Kashmir is an important state that shares its border with both India and Pakistan. The river Jhelum originates from Kashmir. The River Indus and River Chenab also run through Jammu and Kashmir and then enter in Pakistan. That's why Quaid-eAzam declared Kashmir as a lifeline of Pakistan.
The Kashmir conflict is a territorial conflict primarily between India and Pakistan, having started just after the partition of India in 1947. China has at times played a minor role.[2] India and Pakistan have fought three wars over Kashmir, including the Indo-Pakistani Wars of 1947 and 1965, as well as the Kargil War of 1999. The two countries have also been involved in several skirmishes over control of the Siachen Glacier.
India claims the entire princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, and, as of 2010, administers approximately 43% of the region. It controls Jammu, the Kashmir Valley, Ladakh, and the Siachen Glacier.[3] India's claims are contested by Pakistan, which administers approximately 37% of the region, namely Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.[4][5] China currently administers the remaining 20% mostly uninhabited areas, the Shaksgam Valley, and the Aksai Chin region.
The present conflict is in Kashmir Valley.[6] The root of conflict between the Kashmiri insurgents and the Indian government is tied to a dispute over local autonomy[7] and based on the demand for self-determination.[8][9][10] Democratic development was limited in Kashmir until the late 1970s, and by 1988, many of the democratic reforms introduced by the Indian Government had been reversed. Non-violent channels for expressing discontent were thereafter limited and caused a dramatic increase in support for insurgents advocating violent secession from India.[7] In 1987, a disputed state election[11] created a catalyst for the insurgency when it resulted in some of the state's legislative assembly members forming armed insurgent groups.[12][13][14] In July 1988 a series of demonstrations, strikes and attacks on the Indian Government began the Kashmir Insurgency.
Although thousands of people have died as a result of the turmoil in Jammu and Kashmir,[15] the conflict has become less deadly in recent years.[16][17] Protest movements created to voice Kashmir's disputes and grievances with the Indian government, specifically the Indian Military, have been active in Jammu and Kashmir since 1989.[16][17] Elections held in 2008 were generally regarded as fair by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and had a high voter turnout in spite of calls by separatist militants for a boycott. The election resulted in the creation of the pro-India Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, which then formed a government in the state.[18][19] According to Voice of America, many analysts have interpreted the high voter turnout in this election as a sign that the people of Kashmir endorsed Indian rule in the state.[20] But in 2010 unrest erupted after alleged fake encounter of local youth with security force.[21] Thousands of youths pelted security forces with rocks, burned government offices and attacked railway stations and official vehicles in steadily intensifying violence.[22] The Indian government blamed separatists and Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based militant group for stoking the 2010 protests.[23]
Elections held in 2014 saw highest voters turnout in 26 years of history in Jammu and Kashmir.[24][25][26][27] However, analysts explain that the high voter turnout in Kashmir is not an endorsement of Indian rule by the Kashmiri population, rather most people vote for daily issues such as food and electricity.[28][29] An opinion poll conducted by the Chatham House international affairs think tank found that in the Kashmir valley – the mainly Muslim area in Indian Kashmir at the centre of the insurgency – support for independence varies between 74% to 95% in its various districts.[30][31] Support for remaining with India was, however, extremely high in predominantly Hindu Jammu and Buddhist Ladakh