Research paper
What are reasons for conflict between India and Pakistan on the Kashmir issue?
The conflict between India and Pakistan, two nations united by history but divided by destiny, runs deep. Their rivalries over five decades have prevented both countries from realizing their full economic and geopolitical potential. Most of the noted political scientists and leaders on both sides of the borders feel that the Kashmir issue is the major cause of this rivalry. Kashmir is small region in north India; a part of the Jammu and Kashmir state i.e. the northern most state in India, nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas, the Kashmir region is of great strategic importance and beauty which makes a very prized possession. Kashmir was controlled by the Durrani Empire of Afghanistan during the mughal rule in India, later taken over by the Sikh empire under maharaja ranjit Singh in the mid 19th century and further sold to maharaja gulab Singh by the British. Thus four takeovers of the state within three centuries show how important the valley of Kashmir was for the leaders of the Indian sub-continent. The reason for this importance is the fact that apart from its high snow-clad mountains, scenic spots, beautiful valleys, rivers with ice-cold water, attractive lakes and springs and ever-green fields, dense forests and beautiful health resorts, which enhance its grandeur and are a source of great attraction for tourists, Kashmir also shares contiguous boundaries with Russia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and Tibet that deserve constant vigil and has made the State very important geographically, politically, economically and from the military point of view.
The Kashmir conflicts between India and Pakistan is one of the longest running conflicts in the history of the world, the seeds of which were sown during the Indian independence struggle in the 1940’s when India and Pakistan were the same country. The British while granting the Indians independence decided to...