My Perspective

Yes, the most controversial topic of Indian politics since its independence and the basis of Indo-Pak conflict - The Kashmir Issue. I have found that many Indians don't know much about the state and its culture and fight or debate on it only on the basis of emotions. Religious emotions mostly. So here's an overview of the state and my take on it. Many of you must be thinking that Jammu & Kashmir is a state with just one culture i.e. Kashmiri, like a 'Nation-State'. To have a clarity on what is a Nation-State, you may visit my other article on ' Ethnic Nationalism '. But that is not true, the state of J&K is a multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic and multi-cultural society bound by a former ruler and history. Here' s the map of the former Princely State of Jammu & Kashmir.  Not everyone speaks Kashmiri The state is culturally divided into these regions. Jammu region- Dogra speaking (similar to Punjabi) Kashmir valley - Kashmi