In: Historical Events
Causes and Effects
December 5, 2010
3. Causes of the Conflict
4. Beginning of the Confrontation
Ever since territorial changes have taken place in history, issues pertaining to affiliation and independence of some state have always been there. Although history is full of territorial conflicts, the two most recent ones include the Palestine issue and the Kashmir issue. While Palestine issue was the result of the First World War and did create a huge impact on the international politics and foreign relations of several countries, however, the Kashmir issue is relatively a more regional conflict with its nucleus being the Indian subcontinent, and can be resolved if flexibility is shown by the conflicting parties. History
Kashmir was initially ruled by Muslims, and was an integral part of the Pashtun Durrani Empire, which was primarily a dynasty of Afghan origin. The foundation of the Durrani Empire was laid by an Afghan commander, Ahmed Shah Durrani. When the East India Company started to lay its political foundations in the Indian subcontinent, they started massive annexations of areas that were previously ruled by local princes, nawabs and maharajas. During 1840s Kashmir went under the British control after they signed the Treaty of Lahore with the Sikhs. A few years British rewarded Kashmir to Gulab Singh Dogra, a Hindu general who helped British to annex Punjab. British were always apprehensive of the Russian Expansion in Afghan territory, which is why they had a major interest in installing a pro-British ruler in Kashmir. Ever since Kashmir was awarded to Gulab Singh Dogra, it remained under Hindu rule. On the contrary, Muslims constituted a major proportion of Kashmir’s population. The new rule was much resented by the Muslim population of Kashmir because of the constant religious, cultural, and...
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