During 1980s and 1990s, when I was involved in the many projects on the Kashmir issue in terms of history, education, overland travel, human rights and the issue of helping Kashmiri refugees living in Refugee camps on the outskirts of Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir in the aftermath of the 1989-90 events there in the (Vale of Kashmir) as discussed in this book. Unsurprisingly, I was already aware of this very important and compelling book by Alastair Lamb: "Kashmir: A Disputed Legacy 1846-1990", written at a crucial period during the 1990s uprising in Kashmir. In recent weeks, I have re-read the book from cover to cover. Many other writers who have criticised the book as being Pro-Pakistan and on reading the book it appears that way. However, the book in actual fact is probably the best comprehensive and thorough book on what really happened in Kashmir during the British Empire days and the divisive and partisan role Lord Mountbatten played in the division of India and Pakistan - bearing in mind the outcome of Radcliffe Award and the Gurdasapur Affair in 1947. The other key points revealed in this book are historical background and the British reasoning behind the defence of Indian Northern Frontier, (Ladakh & Gilgit Agency) Jammu and Kashmir and the Indian princely states 1846-1947 and the eventual transfer of power on 14-15th August, 1947 and partition of India and Pakistan.
The book finally sweeps away the many myths of Kashmir as being integral part of India and the legality of 'accession' to India. The other crucial analysis provided in the book is the role played by India to help establish the state of Bangladesh in 1971 when Lamb talks about the 1970s Airline hijacking in the middle east and the "Ganga" hijacking in India on 30th January, 1971, by two young Kashmiris from the Kashmir National Liberation Front and the emergence of Maqbool Butt (the current icon of current Kashmir Freedom Movement). Lamb mentions the ongoing crisis in East Pakistan that eventually saw the joint victory of Mukhti Bahini (Freedom Fighters) and Indian Army and the defeat & surrender of Pakistan Army in Dhaka in December, 1971. These two events as according to Lamb "...namely to hijack airliners, that produced the next, and possibly oddest, episode in the entire Kashmir saga..." Hence, India needed to induce the banning of Pakistani overflights through the "Ganga" hijacking and "...this alarmed the Pakistan military who saw it a direct challenge to their position in East Pakistan already threatened by electoral success of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's Awami league..." The Pakistani Army could only fly massive troop reinforcements via Columbo the longest route and they were virtually hostage to India due to the Indian overflight ban in the first place!
Finally, the book concludes that in the spring of 1990, once again Pakistan and India appeared to be on the verge of the fourth armed conflict over Kashmir and prior to the 1990 scare was the 1984 skirmishes on the Siachen Glacier. Since the book's publication, the 1999 Kargil War has been the most recent flashpoint apart from the regular tit-for-tat cross-border firing and occasional causalities on the Line Of Control (LOC) by both armies.
A must buy book on understanding the Kashmir conflict.
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"A Book that Sweeps Away the Many Myths about the Legacy of the Kashmir Dispute!"
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 March 2013
During 1980s and 1990s, when I was involved in the many projects on the Kashmir issue in terms of history, education, overland travel, human rights and the issue of helping Kashmiri refugees living in Refugee camps on the outskirts of Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir in the aftermath of the 1989-90 events there in the (Vale of Kashmir) as discussed in this book. Unsurprisingly, I was already aware of this very important and compelling book by Alastair Lamb: "Kashmir: A Disputed Legacy 1846-1990", written at a crucial period during the 1990s uprising in Kashmir. In recent weeks, I have re-read the book from cover to cover. Many other writers who have criticised the book as being Pro-Pakistan and on reading the book it appears that way. However, the book in actual fact is probably the best comprehensive and thorough book on what really happened in Kashmir during the British Empire days and the divisive and partisan role Lord Mountbatten played in the division of India and Pakistan - bearing in mind the outcome of Radcliffe Award and the Gurdasapur Affair in 1947. The other key points revealed in this book are historical background and the British reasoning behind the defence of Indian Northern Frontier, (Ladakh & Gilgit Agency) Jammu and Kashmir and the Indian princely states 1846-1947 and the eventual transfer of power on 14-15th August, 1947 and partition of India and Pakistan.The book finally sweeps away the many myths of Kashmir as being integral part of India and the legality of 'accession' to India. The other crucial analysis provided in the book is the role played by India to help establish the state of Bangladesh in 1971 when Lamb talks about the 1970s Airline hijacking in the middle east and the "Ganga" hijacking in India on 30th January, 1971, by two young Kashmiris from the Kashmir National Liberation Front and the emergence of Maqbool Butt (the current icon of current Kashmir Freedom Movement). Lamb mentions the ongoing crisis in East Pakistan that eventually saw the joint victory of Mukhti Bahini (Freedom Fighters) and Indian Army and the defeat & surrender of Pakistan Army in Dhaka in December, 1971. These two events as according to Lamb "...namely to hijack airliners, that produced the next, and possibly oddest, episode in the entire Kashmir saga..." Hence, India needed to induce the banning of Pakistani overflights through the "Ganga" hijacking and "...this alarmed the Pakistan military who saw it a direct challenge to their position in East Pakistan already threatened by electoral success of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's Awami league..." The Pakistani Army could only fly massive troop reinforcements via Columbo the longest route and they were virtually hostage to India due to the Indian overflight ban in the first place!Finally, the book concludes that in the spring of 1990, once again Pakistan and India appeared to be on the verge of the fourth armed conflict over Kashmir and prior to the 1990 scare was the 1984 skirmishes on the Siachen Glacier. Since the book's publication, the 1999 Kargil War has been the most recent flashpoint apart from the regular tit-for-tat cross-border firing and occasional causalities on the Line Of Control (LOC) by both armies.A must buy book on understanding the Kashmir conflict.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 March 2013
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Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 March 2013
The book finally sweeps away the many myths of Kashmir as being integral part of India and the legality of 'accession' to India. The other crucial analysis provided in the book is the role played by India to help establish the state of Bangladesh in 1971 when Lamb talks about the 1970s Airline hijacking in the middle east and the "Ganga" hijacking in India on 30th January, 1971, by two young Kashmiris from the Kashmir National Liberation Front and the emergence of Maqbool Butt (the current icon of current Kashmir Freedom Movement). Lamb mentions the ongoing crisis in East Pakistan that eventually saw the joint victory of Mukhti Bahini (Freedom Fighters) and Indian Army and the defeat & surrender of Pakistan Army in Dhaka in December, 1971. These two events as according to Lamb "...namely to hijack airliners, that produced the next, and possibly oddest, episode in the entire Kashmir saga..." Hence, India needed to induce the banning of Pakistani overflights through the "Ganga" hijacking and "...this alarmed the Pakistan military who saw it a direct challenge to their position in East Pakistan already threatened by electoral success of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's Awami league..." The Pakistani Army could only fly massive troop reinforcements via Columbo the longest route and they were virtually hostage to India due to the Indian overflight ban in the first place!
Finally, the book concludes that in the spring of 1990, once again Pakistan and India appeared to be on the verge of the fourth armed conflict over Kashmir and prior to the 1990 scare was the 1984 skirmishes on the Siachen Glacier. Since the book's publication, the 1999 Kargil War has been the most recent flashpoint apart from the regular tit-for-tat cross-border firing and occasional causalities on the Line Of Control (LOC) by both armies.
A must buy book on understanding the Kashmir conflict.
"A Book that Sweeps Away the Many Myths about the Legacy of the Kashmir Dispute!"
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 March 2013
During 1980s and 1990s, when I was involved in the many projects on the Kashmir issue in terms of history, education, overland travel, human rights and the issue of helping Kashmiri refugees living in Refugee camps on the outskirts of Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir in the aftermath of the 1989-90 events there in the (Vale of Kashmir) as discussed in this book. Unsurprisingly, I was already aware of this very important and compelling book by Alastair Lamb: "Kashmir: A Disputed Legacy 1846-1990", written at a crucial period during the 1990s uprising in Kashmir. In recent weeks, I have re-read the book from cover to cover. Many other writers who have criticised the book as being Pro-Pakistan and on reading the book it appears that way. However, the book in actual fact is probably the best comprehensive and thorough book on what really happened in Kashmir during the British Empire days and the divisive and partisan role Lord Mountbatten played in the division of India and Pakistan - bearing in mind the outcome of Radcliffe Award and the Gurdasapur Affair in 1947. The other key points revealed in this book are historical background and the British reasoning behind the defence of Indian Northern Frontier, (Ladakh & Gilgit Agency) Jammu and Kashmir and the Indian princely states 1846-1947 and the eventual transfer of power on 14-15th August, 1947 and partition of India and Pakistan.Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 March 2013
The book finally sweeps away the many myths of Kashmir as being integral part of India and the legality of 'accession' to India. The other crucial analysis provided in the book is the role played by India to help establish the state of Bangladesh in 1971 when Lamb talks about the 1970s Airline hijacking in the middle east and the "Ganga" hijacking in India on 30th January, 1971, by two young Kashmiris from the Kashmir National Liberation Front and the emergence of Maqbool Butt (the current icon of current Kashmir Freedom Movement). Lamb mentions the ongoing crisis in East Pakistan that eventually saw the joint victory of Mukhti Bahini (Freedom Fighters) and Indian Army and the defeat & surrender of Pakistan Army in Dhaka in December, 1971. These two events as according to Lamb "...namely to hijack airliners, that produced the next, and possibly oddest, episode in the entire Kashmir saga..." Hence, India needed to induce the banning of Pakistani overflights through the "Ganga" hijacking and "...this alarmed the Pakistan military who saw it a direct challenge to their position in East Pakistan already threatened by electoral success of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's Awami league..." The Pakistani Army could only fly massive troop reinforcements via Columbo the longest route and they were virtually hostage to India due to the Indian overflight ban in the first place!
Finally, the book concludes that in the spring of 1990, once again Pakistan and India appeared to be on the verge of the fourth armed conflict over Kashmir and prior to the 1990 scare was the 1984 skirmishes on the Siachen Glacier. Since the book's publication, the 1999 Kargil War has been the most recent flashpoint apart from the regular tit-for-tat cross-border firing and occasional causalities on the Line Of Control (LOC) by both armies.
A must buy book on understanding the Kashmir conflict.
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Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 November 2020
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 March 2014
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 May 2001
