| For centuries travelers have been drawn to Kashmir, India's northernmost state. until the late 1980s, it was one of the most popular tourist destinations in Asia, and many a Bollywood starlet has been filmed against the backdrop of Kashmir's stunning mountain scapes. But despite the undeniable beauty of its scenery, Jammu mid Kashmir is also volatile, and since 1989, the western half of the state has been wracked by an armed insurgency. So far, the violence has been confined to the Kashmir Valley, which is predominantly Muslim, and Jammu, which has a large population of Dogra Hindus. The lake-rimmed capital, Srinagar, Is dominated by the military, and most
foreign state
departments advise against |
 |
traveling
here or anywhere in the western part of
the state. The eastern part of the
state, consisting of the Tibetan Buddhist regions of Ladakh and Zanskar, is somewhat safer, but travelers should
I heck the latest news and information before finalizing their plans.
Kashmir's troubles began at Partition in 1947. Although the population was predominantly Muslim, the Hindu raja did not want his kingdom to become part of Pakistan or India, and most Kashmiri Muslim leaders agreed with him. Later that year, Pathan tribesmen entered the region and attempted to force Kashmir into Pakistan. Desperate, the maharaja asked India for help. The Indian government accepted the offer, and agreed to hold a plebiscite to determine whether the Kashmiri people wanted to join India. In other words, a common vote would allow the residents of the region to vote for or against the proposal. After violent clashes, however, Pakistan still held large chunks of Kashmir. India and Pakistan went to war over Kashmir again in 1965, but no territory changed hands. The 1948 ceasefire line, called the line of Control (LOC), remains the de. facto India-Pakistan border let, but the plebiscite promised by India has never materialized.
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