People in the Indian-administered region of Jammu and Kashmir have suffered longstanding insecurity owing to a territorial dispute involving China, India and Pakistan. Between 2007 and 2009, schools in Jammu and Kashmir took part in a pilot IHL programme, recognizing the value in promoting humanitarian principles among young people to guide their future choices. Based on its success, India’s Education Ministry agreed to consider whether to incorporate IHL into the secondary curriculum. Meanwhile, most Indian universities already include an IHL component in their law programmes.
The concept of abiding by humanitarian norms in armed conflict is embedded in several ancient Indian epics and religious works familiar to much of the Indian population, and may influence local attitudes towards IHL.
