preview

Essay on India and Pakistan- Conflict over Kashmir

Best Essays

Introduction
In late 1947, the newly created states of India and Pakistan went to war over the valley of Kashmir. A United Nations brokered ceasefire divided the state into Indian and Pakistani controlled territories, and resolved that a referendum would be held in which the people of Kashmir would be able to choose to join either country. The referendum has not been held to this day. India granted its portion of Kashmir a special status within its constitution, allowing for a great degree of self-autonomy. However, successive Kashmiri governments have been dissolved by the government of India, and elections have only been held in the presence of its armed forces. In 1965, Pakistan and India waged a second indecisive war over Kashmir. In …show more content…

Within a few days of the partition of the Indian subcontinent in August 1947 nearly all of the 560 odd Princely States joined either India or Pakistan. The case of the Princely State of Kashmir, however, is one that remains unresolved after more than fifty years of conflict. The U.N. mandated plebiscite has never taken place, and the history of the various regions of Kashmir has proceeded in a divergent manner since the division of the state along what is now known as the Line of Control. India granted the part of Kashmir that it controlled a special autonomous status under Article 370 of its constitution. The Maharaja was removed, and a new government was formed under the populist leader of the National Conference, Sheikh Abdullah known as the Lion of Kashmir‟, Sheikh Abdullah was to become the most important politician in the history of the province. Upon becoming Prime Minister he pursued a program of land reform in Kashmir, measures that were desperately needed by the Muslim peasantry, the majority of whom had been discriminated against during the years of Dogra rule. In 1964, there were brief hopes for peace. In July 1965, the Pakistan army launched “Operation Gibraltar”, a plan which aimed to send infiltrators into Indian-occupied Kashmir to bring about a popular rebellion. The plan was a resounding failure. Few if any Kashmiris were interested in taking militant action against India, and the war that followed merely resulted in a stalemate. It was

Get Access