Kashmir: The Unwritten History

Kashmir, most popularly known
as ‘the heaven on earth’ has been an intriguing topic for academicians, politicians, diplomats, activist and generally the entire occupation of India and Pakistan. The accession of Kashmir over to the Union of India in 1947 under the prevailing circumstances has created numerous controversies and continues to effect the general population and has been the bone of contention between the Government of India and Pakistan.

Numerous books, articles and other forms of research have been conducted to highlight the plight of the people living out there. However in all the literature that has been generated less has been written about the actual conditions prevailing in the state. Most of the literature barely throws light on the actual truth or gives a full account of the details of the actual condition that the state is in. In the plethora of all the books written on Kashmir comes Christopher Snedden’s ‘Kashmir: The Unwritten History’ which claims to be a book, different from all the others written on Kashmir. This book throws light on those aspects of Kashmir which have otherwise not been discussed anywhere. For over half a century, when Kashmir has been a part of the Indian union, much has happened in the state and the whole truth has never been presented. There is a lot of darkness surrounding the history of the state and this book throws light on all the undiscussed part of the history of the state.


The book is authored by Christopher Snedden, who is a noted Australian author and academician. He has been associated with various Australian Universities and has also worked for the Australian Government. He has several publications under his credit. In his latest book, ‘Kashmir: The Unwritten History’ he claims to disclose all the little known facts about the India – Pakistan conflict over Kashmir. In the book he says that the Kashmir dispute was instigated by the people of Kashmir well before the Pakhtoon invasion on Kashmir in the month of October of 1947. Indian blamed Pakistan for the invasion and helped the king of Kashimr, Hari Singh to fight over the tribal leaders. After Hari Singh’s victory he agreed to cede Kashmir to India and this is how it became a part of this country. However since then numerous disputes have arose which has made Kashmir one of the hottest diplomatic topics in the world. He presents the facts in such an interesting way that the reader is intrigued all through the course. All the facts and accounts that he presents in the book contradicts most of the common notions that people have about Kashmir. Along with all the gruelling facts he also offers solutions to the problems on the basis of what he considers as ‘realities’ that caused the division of Kashmir in 1947. The most interesting part of the book is his account of how Kashmir actually became a part of India, which is different from all the common notions that was held till now.

He gives various accounts that led to the division of the state and its accession to India. Some of them are – 1. The Muslim uprising in the Poonch district of Western Jammu, 2.Inter-religious violence across the Jammu region which was quite serious, 3.Formation of the ‘Azad Kashmir’ government on 24th of October, 1947 which he claims as the final blow that broke the unity of the state. The informations changes the whole political dynamics as all through the history Pakistan was blamed for causing the uprising among the tribal people against the king of Kashmir.

The focal point of this book is ‘Azad Kashmir’ and its history, politics, electoral process and economic governance. It also focuses on administration of the place and all the findings are supported by facts and figures since 1947. All this information point to the fact that ‘Azad Kashmir’ has become an integral part of Pakistan and is heavily dependent on Islamabad for various supports across all levels. After the conflict, Kashmir was divided into two parts; one part joined India whereas the other part managed to stay independent. But over a period of time the independent Kashmir most popularly known as ‘Azad Kashmir’ has slowly become more and more dependent on Pakistan for various support.

The author places plenty of stress on the people of Jammu and Kashmir who he considers as the main stakeholders in the unresolved dispute. He states that the people of Jammu and Kashmir have a greater and a decisive role to play in this whole happening of events. He gives due credit to the population of Kashmir on both the sides and calls them the ‘Third party’. The dispute that India and Pakistan has failed to solve in the past many years now needs to be tackled by the people themselves as they are the major stakeholders and gets affected directly by the whole situation.

It’s a very well researched and well documented book which gives various important and raw information on the Kashmir’s issue. It is a great source of information and a great read for people who take active interest in this dispute. Otherwise also it is very informative and interesting for all the readers. There are several new elements in the book which is going to clear a lot of doubts and misconceptions that people have on Kashmir. It is not like any other book which has been written on the topic. In all the literature that has been generated on Kashmir over the years, there has not been much written about ‘Azad Kashmir’. This book throws light on that specific research gap which has been missed by all the academicians, researchers over the period of time. It is the result of painstaking research by the author which completely changes the perception of the people on the topic which they have held so far. At the end he leaves the option to decide on the people of Kashmir themselves as it is their future and life that is at stake.