It is a commendable attempt on the part of the author to study a significant aspect of the modern history of Kashmir. He has rationally and systematically analysed the reasons behind the formation of the Muslim Conference. He has correctly estimated the despotic and autocratic nature of the Dogra rule, the exploitation of the peasantry at the hands of the governing class, the agrarian crisis, discontent of the labour class, educational growth and intellectual awakening among theKashmiri Muslims, the role of socio-religious reform movements, the support of Indian Muslims in general and those of Punjab is in particular as the potential factors leading to the emergence of the phenomenon embodying the Muslim Conference in Kashmir.

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?

In Historical Title, Self-Determination and the Kashmir Question Fozia Nazir Lone offers a critical re-examination of the Kashmir question. Through an interdisciplinary approach and international law perspective, she analyses political practices and the substantive international law on the restoration of historical title and self-determination. The book analytically examines whether Kashmir was a State at any point in history; the effect of the 1947 occupation by India/Pakistan; the international law implications of the constitutional incorporation of this territory and the ongoing human rights violations; whether Kashmiris are entitled to restore their historical title through the exercise of self-determination; and whether the Kashmir question could be resolved with the formation of international strategic alliance to curb danger of spreading terrorism in Kashmir.

Historical study.