JAMMU AND KASHMIR AT A GLANCE
LOCATION:
Situated in the
Heart of Asia, with historical links to both south and central Asia, surrounded by Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and India.
STATUS
Historically independent, except in the anarchical conditions of late 18th
and the first of 19th
century and when incorporated in the vast empires
setup by the Maury as (3rd century BC), the Mughals (16th to 18th centuries)
and the British (mid-19th to 20th centuries). All these empires included not
only present day India and Pakistan but other countries as well. Under the
British, Kashmir had internal autonomy.
AREA:
84471 Square Miles
POPULATION:
12 million (estimate) including 1.5
million refugees in Pakistan and 0.4 expatriates
PRESENT STATUS:
In Dispute since 1947, 63% of the area
under Indian illegal occupation.
CAUSE OF DISPUTE:
India's claim that Kashmir is Indian territory.
the claim is rejected by the people of Kashmir, challenged by Pakistan. It
has never been accepted by the United Nations, never legally validated.
SOLUTION:
Demilitarization of Kashmir (through withdrawal
of all outside forces) followed immediately by a plebiscite under UN
auspices to determine the future status of Kashmir. |