In Kashmir, the so called 'separatism' is basically a Sunni movement, espoused that too by a section of political misfits wanting to capitalise their existence with a so called cause, with very little Shia participation.
Further, the religion that was prevalent was Suifsm with overpowering Kashmiri blend.
The concept of what is Kashmir and is Kashmiyat emerged in sufi poetry which has a unique blend of Mahayana Budhism ,Vedanta and Islamic Tassavuf in kashmiri thought .
Here is some examples of Sufism from the poetry of some Sufi saints/ sages.
(1)
Yot yithh zanamuss kenh chhunaa Laarun
Daarnaai daarun Soham Soo
Brahma Vishnu Maheshwar Gaarun
Daarnaai daarun Soham Soo.
Ram Ram karun gau nam sandarun
Dharnai dharun......Sohum su.
( shah Gafoor )
After being born ,What is here to gain ;
So hold SOHAM kriya for existence .
Create Brahma , Vishnu and Maheshwara
And own SOHAM kriya for existence .
(got this from Lawrence's Valley of Kashmir)
(2)
Raahe badh Nishi kar Traahi Bhagwaan
Puniyee Paap Traavithh kar Yaksaan.
Voan samad Miran Shastra heyoo
Paru OM Soo Om SOHAM Soo
( Samad Mir )
Be away from the misleading path
Think not of evil or Good but be unvarying ,
Samad Mir speaks the message of shastras
And recite OM and SOHAM soo .
Some more:
Ahmed Shah Batwari:-
"Vishnas ti Krishnas Raesh Maidanas, Mahaganesh tate kas kare namaskar; Gange-raaz byuthum Gange-bal thanas, jan chum mileth jahaanas seet"
Ayub Betab: -
"Dyanas manz mas Shankar chunho parvati mozaan, kamdevas van baan chalevaeth yokun karehaes dhyaan".
Kashmir was never for Pakistan. If it were so, then when the tribal hordes officered by the Pak Army roaring into the Kashmir Valley would have been helped by the Kashmiris. They did not.
Further, the Valley would have erupted after the Instrument of Accession was signed, if Kashmir identified itself with Pakistan, which was born to be an Islamic State. In fact, it was Sheik Obdullah, the leader of Kashmir and the Muslim (yes, it was called then the Muslim Conference) Conference was the person who nudged the Maharaja to sign the Instrument.
The force majeure was Nehru's acquiescing to UN mediation and ceasefire. This catapulted the idea that there were more dimension to Kashmir than India. This theory was fed fat, by the Pakistanis and their backers, namely the US and UK, the latter most vociferously and being leaders of the world then, their canard stuck. This theory was given able assistance by such people as Alastaire Lamb, whose claim was to be an 'expert' on Kashmir.
And then in Kashmir, the political mess created shortly after thereafter by the Govt of India was, when Sheik Obdullah was made a hero one day and a villain he next.
The Sheik was the undisputed leader of Kashmir, the same way as Gandhi was for India. The manner in which he was being handled, slowly alienated the Muslims of the Valley.
Notwithstanding, it will be recalled that both during 1965 and 1999, it was the Kashmiris who alerted the Indian Army of the Pak infiltrators that led to disastrous consequences for Pakistan.
Therefore, to view Kashmir as a secessionist movement would be an incorrect surmise observing the chaos at times created in urban areas as Srinagar and its outskirts, Sopore, Baramullah or Ganderbal. These are the areas where it is the High Noon of the belief that Kashmir is in a grip of unrest. To rationalise, these are also the areas where vested political interests, to include Pak sponsored Hurriyat, play their cards to ensure their relevance to Kahsmiri politics that some have made an emotive issue of 'separate and exclusive identity within the ambit of the Indian Constitution', while some have made it a crusade to join Pakistan.
Is the Kashmir unrest an Islamic issue or not?
It is for the reason that the various terrorists groups are not malcontent of the Kashmiri people, but Pakistan sponsored terrorist imports from the world over that espouse the Islamic cause, which has aggrandised post Bush's War on Terror, which the Muslims have given a new image as War on Islam.
Therefore, what is happening in Kashmir is not really of Kashmiri character, but an alien Islam that has no resemblance to Kashmiri Islam.
Pakistan's Islamic jihad has overtaken Kashmir, in some areas, at best.