It has been over seventy years since Hari Singh, the last Maharaja of Kashmir, took the fateful decision to approach the newly formed State of India and ask them to help him retain his hold over the region, as well as to keep a check on the rising protests against his rule by the Muslim majority population. The Indian State was happy to comply and even though in the beginning their forces entered the Kashmir Valley on the pretense of maintaining the peace, it did not take long for them to assume the role of an occupying force; a role they have refused to relinquish ever since.
While this unwarranted occupation has been a source of great strife between Pakistan and India, leading to three major wars over the years, the effect on the people of this region has been absolutely atrocious. While it is hard to estimate the great number of innocent people that have lost their lives to the abuses and barbarity of the Indian occupying forces, estimates vary between a few hundred thousand to over a million since partition, and at least over a hundred thousand since the escalation in violence observed after 1989.
Read Complete Article: Kashmir: No End in Sight
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