History of Jammu and Kashmir

Tradition has it that Kashmir was originally the great Lake Satisar, which was drained by Kashyapa and inhabited by the Brahmins. It was under the Hindu Rule but later came under the Mughal rule under Akbar. After a period of Afghan rule, it annexed to the Sikh kingdom of Punjab. It came into being as a single political and entity following the treaty of Amritsar between the British government and Gulab Singh in 1864. This treaty handed over the state to the Dogra ruler of Jammu who had earlier annexed Ladakh.

The autocratic movement came down heavily on the people�s freedom movement. However, the people laid down their lives to uphold their freedom and to uphold the ideals of secularism, equality, democracy and brotherhood.

The high point of this freedom movement came in the year 1931 when around 20 protestors were martyred. This strengthened the movement and contrary to what the rulers of that time thought, the people emerged with more determination to seek an end to this autocratic rule. 

By the time the ruler realized the futility of breaking the will of the people, with the strength of the National Conference and the determination of the whole state, the mass became a force to reckon with. The people broke all barriers of region and religion to fight this cause and soon emerged victorious

Fundamentalist militancy in the region has not spared Jammu and Kashmir. The resultant military interventions have created suspicion and distrust as a military run infrastructure can only have limited civil obligations.

The recent developments in Afghanistan have provided welcome relief as the terrorist infrastructure has to operate much more discreetly and has suffered significant damage. A neighboring country is getting bombarded with international troops as it does not have the neither the resolve nor the resources to stop hateful behavior. The killings of these significant terrorists is providing hope for peaceful coexistence in the near future.