ashmir seems to be a long forgotten conflict zone. With the decrease in violent uprising, Kashmir has faded into darkness with the world. It takes the death of a Kashmiri, most of the times Kashmiris to bring this land into the eyes of the public.

Many people still have no idea what Kashmir truly is or what it means to be Kashmiri. Being from that part of the world, I’ve seen how many people have no idea what the conflict is or how many have died in that region. The important thing is that in Kashmir according to local activist, Rahim Khursheed around 90000 to 100000 people have been killed and missing. A staggering statistic, yet people around the world are oblivious to this fact.

The thing that couldn’t be more annoying to say the least is when people ask a Kashmiri which part of Kashmir he belongs to - they refer to the Indian side or Pakistani side, thus terming him with either of the two. Which is infuriating to say the least for a Kashmiri.

A little background to Kashmir is important to understand the conflict.

In 1947 when the British left, Kashmir was a princely state with a majority Muslim population governed by a Hindu monarch. After the partition, it was believed that Kashmiris would stay the way they are and attain an independent country. After all, Kashmiris don’t share that many similarities with either India or Pakistan whether it be language, culture, food the list goes on and on.

Due to some reason, it was rumoured that the maharaja might succeed to India. With that, the Pakistan supported invasion took place, which caused the Maharaja to move out and the Indians forces to move in. After a brief conflict, the UN brokered a ceasefire that stepped up the line of control, thus dividing Kashmir into the Indian and Pakistani administered Kashmir.

Later, China moved in and took a part of Kashmir known as Aksa Chin. Not many people know it but Kashmir is occupied by all the major nuclear powers of Asia. A state of saints and the paradise on earth was now divided into three.

Since then, Pakistan have fought three wars with no consequences and results. The suffering people of Kashmir get caught in the middle.

The problem for Kashmiris is that dead Kashmiris don’t make it on the western news often. It is bias to say that atrocities are only committed on IOK (Indian administered Kashmir) there are cases on POK (Pakistani administered Kashmir). But I believe the scale if put in numbers would vary 100 to 1 in India’s favour.

With the Pakistanis help, Kashmiris took up arms against the Indian army. This has resulted in infinite number of fake encounters and unmarked graves; rapes are used as a weapon.

Kashmiris seldom get the spotlight and are generally tagged as Indian or Pakistani Kashmiri. The Chinese side is seldom heard of, which has a lot to do with the terrain.