The Kashmir Conundrum: The Quest for Peace in a Troubled Land

Kashmir has been considered one of the longest-running and most intractable conflicts of the modern world. It has cost India four wars, valuable resources and thousands of lives, but a solution remains elusive. How does one make sense of the issue and look to the future? In The Kashmir Conundrum, former Indian Army chief General N.C. Vij who is from Jammu and Kashmir gives the complete picture. Starting with a history of J&K and its people, he covers the invasion and accession of the kingdom, the wars India and Pakistan have fought, the Pulwama attack of 2019, India's surgical strike at Balakot and the various formulae that have been tried to settle the issue, right up to the controversial abrogation of the state's special status. In doing so, he draws on his own experience of dealing with the subject closely as Director General of Military Operations during the Kargil war; as Vice Chief of the Indian Army during the Parliament attack of 2001 and the consequent Operation Parakram; and then as the Chief of Army Staff at a time when Pakistan-sponsored infiltration was at its peak. Informed by a field expert's astute perspective on the way forward, this is a comprehensive, up-to-date and unique account of the Kashmir conundrum from an army man who has engaged with it at the highest levels."