Kashmir and Indo-Pak Relations

Noted defense analyst Colonel Ravi Anand reviews the current situation in Kashmir in the context of Indo-Pak relations with an insight and authority that makes this a must read book. He argues that India needs a vision for Kashmir and a policy to further that vision.
Indian social structure had been evolved over thousands of years of amalgamation of various cultures, religions and ethnicity. India may not have existed as a nation state yet it was a secular society. 98 percent of India lived in villages in peace and harmony. It was only 2 percent of urban India which controlled the public opinion.
Inspite of the fact that the British wanted to expand their empire yet they never took over the direct control of the most strategically located Jammu and Kashmir state. To safeguard their political interests they established Gilgit Agency (a lease from the Maharajah) in the northern end of India.
The British, in order to perpetuate their rule, divided the Indian society on religious grounds. They put Muslims against the Hindus. They created Pakistan in order to have a state in that region which would be favorably disposed to Britain. The Indian Independence Act was passed by the British Parliament. Instrument of Accession was an integral part of that mechanism. Yet the same British Government did not accept and advised USA not to accept the legality and constitutionality of accession of Jammu and Kashmir State to India, inspite of the fact that the instrument of accession had been signed by the Maharajah.
This breach of faith by both USA and UK, for over 50 years has been at the root of trouble in South Asia. Indo-Pak relations became a victim of the Cold War. These relations deteriorated when Pakistan was fighting proxy war on behalf of USA in Afghanistan.
India defeated Pakistan in Indo-Pak wars of 1948, 1965 and 1971. To get Kashmir by military means became impossible for Pakistan. Zia planned a low cost proxy war in Kashmir to wear down