Q&A: Kashmir dispute

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The mountainous region of Kashmir has been a flashpoint between India and Pakistan for more than 50 years. BBC News Online provides a step-by-step guide to the dispute.

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Why have there been so many violent protests this year in Indian-administered Kashmir?

The simple answer appears to be that many people in Indian-administered Kashmir - especially in the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley - do not want the territory to be governed by India. They would prefer to be either independent or part of Pakistan.
The sense of alienation from Delhi among young people in the valley has been made worse by high unemployment and what they see as heavy-handed tactics from Indian paramilitary forces in stifling their protests.
Scores of protesters have been killed throughout 2010, prompting many commentators to say that Indian-administered Kashmir is is in the early stages of an intifada or uprising.
The BBC's Soutik Biswas say that the perceived "perpetual humiliation" by the security forces has left people angry, alienated and distrustful of the state.
With violent demonstrations and curfews taking place on an almost daily basis, there is a constant sense of tension on the streets of Srinagar and other towns in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Correspondents say this creates a "tinder box effect" - in which angry crowds take to the streets often without much notice. The protests in September 2010 against alleged Koran desecrations in the US are a manifestation of this.

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Why is Kashmir disputed?

The territory of Kashmir was hotly contested even before India and Pakistan won their independence from Britain in August 1947.
Under the partition plan provided by the Indian Independence Act of 1947, Kashmir was free to accede to India or Pakistan.
The Maharaja, Hari Singh, wanted to stay independent but eventually decided to accede to India, signing over key powers to the Indian government - in return for military aid and a promised referendum.
Since then, the territory has been the flashpoint for two of the three India-Pakistan wars: the first in 1947-8, the second in 1965.
In 1999, India fought a brief but bitter conflict with Pakistani-backed forces who had infiltrated Indian-controlled territory in the Kargil area.
In addition to the rival claims of Delhi and Islamabad to the territory, there has been a growing and often violent separatist movement against Indian rule in Kashmir since 1989.

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What are the rival claims?

Islamabad says Kashmir should have become part of Pakistan in 1947, because Muslims are in the majority in the region.
Pakistan also argues that Kashmiris should be allowed to vote in a referendum on their future, following numerous UN resolutions on the issue.
Delhi, however, does not want international debate on the issue, arguing that the Simla Agreement of 1972 provided for a resolution through bilateral talks.
India points to the Instrument of Accession signed in October 1947 by the Maharaja, Hari Singh.
Both India and Pakistan reject the option of Kashmir becoming an independent state

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How dangerous is the Kashmir dispute?

It is potentially one of the most dangerous disputes in the world and in the worst-case scenario could trigger a nuclear conflict.
In 1998 India and Pakistan both declared themselves to be nuclear powers with a string of nuclear tests.
In 2002 there was a huge deployment of troops on both sides of the border as India reacted to an armed attack on the national parliament in Delhi the previous December. Tension between the two countries has rarely been so high.
India said the attack was carried out by Pakistani-based militants assisted by the Pakistan government - a charge always denied by Pakistan.
For much of the last two decades, separatist militancy and cross-border firing between the Indian and Pakistani armies has left a death toll running into tens of thousands and a population traumatised by fighting and fear.

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Are there grounds to hope the Kashmir dispute can be resolved?

In the years prior to the Mumbai (Bombay) attacks of November 2008 - in which gunmen killed 165 people - relations between India and Pakistan saw a big thaw.
The Mumbai attacks were blamed by India on militants based in Pakistan and led India to suspend further negotiations until February 2010, when the first formal discussions between the two countries since the attacks were held in Delhi.
Before those attacks the two countries agreed on several Kashmir-specific confidence building measures. A bus service between the two parts of Kashmir was resumed in 2005.

In October 2008 an old trade road was reopened after 60 years across the Line of Control (LoC) that divides Indian and Pakistani-administered Kashmir. Earlier in the same month a rail service was introduced.

The two governments have huge international backing to continue the peace process and make their negotiations succeed.
An end to the violence and uncertainty in Kashmir would also be widely welcomed in India and Pakistan - and not only by those weary of the fighting or those who see it as a hindrance to the economic development of the South Asia region.

However, a diplomatic solution has escaped both sides for more than 60 years, and there are no signs of any new proposals yet.
Furthermore, both governments face powerful hard line groups within their own countries who will be carefully monitoring the talks to make sure concessions they deem to be unacceptable are not offered to the other side.