Ethno-national conflicts in various forms and intensity continue to challenge the postcolonial states of South and Southeast Asia. In India, ethnic violence in the troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir has shown a sign of diminishing intensity since political power in the province was transferred to local parties through free and fair elections. In the north-eastern Indian state of Assam, ethnic violence has been endemic ever since India became independent in 1947. In the southern island of Mindanao in the Philippines, the insurgency-counterinsurgency violence between the state security forces and the various Moro insurgent outfits demonstrates few signs of abating, in spite of protracted negotiations and the signing of several peace agreements over the past two decades. Finally, in Thailand, a series of attacks by Muslim rebels in the south of the country forced the Thai government to acknowledge in 2003 that an armed insurgency was raging in the provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala.