‘A country of such striking natural beauty must, surely, at some period of its
history have produced refined and noble people,’ writes Sir Francis Young
husband in his History of Kashmir. So indeed, and during my own journey
through Kashmir’s contemporary history, I have been privileged to make
contact with some of them. In the present day, I am grateful to the three main
protagonists in the current struggle: the Indians, Pakistanis and the Kashmiris
and, by this, I include all the inhabitants of the once princely state. My thanks
also go to the Governments of India and Pakistan, whose representatives have
always received me openly, as well as their respective High Commissions in
London; in addition, I should like to thank the members of the Government
of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, the members of the All Parties Hurriyat
Conference, the ‘Azad’ Government of Jammu and Kashmir and numerous
officials and private individuals.
No book is written single-handedly. All those I interviewed, often at short
notice, could not have been more willing to open their hearts and homes to
me in order for me to understand their story. Where they have not been able
to resolve their differences at the negotiating table, I have attempted to sit with
them independently, listen to their grievances and share their dreams. They,
too, are contributors to this book. I am also grateful for permission to quote
from numerous works listed in the bibliography; I have done so with special
attention to those first-hand accounts which capture an event far better than it
is sometimes possible to do with the wisdom of hindsight. In quoting the
views and opinions of others, I have also wanted to give the reader the benefit
of their analyses as well as my own