Srinagar

Kashmir has been a complicated issue and it finds itself in the news almost on a daily basis... The territory of Kashmir was hotly contested since the time before India and Pakistan won their independence from the British in 1947. Under the partition plan, Kashmir was free to accede to India or Pakistan. The Maharaja of Kashmir, Hari Singh, was Hindu and his people predominantly Muslims... The Maharaja wanted to stay independent but once armed men from across the Pakistan border invaded Kashmir, he decided to accede to India, signing over key powers to the Indian Government - in return for military aid and a promised referendum fifty years later which hasnt been held yet. Since then, the territory has been the flashpoint for three wars: the first in 1947-8, the second in 1965, and a third in1999, when India fought a brief but bitter conflict with Pakistani-backed forces who had infiltrated Indian-controlled territory in the Kargil area. In addition to the rival claims of Delhi and Islamabad to the territory, there has been a growing and often violent separatist movement fighting against Indian rule in Kashmir since 1989.

Srinagar Travel Guide