Many disenchanted Kashmiris continue to demand independence or freedom from India. Written by a leading authority on Kashmir’s troubled past, this book revisits the topic of independence for the region (also known as Jammu and Kashmir, or J&K), and explores exactly why this aspiration has never been fulfilled. In a rare India-Pakistan agreement, they concur that neither J&K, nor any part of it, can be independent. Charting a complex history and intense geo-political rivalry from Maharaja Hari Singh’s leadership in the mid-1920s to the present, this book offers an essential insight into the disputes that have shaped the region. As tensions continue to rise following government-imposed COVID-19 lockdowns, Snedden asks a vital question: what might independence look like and just how realistic is this aspiration?

Kashmir is one of the most protracted and bloody occupations in the world—and one of the most ignored. Under an Indian military rule that, at half a million strong, exceeds the total number of US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, freedom of speech is non-existent, and human- rights abuses and atrocities are routinely visited on its Muslim-majority population. In the last two decades alone, over seventy thousand people have died. Ignored by its own corrupt politicians, abandoned by Pakistan and the West, which refuses to bring pressure to bear on its regional ally, India, the Kashmiri people’s ongoing quest for justice and self- determination continues to be brutally suppressed. Exploring the causes and consequences of the occupation, Kashmir: The Case for Freedom is a passionate call for the end of occupation, and for the right of self- determination for the Kashmiri people.

This book uses an innovative people-centered approach to the Kashmir problem to shed new light on why postcolonial partitions remain unfinished and why the wounds of postcolonial nation-state formation in South Asia continue to fester. "Kashmir" is viewed as a metaphor for the permanent internal wars of partition that mark the South Asian experience. Chapters sensitively bring Kashmiri voices to the fore to examine Kashmir in the national discourses of India and Pakistan, resistance in the Kashmiri imagination and the Kashmir conflict in a global context. The book foregrounds how the space of Kashmir as a cultural, historical and political sphere persists and continues to haunt the postcolonial national present as the people of Kashmir and their cultural, literary and artistic productions cannot be contained within the regnant paradigms of the nations across which the region is partitioned. Additionally, the book explores how long-term resolution would demand engagement with historical forces, political actors and social formations that exceed the nation-state. An important contribution to the study of this troubled region, this book will be of interest to academics and researchers of modern South Asian history and politics as well as comparative politics and international relations.

Why has the valley of Kashmir, famed for its beauty and tranquillity, become a major flashpoint, threatening the stability of a region of great strategic importance and challenging the integrity of the Indian state? This book examines the Kashmir conflict in its historical context, from the period when the valley was an independent kingdom right up to the struggles of the present day. Located on the borders of China, Central Asia and the Sub-Continent, the insurgency in the valley has also created serious tensions between India and Pakistan. Drawing upon research in India and Pakistan, as well as historical sources, this book traces the origins of the state in the 19th century and the controversial "sale" by the British of the predominantly Muslim valley to a Hindu Maharaja in 1846. Through an exploration of the implications for Kashmir of independence in 1947, it gives a critical account of why, for Kashmir, self-determination may seem a more attractive option than affiliation to a larger multi-racial whole.

Pakistani sponsored jihad in Jammu and Kashmir started in 1947; and despite death of tens of thousands of innocent people it has not ended yet. All the signs are that because of Pakistani obsession to capture Kashmir at any cost, this jihad, bloodshed and destruction will continue. Sponsored by United Kashmir Peoples National Party

Kashmir dispute has to be seen as human issue, and not as a territorial gain, or a strategic advantage. Like anyone else, I have no solution to this dispute that could be acceptable to all concerned, but I know what is not workable and what will not provide much desired peace and stability in the region: and that is division of the State or its accession to any country. Kashmir dispute should not be used to settle score of the past tragedies or past adventures, for example, to avenge problems of 1965, 1971, 1980s, proxy war or Kargil adventure. Also Kashmir should not be used as a battleground for competing political and religious ideologies, as it is happening on both sides of the divide. Jammu and Kashmir is a multi-religious and multi ethnic former Princely State. All citizens of Jammu and Kashmir - Pundits, Sikhs, Buddhists, Shias, Ismahilies, pro Pakistan, pro India and pro- independence, and others must have equal rights; and we must not target any community for their beliefs. We must put the past behind us and make a new start by inviting pundits and others who were uprooted from their homes because of political, communal and armed conflict back in to their homes and compensate their losses. We must build bridges of confidence and make sincere endeavours to eradicate extremism, violence, religious intolerance and hatred. However, if these war mongers and fanatics are not brought under control then my fear is that they will endanger peace, stability and future of the entire region. So time is running out, and those in position to take appropriate action, must act and act soon.

An excellent presentation of the many complex factors which stem from the Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan. The author as the original Czech member of the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan, brings to his narrative first-hand experience. Originally published in 1954. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.