Trouble in Kashmir
The fabled land of
Kashmir is one of the most beautiful places on Earth.
It's also one of the most dangerous. The Kashmiris, a mostly Muslim people who for centuries
valued their independence, were dismayed to be
partitioned into Hindu-dominated India as the British
granted the region independence in the late 1940s. So
was Pakistan, who felt Kashmir should have been
annexed to it. Decades of political lobbying and two
wars between India and Pakistan over the issue failed
to resolve it, and in 1989 a Muslim insurgency began,
targeting Indian troops with terrorism and guerilla
tactics. The Indian military cracked down harshly, and
today it is a rare day when someone, either Muslim
militant or Indian soldier, isn't killed in
skirmishes. Caught between India's control, Pakistan's
aspirations and its own desire for independence,
Kashmir is a land under constant turmoil.
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An Indian soldier looks over the valley of the
city of Jammu, the winter capital of Kashmir. |
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