Free Kashmir - the name of this territory is translated from Urdu. In fact, it can hardly be called truly free. Although he has the rights of self-government, he is under the control of Pakistan.
Long-standing dispute
Kashmir is a historical area with a long disputed status. The fact is that there are always places where cultures border on each other, financial and economic, territorial and strategic interests sharply converge. Kashmir is a mountainous country with important roads and a mixed Muslim-Hindu population - from the early Middle Ages the subject of wars and quarrels of neighbors. He was under the control of the Indian Rajas, the Great Mughal Empire, Afghan tribes, Gurkhas. The penultimate conflict was the Anglo-Sikh war, as a result of which, with the permission of the British, a protectorate principality of Kashmir was formed with a hereditary ruler from the Sikh dynasty.
Victim of "liberation"
In 1946, the British Empire decided to cease being an empire in the full sense. Its colonies in the Hindustan peninsula gained independence. The interests of many principalities, such as Kashmir, were ignored, since two states were created, on the basis of the division on which the religious principle was laid. Territories with populations professing Hinduism (and Buddhism) departed to India, Muslims united in Pakistan. Even territorial proximity was taken into account in the second place: for example, now independent Bangladesh has also become part of Pakistan, despite the fact that it is separated from it by a considerable Indian space.
Formally, “cashmere-like” formations could declare independence, but no one vouched for their future. That's why almost all of them ceased to exist, joining someone. But for the Kashmir Maharaja Hari Singh, this choice had no solution in view of the above-mentioned "borderline" of his country. Sikh rulers were Hindus, but the majority of the population were Muslims. Maharaja was initially forced to declare neutrality, but this did not suit the Muslim population, eager to live within the borders of Pakistan and therefore staged a series of protests in the form of shooting and riots. In addition, both India and Pakistan conducted active propaganda, trying to draw the Kashmiris to themselves.
As a result, Maharaja Singh in 1947 declared Kashmir part of India in exchange for full support, causing an invasion of Pakistani unofficial volunteer military units supported by the Muslims of Kashmir. Support for India was expressed in the introduction of a regular army. Since the British army refused to intervene in the conflict as a peacemaker, Pakistani forces entered Kashmir to protect Muslims. Thus began the first Indo-Pakistani war (1947-48).
"Frozen" Kashmir
The war took place with the advantage of the Indian army. Most of Kashmir, including the largest cities of Srinagar and Jammu, came under Indian control. In 1948, the parties decided to make peace, and appealed to the UN to resolve the conflict. At first, they again offered to dissociate themselves on a religious basis, but both sides refused. As a result, the conflict passed into the frozen stage, in which it remains.
Azad Kashmir today
Pakistani Kashmir is not much different from the ordinary Pakistani province. By function, the president of the "country" is equal to the governor.
At the same time, Azad Kashmir is far from the latest in development in Pakistan and is even important for the economy. One hydroelectric power station on the Jelam River is worth it! Third in the country!
The capital of Muzaffarabad is not so large - less than 30 thousand inhabitants. The last time a city in a picturesque valley flashed in the news of world news agencies in 2005 on a sad occasion, being at the epicenter of an earthquake that destroyed a half of the city.
The Indian part is transformed into the state of Jammu and Kashmir and is fully integrated into the life of India. The Pakistani part received autonomy, formal signs of an independent state of Azad Kashmir in the form of a president and parliament. Everything complies with the standards. However, he is always depicted on a map of Pakistan.
The meaning of the Pakistani “feint” is that the fate of Kashmir, as conceived by the UN, should be decided on a plebiscite by the people of Kashmir, who first need to regain their integrity. That is, the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir should be annexed to Azad Kashmir, and only then ... However, India is not going to give up territories, realizing how “free” western Kashmir is, and the UN has not insisted on the speed of resolving the problem for almost sixty years.
For more than half a century, the population of the former principality has already managed to separate itself: precisely on religious grounds. It would probably be worth recognizing the current borders as completely legitimate, but ... a bad world is better than a good quarrel. Moreover, India still claims not to be part, but to the whole of Kashmir. As in Islamabad, they want to see the whole of Kashmir on the map of Pakistan.