Kashmir

7/1/26

Overview

Since the formation of India and Pakistan in 1947, both countries have fought over the region known as Kashmir. Containing a Muslim majority, but ruled by Hindu dominated India, Kashmir has been the trigger of multiple conflicts between India and Pakistan, and has even drawn China into the fray. Add to this the nuclear arsenals of all three countries, and it becomes clear why Kashmir remains one of the world’s most dangerous potential flashpoints. Join Active Minds as we explore Kashmir and seek to understand its pivotal role in shaping South Asia.

Key Lecture Points

  • Kashmir, a region about the size of Utah, has been a source of confrontation between India and Pakistan since 1947. This territorial dispute has brought India and Pakistan to war several times and resulted in an ongoing militant insurgency. This dispute is a continuing concern to the rest of the world because both India and Pakistan are nuclear powers.
  • Many regional analysts also now describe Kashmir not only as a territorial and political dispute, but also as one of the world’s most strategically important transboundary water conflicts.
  • The Kashmiri region consists of 3 parts: the major portion (45%) is Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir; 35% is Pakistani-controlled Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan and 20% is the Chinese-controlled areas of Aksai Chin and Trans-Karakoram.
  • In 1947 British-ruled India became independent and was partitioned into India and Pakistan. Jammu and Kashmir, with a largely Muslim population but a Hindu ruler, signed an instrument of accession, putting the area under Indian protection. Pakistan, created to provide a homeland for the subcontinent’s Muslims, objected.
  • The first war between India and Pakistan for control of Kashmir broke out in 1947 and when it ended in 1949 the region was divided between the two countries along much the same ceasefire lines as it is today.
  • Border disputes between India and China in the Kashmiri territory flared up into brief wars in 1962 and 1963. and incidents continued intermittently into the 1990s. In 1993 and 1996, India and China defined a Line of Control for the disputed border and mutually agreed to abide by it, an agreement which remains in effect to date.
  • The past 35 years have seen the rise of independence movements in the region as well as an Islamist insurgency backed by Pakistan. Pakistan has repeatedly called for a plebiscite, believing the Muslim majority in the region would vote to join Pakistan. India has refused to hold a referendum saying the participation of the people of Jammu and Kashmir in Indian state elections indicates their acceptance of Indian authority and that a plebiscite is not necessary.
  • Since 2018, politics in the Indian-administered region of Jammu and Kashmir has undergone one of the most dramatic transformations since independence. The period was marked by the collapse of the last elected state government, the revocation of the region’s constitutional autonomy, direct federal rule, new electoral arrangements, and the gradual return of electoral politics.

Discussion Questions

  • What historical events and geographic factors led to the long-standing territorial dispute over Kashmir?
  • What are the implications to US foreign policy of the territorial dispute?
  • Why do you think the territorial dispute over Kashmir has gone on so long? How do think it will be resolved—which scenario do you think is most likely to happen?
  • Have you ever been to Kashmir? India or Pakistan? What struck you most?

More to Explore

Books For Further Reading

  • Lamb,Alastair. Kashmir: A Disputed Legacy 1846-1990. Roxford Books, 1991. 368 pages. An extensively researched, foundational text on the diplomatic history and geopolitical origins of the dispute.
  • Peer, Basharat. Curfewed Night: One Kashmiri Journalist's Frontline Account of Life, Love, and War in His Homeland. Scribner, 2010. 240 pages. A powerful, haunting memoir by a Kashmiri journalist detailing the impact of the insurgency on daily life in the 1990s.
  • Schofield, Victoria. Kashmir in Conflict: India, Pakistan and the Unending War. I.B. Tauris, 2010. 336 pages. A balanced, comprehensive overview of the historical and ongoing geopolitical tensions across the Line of Control.