'[Written] with admirable clarity' Literary Review

'Excellent . . . concise and chilling' Independent

An authoritative, fresh, and vividly written account of the Kashmir conflict - from 1947 to the present – now with a new epilogue

The India–Pakistan dispute over Kashmir is one of the world’s incendiary conflicts. Since 1990, at least 60,000 people have been killed – insurgents, civilians, and military and police personnel. In 2019, the conflict entered a dangerous new phase. India’s Hindu nationalist government, under Narendra Modi, repealed Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir’s autonomous status and divided it into two territories subject to New Delhi’s direct rule. The drastic move was accompanied by mass arrests and lengthy suspension of mobile and internet services.

In this definitive account, now with a new epilogue looking back on the years since the abrogation of Article 370, Sumantra Bose examines the conflict in Kashmir from its origins to the present volatile juncture. He explores the global context of the current situation, including China’s growing role, as well as the human tragedy of the people caught in the bitter dispute. Drawing on three decades of field experience in Kashmir, Bose asks whether a compromise settlement is still possible given the ascendancy of Hindu nationalism in India and the region’s complex geopolitical context.