Kashmir: Why India and Pakistan fight over it

India and Pakistan, two nuclear-armed neighbors, have engaged in two war and a brief fight over Kashmir.

But why do they contest the area’s origins and why?

Kashmir is a Himalayan region with a diverse ethnic makeup known for the beauty of its rivers, grasslands, and snow-capped hills.

The place was thorny before India and Pakistan’s independence from Britain in August 1947.

Muslim-majority Kashmir was free to acquiesce to either India or Pakistan under the partition schedule provided by the Indian Independence Act.

Initial demands for independence for the maharaja ( local ruler ), Hari Singh, were met with by the maharaja ( local ruler ), Hari Singh, who sided with India in exchange for Pakistan’s support of an invasion of tribesmen.

India requested intervention from the UN after a bloody conflict broke out. The UN suggested holding a vote to decide whether India or Pakistan may visit the country. Before the vote was be held, the two nations were unable to reach a demilitarization agreement.

India and Pakistan ratified an agreement to create a ceasefire collection in July 1949, and the place split.

1965 saw the start of a following conflict. Therefore, in 1999, India engaged in a short but contentious issue with Pakistan-backed forces.

India and Pakistan had already been declared nuclear power at the time. Delhi and Islamabad both currently formally assert complete control over Kashmir, but only some of it.

Within Indian-administered Kashmir, there are a wide range of ideas and firmly held beliefs about the state’s legitimate affiliation. Some people prefer a transfer to their semi-autonomous position that they had up until 2019 or do not want it to be governed by India. Some people want total freedom as well.

Religion is another crucial element: Kashmir in India is the only region in India where Muslims make up the majority, with more than 60 % of its population.

Since 1989, an military uprising against Indian rule in the area has been waged, claiming tens of thousands of lives.

India denies that Pakistan supports insurgents in Kashmir, accusing its neighbor.

In the midst of a massive security assault, the state in Delhi in India-administered Kashmir was stripped of its semi-autonomous standing in 2019.

After the state’s special reputation was removed, militancy declined for a number of years, and tourist visits rose exponentially.

India launched” medical attacks” across the Line of Control, the de facto boundary between India and Pakistan, in 2016 after 19 American soldiers were killed in Uri, in an effort to attack alleged violent foundations.

American attacks deep into Balakot in 2019 prompted by the Pulwama attack, which left more than 40 Indian paramilitary officers dead, and sparked hostile assaults and an underwater battle. This was the first such incident to occur inside Pakistan since 1971.

After years of relative serene, when militants killed 26 people in an assault on travellers near the beach town of Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir, conflicts rekindled in April 2025. In the past 20 years, it was the deadliest civilian harm.

India launched missile strikes on target in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir two weeks later, after more igniting concerns for an increase and urging restraint.

Kashmir is still one of the most militarized regions in the world.

India and Pakistan did reach a peace in 2003.

Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, promised a strong line to Pakistan when he took office in 2014, but he also expressed interest in pursuing peace talks.

Nawaz Sharif, next Pakistan’s prime minister, was present at Modi’s swearing-in meeting in Delhi.

However, India eventually attributed an attack on its Pathankot airport in Punjab, which was carried out by Pakistan-based organizations. Modi also canceled a trip to Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, for a 2017 local mountain.

There hasn’t been any improvement in the neighborly talks since next.