From Partition to Peril: Tracing Kashmir's Strife Back to 1947

 

The conflict over Kashmir today stems from the violent partition of British India in 1947, which established two new countries: Muslim-majority Pakistan and Hindu-majority India. In the midst of mayhem and bloodshed that uprooted millions of people, the Muslim-majority but Hindu-ruled princely state of Jammu and Kashmir was left to decide whether to join India or Pakistan.

 

When in October 1947 Kashmir was invaded by Pakistani tribesmen armed by Pakistan, the maharaja requested Indian military aid on the condition of acceding to India. This resulted in the first Indo-Pakistani war, which in 1949 ended in a UN-brokered ceasefire and partition of Kashmir along what has since become known as the Line of Control. Both countries claimed all of it but each only controlled parts of it.

 

The unresolved state of Kashmir, partition trauma, and perpetual wars have ensured that the conflict remained very much alive, and today it is a hotbed of war between nuclear-powered India and Pakistan.

 

Source: Washington Post, Al Jazeera, BBC News