Currently, Kashmir Is A Widely Debated Issue Which Has Attracted Attention Of All Nation-States.About Two Thousand Years Ago, Kashmir Was A Great Buddhist Centre And Some Of The Famous Buddhist Councils Were Held Here. After Return Back To Brahmanical Dominance Kashmir Continued To Be One Of The Principal Centres Of Sanskrit Learning. Islam Had Come To India In 712 A.D. When Arabs Had Established Their Foothold In Sindh Province Of The Country.Kashmir Continued To Be Tender Spot Between India And Pakistan. Two Wars Were Fought Over It In 1965 And 1971. The Second War Resulted In Truncation Of Pakistan When Its Erstwhile Wing Of East Palikstan Emerged As An Independent And Sovereign Nation Of Bangladesh.To Understand And Form A Balanced View On This Vexed Problem, This Book Attempts To Provide Glimpses Into History Of Various Regions Of The State, Its Foundation In 1846, Dogras Rule For Over Hundred Years, Pakistani Invasions Including Aggression In Kargil And Socio-Political Developments In The Truncated State After Independence Of India In 1947. It Deals In Length Developments In Pakistan, Afghanistan And Their Fallout On The State In The Form Of Proxy War Described Fully. It Also Deals With The Nexus Of Osama Bin Laden, M.D.I. And Talibans Which Not Threatens The Peace In Whole Of World.

On the events of August 1967, Srinagar.

The Valley of Kashmir, long famous around the world for its unparalleled natural scenic beauty also has a rich cultural heritage with religious tolerance and amity among people belonging to different religious faiths as its core. The arrival of Islam in the late fourteenth century and its interaction with an ancient Shaiva tradition resulted in the emergence of a liberal version of the faith. It was a turning point in Kashmir's history. Popular culture grew rich with folk tale, song, dance and music and with what craftsman could weave, stitch and shape with their nimble fingers. When self-rule came in 1947, it was overshadowed by armed intervention to secure the accession of the state of Jammu & Kashmir to Pakistan. The dispute over the issue is still unresolved. Within the Valley, years of opportunistic policies pursued by Delhi and corruption and misgovernance by Srinagar proved to be fertile soil for the eruption of a violent, jehadi, secessionist movement around 1980 that drove the Hindu minority into exile, tore apart the composite culture, and resulted in large scale loss of life and property. There are signs visible today that the utter futility of the path of violence, which engendered counter violence, has dawned on some of its votaries. These and other issues are addressed in this volume by a galaxy of scholars, including Kashmiris, from India, France, Germany, the UK and the USA under the thoughtful editorship of Aparna Rao who, sadly, died before the work could be placed with a publisher. Throughout the preparation of this volume, Rao worked in consultation with Professor T.N. Madan. The result is a book rich in information, insights and interpretations that entitle it to stand alongside Walter Lawrence's classic work, The Valley of Kashmir (1985), from which its title is borrowed.

(Reprint London 1895 edn.)