, Lord Minto, with the goal of securing Muslim interests on the Indian subcontin ...

. The National Conference was affiliated to the

All India States Peoples Conference All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All ...

. Sheikh Abdullah was elected its president in 1947. In 1946, the National Conference launched an intensive agitation against the state government. It was directed against the

Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir The Dogra dynasty of Dogra Rajputs from the Shiwalik Himalayas created Jammu and Kashmir when all dynastic kingdoms in India were being absorbed by the East India Company. Events led the Sikh Empire to recognise Jammu as a vassal state in 1820 ...

Hari Singh Maharaja Sir Hari Singh (September 1895 – 26 April 1961) was the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir (princely state), Jammu and Kashmir. Hari Singh was the son of Amar Singh and Bhotiali Chib. In 1923, followi ...

. The slogan of the agitation was "

Quit Kashmir The Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) is a regional political party in the Indian union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Founded as the ''All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference'' by Sheikh Abdullah and Chaudhry Ghulam A ...

The post-independence period

In the elections held in September 1951, National Conference won all 75 seats of the

Constituent assembly of Jammu and Kashmir Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir was a body of representatives elected in 1951 to formulate the constitution of Jammu and Kashmir. The Constituent Assembly was dissolved on 26 January 1957, based on Mir Qasim resolution it adopted and r ...

. Sheikh Abdullah remained

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

until his dismissal in August 1953 on the grounds of conspiracy against the state of India. Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad became prime minister of the state, and Sheikh Abdullah was arrested on 9 August 1953. In 1965 the National Conference merged with the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

(INC) and became the Jammu and Kashmir branch of the Indian National Congress. Sheikh Abdullah was again arrested in 1965 until 1968 for conspiracy against the state. Sheikh Abdullah's splinter

Plebiscite Front The All Jammu and Kashmir Plebiscite Front, or Plebiscite Front, was a political party in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir that called for a " popular plebiscite" to decide if the state should remain part of India, join Pakistan or become ...

faction later appropriated the name of the original party when Abdullah was allowed to return to power in February 1975 after striking a deal with the central government. In 1977, the National Conference he led won the state assembly elections, and Sheikh Abdullah became chief minister. His son

succeeded him as the chief minister on his death on 8 September 1982. In June 1983 elections, the JKNC, led by Farooq Abdullah, again won a comfortable majority. In July 1984 Farooq's brother-in-law

Ghulam Mohammad Shah Ghulam Mohammad Shah or G. M. Shah or Gul Shah (20 July 1920 – 6 January 2009) was an Indian politician who was Chief Minister of the state of Jammu and Kashmir from 2 July 1984 to 6 March 1986. He succeeded his brother-in-law Farooq Ab ...

split the party. Acting on the behest of the central government, the Governor dismissed Farooq as chief minister and replaced him with

. His government was dismissed in March 1986 and Presidential rule was imposed. In the contested state assembly elections of 1987, the JKNC formed an alliance with the INC, and was declared to have won a majority. Farooq Abdullah again became chief minister and on Abdullah's watch an insurgency against the State government and India began. Abdullah was dismissed again in 1990 by the Union Government and Presidential rule was imposed in the state. In 1991 the state elections were cancelled due to a revolt by the people.

1996 onwards

In Jammu and Kashmir state assembly elections in 1996, the JKNC led by Abdullah was awarded the election yet again winning 57 seats out of a total 87. This election like its predecessors has been deemed to be rigged and Abdullah stepped down in 2000. His son, Omar Abdullah then took up the reins of power in the state. But in 2002 state assembly elections, the JKNC won only 28 seats, with the

Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi, the city of Jammu, with an area of , ...

(PDP) emerging in the Kashmir Valley as a contender for power. In the December 2008 state assembly elections, no single party was able to get the majority. The JKNC led by Farooq's son

emerged as a single largest party, winning 28 seats. After the elections, on 30 December 2008 the JKNC formed an alliance with the INC which had won 17 seats. Omar Abdullah became the Chief Minister of this

coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

on 5 January 2009. JKNC and INC contested 2009 general election in alliance. INC won all the two seats of Jammu region but lost Ladakh seat to NC rebel who contested as an independent candidate. NC won all the three seats of the

Kashmir Valley The Kashmir Valley, also known as the ''Vale of Kashmir'', is an intermontane valley concentrated in the Kashmir Division of the Indian- union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The valley is bounded on the southwest by the Pir Panjal Range and ...

in 2009. During this period the JKNC has experienced increasing controversies over the Accession of Kashmir to India. Protests against the government in 2010 when approximately 100 protesters (one as young as 11) were killed as the result of live ammunition being fired by state paramilitary forces. A torture scandal was exposed by the

WikiLeaks WikiLeaks () is an international Nonprofit organization, non-profit organisation that published news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous Source (journalism), sources. Julian Assange, an Australian Internet activism, Internet acti ...

, revelations which were subsequently aired on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

. In the 2014 general election, the NC contested the election in an alliance with

but did not win a single seat. Out of six seats in the state, PDP and

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...

(BJP) won three each. During 2014 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election, INC broke its alliance with JKNC. JKNC contested all the assembly seats but won only 15 seats, a decrease of 13 seats. PDP won 28 seats and became the largest party in the assembly followed by BJP winning 25 seats. Omar Abdullah resigned as a chief minister on 24 December 2014.

Prime Ministers of Jammu and Kashmir

Chief Ministers of the state of Jammu and Kashmir

Deputy Chief Ministers of Jammu and Kashmir

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

Jammu & Kashmir National Conference Party Website
*Chowdhary, Rekha

''South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal'', 3, 2009. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jammu and Kashmir National Conference State political parties in Jammu and Kashmir Political parties established in 1939 Regionalist parties in India 1939 establishments in India Political parties in India