Long before Indo-Pak conflict the East-India company dissolved, and The British left the Indian subcontinent on August 14, 1947. That was when India got its independence, and Pakistan was created in the partition, which was brutal and resulted in numerous deaths.
Pakistan was created for the sole reason that whoever wanted to live under Islamic rule should head to the land of Pakistan. The roots of the conflict between India and Pakistan may date back to the same year. Yet, the story of the Indo-Pak conflict revolves solely around the outrage in Kashmir.
Kashmir is a mountainous regional area between India, Pakistan, and China. Geographically, the map of Kashmir is very complicated, and there are no definite borders between these countries. Instead, they have a Line of Control (LOC), which is forfeited by a fence and serves as a de facto border. A highly-equipped military guard it. India controls it from one side of the line and Pakistan from the other.
Being tucked between these countries, Kashmir is diverse in culture and religion. Hinduism comes from India, Islam from Pakistan, and Buddhism from China. Many people often refer to Kashmir as the heaven on earth for its aesthetic beauty.
The history of this place goes back thousands of years, and a lot has changed during those years. In the 1300s, it was controlled by Muslims, and then it was reigned by the Mughal Empire, transforming it into a Hindu-Muslim state. The Afghan empire took over and converted it back to a Muslim state.
In the 1800s, the first Anglo-Sikh War between the Sikh Empire and the British East-India company took place, which resulted in the partial subjugation and defeat of the Sikh Empire. However, after the war, the British-Indian Government acquired Kashmir from the Sikh Empire. It sold it to Maharaja Gulab Singh for 7.5 million Nanakshahee Rupees under the Treaty of Lahore, 1856.
In 1947, After The British Raj ended, Pakistan separated from India, and things began to get wild. It resulted from the hatred created by The British Empire’s brutal policy of divide and rule over India for the past 89 years.
India and Pakistan gained independence, but it wasn’t clear which country Kashmir should fall beneath. It continued as a princely state and was locally governed, not under India or Pakistan. And it created a conflict between these two countries which continues to this day.
The conflict began when the marauders and rebels raided Hindus in Kashmir and started plundering their wealth, ransacking the towns, and killing people. Since Kashmir was a princely state with no strong army, the Indian army landed to defend the territory against these raiders.
These marauders were not from the Pakistani military but from the Muslim side of Kashmir. Pakistan denied it every time, arguing that it had zero involvement in the pillaging. The Indian troops would beat the raiders back, but they would regroup, come back more robust, and push the line forward. More Indian soldiers would land in the territory and again beat the raiders.
This war between the raiders and the Indian army continued. However, at this point, Pakistan also joined the fight as they sought an opportunity to take control of Kashmir for good, and they occupied some parts of Kashmir. Eventually, it called for an official ceasefire after two brutal years of this battle, killing more than 7000 lives.
Furthermore, In 1965, Pakistan attempted to infiltrate Kashmir again, using its army. India quickly mobilized and fought back and ultimately compelled Pakistan back out. The battle lasted only seventeen days but killed thousands of soldiers from both sides.
As a consequence, things remained quite normal until it was 1999. Because in 1998, Pakistan detonated the bomb, and it became the ninth nation in the world to formulate nuclear weapons. Yet, in the same year, India also became a superpower. Hence, the outcomes were going to be fierce.
The Pakistani army invaded Kashmir, and the Indian army pushed them back. It was terrible for Pakistan as seemingly they were the aggressors and didn’t seem to be coordinated. As a result, hundreds of soldiers died on both sides. After the battle, things were never normal again, until this day. Kashmir has been the most militarized area in the world. India has just been deploying troops in the region in masses.
The target is often the militant groups, but harmless civilians get mistargeted during the gunfights. Two years ago, On February 14, 2019, terror knocked the doors of the valley again when a suicide car bomber rammed a van carrying Indian troops traveling through Pulwama, a city in Kashmir. It caused the death of forty army personnel. A local newspaper reported that a Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad claimed responsibility for the attack. There has been no peace in the valley for the last four decades.
Reports suggest that the number of individuals who have gone missing and killed is staggering. Over 70,000 people have gone missing over the previous three decades because of military conflicts.
Today, about half of Kashmir is occupied by India, Pakistan occupies about one-third, and the rest is still locally governed. Making it a disputed territory, a PVP zone. This region is where ever-present military soldiers stand, prepared in case the enemy arrives. Thus, the war for the territory between India and Pakistan continues.
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