Why has this state of siege in the Kashmir valley continued for 72 years since the Partition of India?What role has Pakistan played in it all of these years? And will there ever be a resolution to the militancy in the state? How will Islamabad get the forces of Islamic jihad—nurtured and based in Pakistan—to ever reconcile to the existing boundaries of J&K? How important is the ownership of the waters of the rivers of the Indus system for Pakistan—despite generous supplies under the Indus Waters Treaty—in determining an end to the siege within Kashmir?What are China’s interests in J&K and how does the success of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) for oil and gas supplies hinge on Pakistan’s occupation of northern areas of Kashmir? Why does the future survival and growth of the Chinese microchip industry depend upon the continuance of China’s control of the waters and dams in the Indus river system?Kashmir’s Untold Story: Declassified provides answers to these gripping questions and joins the dots in presenting the matrix of a consistent and compelling argument regarding the future of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Today, the state’s water resources are coveted by the beleaguered Chinese microchip industry and it appears that this is going to determine the continuing militancy in the state. Malhotra and Raza argue that China and its client Pakistan will actively back the militancy, come what may.Delving deeper, the book also reveals amazing insights into the Government of India’s policy towards the state, right from 1889, when it first imposed central rule and dispossessed the rule of the then Maharaja, till date. Owing to its strategic location, the intrigues within the state and the machinations of its neighbours have resulted in the government directly administering its affairs, one way or the other, for the last 130 years. It is a riveting account of the history of Jammu and Kashmir, from the time of its political and geographic consolidation under Maharaja Gulab Singh to present-day India.
