This is a list of active separatist movements in Asia. Separatism can include autonomism and secessionism, despite the fact that independence is the primary goal of many separatist movements. Many separatist movements arise as a result of religious, racial, social, and cultural disparities between certain peoples and the majority or ruling class in a country.
Criteria What is and is not considered an autonomist or secessionist movement is sometimes contentious. Entries on this list must meet three criteria: They are active movements with active members. They are seeking greater autonomy or self-determination for a geographic region (as opposed to personal autonomy). They are citizens/people of the conflict area and do not come from another country.
Under each region listed is one or more of the following: De facto state (de facto entity): for unrecognized regions with de facto autonomy. (Excluding Uncontacted peoples) Proposed state: proposed name for a seceding sovereign state. Proposed autonomous area: for movements towards greater autonomy for an area but not outright secession. De facto autonomous government: for governments with de facto autonomous control over a region. Government-in-exile: for a government based outside of the region in question, with or without control. Political party (or parties): for political parties involved in a political system to push for autonomy or secession. Militant organisation(s): for armed organisations. Advocacy group(s): for non-belligerent, non-politically participatory entities. Ethnic/ethno-religious/racial/regional/religious group(s).
Afghanistan
South Turkestan Ethnic group: Uyghurs, Tajiks, Uzbeks, Turkmens, and other Turkic peoples Proposed state: Southern Turkestan Militant organisations: Turkestan Freedom Tigers
Hazarajat/Hazaristan Ethnic group: Hazara people Proposed: self determination for Hazarajat Political party: Hazarajat freedom movement
Bactria Ethnic group: Tajiks and Uzbeks Proposed state: Bactria Advocacy group: Movement for the Right to Self-Determination of Persian-Speaking People
Armenia
Goycha and Zangezur Ethnic group: Western Azerbaijanis Proposed state: Goycha-Zangezur Republic Advocacy group: Western Azerbaijan Society
Bangladesh
Chittagong Hill Tracts
Ethnic group: Jumma people Proposed: Autonomy for the Chittagong Hill Tracts Political parties: Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti, United People's Democratic Front
Zale'n-gam Ethnic group: Kuki Proposed state: Zale'n-gam Militant organisation: Kuki National Army, Kuki-Chin National Front Advocacy group: Kuki National Organisation
Zogam (Parts of Chittagong hill tracts) Ethnic group: Zomi Proposed state: Zogam Militant organisation: Zomi Revolutionary Army
Bandarban district Ethnic group: Mro people Proposed: autonomy for the Mro people
Sylhet Division Ethnic group: Khasi people Proposed: autonomy for the Khasi people in Sylhet Division
China
Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region
Ethnic group: Uyghurs Proposed state: East Turkestan Government-in-exile: East Turkistan Government-in-Exile Militant organizations: Turkistan Islamic Party, East Turkestan Liberation Organization Advocacy group: World Uyghur Congress, Campaign For Uyghurs, East Turkistan National Awakening Movement
Hong Kong
Ethnic group: Han Chinese of Hong Kong Proposed state: Hong Kong or reunification with the as a Dependent Territory Political parties: Youngspiration, Hong Kong Indigenous, Hong Kong National Party, Alliance of Resuming British Sovereignty over Hong Kong and Independence, Hong Kong Independence Party
Tibet
Ethnic group: Tibetan people Proposed state: Tibet (includes all of Xizang and parts of Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu, and Yunnan) Government-in-exile: Central Tibetan Administration Advocacy groups: Tibetan Youth Congress, International Tibet Independence Movement
Minor movements Shanghainese nationalism Inner Mongolian independence movement Manchuria Independence Movement Guangxi independence movement Yunnan independence movement Guangdong Independence Movement
Georgia
Territory of the former Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic
Ethnic group: Abkhazians De facto state: (recognized by 5 UN members) Political organization: Government of Abkhazia Militant organization: Abkhazian Armed Forces
Territory of the former South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast
People: Ossetians De facto state: (recognized by 5 UN members) Proposition: Recognition of South Ossetia as an independent state or unification with Russia or unification with to form a united independent Ossetia Political organisation: Government of South Ossetia Militant organisation: Armed Forces of South Ossetia
Javakheti Ethnic group: Armenians in Samtskhe–Javakheti Proposed: Autonomy for the region Javakhk (Javakheti) or unification with Political party: United Javakhk Democratic Alliance
India
Separatist movements Nagaland
Proposed state: Nagalim Ethnic group: Naga people Militant organization: National Socialist Council of Nagaland
Kashmir Proposed: independence or autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir from India or unification with Pakistan Ethnic group: Kashmiris Political organizations: All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Jammu & Kashmir Ittihadul Muslimeen Political parties (autonomy): Jammu and Kashmir People's Conference, Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party, Jammu & Kashmir National Conference Militant organizations: Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hizbul Mujahideen, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front
Kamtapur Proposed state: Kamtapur or becoming a state of India Ethnic group: Rajbanshi people Political parties (statehood): Kamtapur People's Party Militant organization: Kamtapur Liberation Organisation Kukiland Proposed state: Zale'n-gam Ethnic group: Kuki, Bnei Menashe Militant organisation: Kuki National Army Advocacy group: Kuki National Organisation
Manipur
Proposed state: Manipur Ethnic groups: Meitei, Pangal, Naga Government-in-exile: Manipur State Council Militant organizations: United National Liberation Front, People's Liberation Army of Manipur, Kangleipak Communist Party, People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak, Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup, Maoist Communist Party of Manipur
Zogam (In India the claimed territories are: Barak Valley, Tripura, East Jaintia Hills, Dima Hasao district and Karbi Anglong district of Assam) Ethnic group: Zomi Proposed state: Zogam Militant organisation: Zomi Revolutionary Army
Punjab, India Proposed state: Khalistan Ethnic group: Punjabis Political organizations: Dal Khalsa, Sikhs for Justice, Waris Punjab De Political parties: Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De), Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) Militant organizations: Babbar Khalsa, Khalistan Commando Force, Khalistan Liberation Force, Khalistan Zindabad Force, Khalistan Tiger Force, ISYF, AISSF
Indonesia
Aceh Ethnic group: Acehnese Proposed state: Aceh Militant organisation: Free Aceh Movement (negotiated peace with the Indonesian government in 2005, and now it is a civil movement, but the separatism still has supporters) Advocacy group: Aceh–Sumatra National Liberation Front (member of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization) Bali Ethnic group: Balinese Proposed autonomous area or state: Bali Advocacy group: Bali Government, ForBALI Banten and West Java Ethnic group: Sundanese Proposed autonomous area or state: Pasundan Advocacy group: Free Pasundan Movement Kalimantan Ethnic group: Dayaks Proposed autonomous area or state: Kalimantan Maluku Ethnic group: Moluccans Proposed state: South Maluku Government-in-exile: Republic of South Maluku (member of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization) Advocacy group: Maluku Sovereignty Front Minahasa Peninsula Ethnic group: Minahasan Proposed state: Greater Minahasa Advocacy group: Free Minahasa Movement Nias Island Ethnic group: Nias People Proposed State: Republik Nias Merdeka Riau Ethnic group: Riau Malays Proposed state: Riau or unification with Advocacy group: Free Riau Movement Sumbawa Ethnic group: Sumbawan Proposed autonomous area: Sumbawa West Timor Ethnic Group: Atoni Proposed State: West Timor or Unification with
Iran
Khūzestān Province
Ethnic group: Khuzestani Arabs Proposed state: Al-Ahwaz National Libration Movement of Ahwaz Militant organisations: Al-Ahwaz Arab People's Democratic Popular Front, National Liberation Movement of Ahwaz, Ahwaz Arab Renaissance Party, Ahwaz Liberation Organisation, Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz Advocacy group: Democratic Solidarity Party of Al-Ahwaz (member of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization)
Iranian Kurdistan
Ethnic groups: Kurds Proposed state: Kurdistan Political parties: Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (member of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization) Militant organisations: Kurdistan Free Life Party, Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan
Iranian Azerbaijan
Ethnic groups: Iranian Azerbaijanis Proposed state: South Azerbaijan or unification with Advocacy group: South Azerbaijan National Awakening Movement, Azerbaijan National Resistance Organization Turkemenshara
Sistan and Baluchestan
Ethnic group: Balochis Proposed state: Balochistan in Sistan and Baluchestan province with Pakistani Balochistan and Baloch majority territories in Southern Afghanistan Militant organisations: Jundallah (until 2011), People's Fighters Front ( Jaish ul-Adl,), Ansar Al-Furqan
Iraq
Proposed state:
Ethnic group: Kurds Current de jure and de facto autonomous region: Iraqi Kurdistan Political parties: Kurdistan Independence Movement, Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iraq, Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (members of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization) Militant organisation: Peshmerga
Proposed autonomous area: Nineveh Plains Ethnic group: Assyrians, Christians in Iraq, Mandaeans Proposed state: Political parties: Assyrian Democratic Movement, Assyrian Universal Alliance (member of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization), Assyria Liberation Party Militant organisation: Nineveh Plain Protection Units Advocacy groups: Assyrian General Conference, Assyria Council of Europe Proposed autonomous area: Al-Rafidain Autonomous Region Ethnic groups: Assyrians, Turkmen, Yazidis Political parties: Turkmen Rescue Foundation, Yazidi Independent Supreme Council and the Al-Rafidain Organization
Proposed state: Basra Current de jure and de facto autonomous region: Basra Governorate Proposal: Basra has proposed uniting with the Dhi Qar and Maysan governorates as an autonomous region or total independence
Turkmeneli Ethnic group: Iraqi Turkmen Proposed autonomous region or state: Turkmeneli Political party: Iraqi Turkmen Front (member of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization)
Sinjar District Ethnic group: Yazidis Proposal: autonomy for the Sinjar region, including the Sinjar Mountains Political parties: Yazidi Movement for Reform and Progress, Sinjar Alliance
Sunnis in Iraq Religious group: Sunnis Proposed: creation of an autonomous Sunni region within Iraq
Al-Zubair District Proposed: elevating in the Al-Zubair District into a province
South Iraq Religious group: Shiites Proposed: autonomy for south Iraq
Japan Okinawa
Ethnic group: Ryukyuan Proposed state or autonomous area: Republic of Ryukyu or Ryukyu Kingdom Political parties: Kariyushi Club, formerly Political groups: Ryukyu independence movement Note: The supporters of the movement want the Amami Islands in Kagoshima Prefecture, former part of the defunct Ryukyu Kingdom until 1609, to be part of independent Ryukyu.
Kazakhstan
North Kazakhstan Region and other ethnic Russian parts of Kazakhstan ethnic group: Russians in Kazakhstan proposed: Petropavlovsk People’s Soviet
Mangystau Region Ethnic group: Kazakhs Proposed state: Adaistan
Kyzylorda Region