01/10/2015
History of Jammu and Kashmir
For various years, Kashmir was ruled by the Scythian Hindu princes who were succeeded by the Tartars. In 1588, the Mughal emperor Akbar conquered Kashmir and built the Hari Parbat Hill in Srinagar. Jahangir, his son was captivated by the beauty of the Kashmir and made it a man-made paradise by planting chenar trees and constructing pleasure gardens. In 1739, Nadir Shah, the Persian annexed Kashmir. Misr Chand, who served as a General in the army of Ranjit Singh, took it in 1819 and was granted effective control over the territory. After the end of the first Sikh War in 1846, it was assigned to the Maharaja Gulab Singh of Jammu, who founded the dynasty of Dogra Rajputs. During the 19th century, Kashmir became popular with the British. Before independence, Kashmir already developed a distinct political base with the secular Congress party led in Kashmir by Sheikh Abdullah, establishing itself as the leading democratic political force in the state. Although the Muslim league favoured joining Pakistan, the Congress had a clear preference for joining India or remaining independent from both the new states. In south west Kashmir, the Muslims rebelled and declared as Azad Kashmir and forged links with Pakistan. In 1948, the ceasefire was agreed with India and Pakistan. The ceasefire was the main reason that separated the frontier between the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir from the Pakistani Azad Kashmir. Since 1956, Jammu and Kashmir has had its own constitution with its own integrity. In 1972, the Prime Minister of Pakistan signed the Shimla Agreement with Mrs. Indira Gandhi, under which both countries recognised the Line of Control between them and agreed that the disputes would be resolved through bilateral negotiations. As a result, the Sheikh Abdullah was released from prison and agreement was made between them. The easternmost part of that boundary across the Siachen glacier, at over 6000 meters was left undemarcated. This similar type of situation between India and Pakistan remained same throughout the late 1980. In the late 1989, violence erupted in the Vale of Kashmir which at the time, the Indian press put down to discontent with corrupt election practices of the state government. In 1990, the Indian government also blamed the violence on Pakistani sponsored terrorism. Throughout 1990, the foreign tourists were advised not to visit Kashmir. This recommendation remained in force throughout 1991. After 1991, the situation became favourable and both, foreign and Indian tourists now visit Jammu and Kashmir.
