The First and the Second World War changed the outlook of the world. Empires ceased to exist. A new concept of nations came into being. Colonies of European countries started to get their independence from foreign rule in quick succession.. Boundaries and territories became essential in deciding where a nation started and ended. Nations have been fighting with each other over boundary lines since history has been recorded however frontiers became exceptionally important with the end of the Second World War and the emergence of the Third world. One place where boundary lines and territory was of great importance was in the Indian subcontinent, which had been under the control of the British Empire from 1858 to 1947. The Indian sub-continent was to be decolonized and partitioned into two countries. A Muslim dominated, Pakistan and a Hindu dominated, India. Surprisingly, it was the first time that nations were being partitioned on the basis of religion. The partition led to many problems between the two countries. One such issue was the conflict over the state of Kashmir. The dispute over Kashmir has dogged relations between India and Pakistan since the states were created by the partition of British India in 1947. The two countries have fought three wars (in 1947-48, 1965 and 1999). They have also been on the verge of resorting to nuclear weapons over this issue. The fight over Kashmir is an unending conflict. The biggest reason for its insolvability is that leaders of both nations have used religious nationalism to justify the wars and the struggle to incorporate Kashmir while masking the underlying motive of gaining economic and strategic advantages from it. Not both countries only Pakistan
The conflict of Kashmir can be traced back to the time of partition and to the events that occurred during the time period when British controlled India was to be divided on religious lines. The state had been under the rule of the Sikh empire and