Modern day Kashmir consist of three parts: Pakistan occupied Kashmir (POK) Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Gilgit-Baltistan India occupied Kashmir China has occupied Aksai Chin since the early 1950s and, in addition, an adjoining region almost 8% of the territory

Indian occupied Kashmir can be divided into three parts : Jammu (which consist of Hindu population; the Kashmiri pundits) The Kashmir valley (which consist of 90% Muslim population) The Leh Ladakh belt which consist of the Buddhist monks or people following Buddhism

India got its independence on 15 th August,1947 at the cost of partition When the British left the country India consist of more than 520 princely states The British gave these princely states the choice of either staying with India or joining Pakistan It took India almost 2 years to merge all the princely states into the Indian sub-continent

The princely state of Kashmir had a Hindu King (Maharaja Hari Singh) and 78% Muslim population Lord Mountbatten gave the king an option of either joining India or Pakistan before 15 th August 1947 The king was unsure so asked for more time He however asked both India and Pakistan to sign a standstill agreement Pakistan accepted but India refused

The people in the state protested against the king s indecisiveness Some of them wanted accession with Pakistan A reaction to the protest the king asked his troops to open fire on the people A large number of Muslim population was killed in the violence A reaction to these killings the Pathan tribesmen from the North West frontier province invaded Kashmir They defeated the king s troops and reached the capital Srinagar

The king fled to Jammu and asked India for help against the onslaught India agreed only on the condition of accession Hence the king on 26 th Oct 1947 signed the accession agreement with India India airlifted her troops to Kashmir The Pakistan army was stunned and wanted to fight back However the two countries decided to take the dispute to the Security council

Security council : India blamed Pakistan of aggression While Pakistan blamed India for the forced accession of Kashmir to India When the talks were still on India send her troops to drive away the tribesman from the occupied land Pakistan also retaliated and a full on war ensured The UN security council intervened and urged the two countries to declare a cease fire

On August 13 th 1948 urged for a cease fire agreement between the two countries Withdrawal of troops A cease fire line demarcates And a plebiscite in Kashmir under the UN supervision Both the countries accepted this proposal

Pakistan occupied Kashmir : consist of some parts of Jammu and Pooch Some areas of western Kashmir,Gilgit and Ladakh territory India occupied Kashmir: consist of Jammu, Kashmir valley and remaining Ladakh territory near the Tibet border

The war of 1965 was perhaps one of the most intense wars the two neighbours ever fought. Pakistan attacked India in operation code named Gibraltar on August 5, 1965. The war was at a point of stalemate when the UN Security Council unanimously passed a resolution on September 20 that called for a ceasefire. New Delhi and Islamabad accepted the ceasefire, and the war ended on September 23. Indian troops suffered 3,000 casualties, while the Pakistani suffered 3,800 In the aftermath of the war, Soviet-brokered Tashkent Declaration was signed on January 10, 1966

A meeting was held in Tashkent in the USSR (now in Uzbekistan) beginning on January 4, 1966 to try to create a more permanent settlement. Indian and Pakistani forces would pull back to their pre-conflict positions The nations would not interfere in each other's internal affairs Economic and diplomatic relations would be restored The two leaders would work towards building good relations between the two countries.

The 1971 Indo-Pak war initially started as a civil war in East Pakistan (Bangladesh) as a result of political oppression by the ruling elite of West Pakistan The revolt began in 1970, when after the general election Awami League leader Sheikh Mujibur Rehman was thrown behind bars. Pakistani Army cracked down in Bangladesh, killing civilians. Over 80 lakh refugees entered India. Indian government repeatedly appealed to the international community

But failing to elicit any response, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi decided to help Bengali freedom fighters liberate East Pakistan in April 1971. In one of the swiftest military campaigns in recent history, India liberated Bangladesh in two weeks, taking 93,000 Prisoner of Wars. On July 2, 1972, India and Pakistan signed the Simla Pact, agreeing to respect the Line of Control until the issue is finally resolved.

Kargil was one of the brutish wars fought between the two countries at the frozen heights of Himalayas. Infiltrators in the Batalik sector were first discovered by Indian Army patrols on May 8, 1999. The intruders, comprising mostly Pak Army regulars, along with a sprinkling of Mujahideen, were specially trained and equipped by Pakistan in 40 staging camps near the Line of Control (LoC). On May 31, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee said it was a "war-like situation" in Kargil and on June 6, the Army launched Operation Vijay, a major offensive in Kargil and Drass sectors.

Three days later, the Army captured the crucial Tololing peak. By July 11, Pakistani infiltrators started retreating from Kargil as India recaptured key peaks at Batalik and set a deadline of July 16 for total withdrawal. On July 12, Sharif announced the pullout on the television and proposed talks with Vajpayee. Operation Vijay was declared a success on July 14.

Though the Kargil war happened in 1999 the entire 1990s have seen the growth of terrorism in Kashmir Various terrorist organizations have operated from Kashmir against India with the help of Pakistan Most of them have demanded a separate state for Kashmir Some of them (the Hurriyat) have asked for an accession with Pakistan

All Parties Hurriyat Conference : Syed Ali Shah Geelani (chairman Tehreek-e-Hurriyat a component of All Parties Hurriyat Conference) Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front : Yasin Mailk (chief) Mirwaiz Umar Farooq : moderate Hurriyat leader / Chairman of the Awami Action committee.

Demand for the dilution of the Armed Force Special Power Act The transition from militancy to street protest has overturned the Kashmir paradigm The Sangbaaz Tehreek : many are students and professionals,products of growing middle class in Kashmir that has used India's economic boom to take wings thousand more are silent supporters : they operate through the internet where the outpouring of the Azadi sentiment is overwhelming