August 15, 1947:

India and Pakistan gain independence from Britain.

October 26, 1947:

Kashmir's king signs an accession pact to join India. The next day Indian Governor General Lord Mountbatten accepts the accession and Indian troops land in Jammu and Kashmir.

1948:

India and Pakistan go to war over Kashmir and finally agree to withdraw all troops behind a mutually agreed ceasefire line, later known as the Line of Control (LoC).

LoC has been international border since, India is ready to accept this as permanent international border. But Pakistan wants whole Kashmir. The region is small, but nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas its strategic importance and beauty make it a prized possession.

What you thinh should be done, whats the solution to this 50 year old war?

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As Bill Clinton was reported to say:

"If they're fighting over Kashmir, I'll buy them both jumpers!"

Alright, it wasn't that funny.

Can they not agree to keep the current 'LoC' border, but have the entire zone - Indian, Pakistani, Chinese - as demilitarised, which would cut the likelyhood of any future conflicts in the area? Seems like a good option.

That charter actually gives Kashmir de facto independence.

India has agreed in past to make Loc international border, but Pakistan wants whole Kashmir.

One option is to conduct a poll in Kasmir asking Kashmiries what they want, but India fears its a Muslim state and they opt to be with Pakistan a muslim country. But the fact is there are more muslims living in India than Pakistan.

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Kashmir is way too stategically important for Pakistan to let it become part of India as agriculture is the backbone of the economy and all of the five rivers flow from the north. Given Pakistan and Indian's bitter relations, it's not easy to see a viable resolution to this issue in the near future. But the fact that they both went Nuclear (I was in Pakistan when India tested their nukes and within a 3 days or so, Pakistan tested their's), that should be a detterent for constant warware the two states have waged in the past. But from the impression I get, Kashmir wants to be an independent state.

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"The Greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge." -Stephen Hawking
"First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me— and there was no one left to speak out for me." -Martin Niemöller