Jammu and Kashmir is a region whose political status remains a subject of intense international dispute. This section provides a definitive overview of the region's geography, the distinct identity of its people, and the historical and legal foundations of a conflict marked by the persistent denial of a people's right to self-determination. The following analysis is grounded in international law, documented history, and the consistent findings of global human rights bodies.
Jammu and Kashmir is a region of profound geopolitical significance, a geographically strategic region, located in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, bordering India, Pakistan, and China. It is historically comprised of the Kashmir Valley, Jammu, and Ladakh. Since 1947, the region has been partitioned de facto by a Line of Control (LoC), with the larger portion administered by India and the smaller by Pakistan. The Siachen Glacier and Aksai Chin regions are also contested territories. Its strategic location bordering three nuclear powers, and its position as the source of major river systems, has made it a flashpoint in regional instability and geopolitics making Kashmir a central issue in the security paradigms of Central and South Asia, as well as a focal point of regional and international concern.
The Kashmiri people are defined by a distinct ethnolinguistic and cultural identity that predates the modern nation-states of India and Pakistan. The majority in the Kashmir Valley are not merely a religious community but an ethnic group with a unique language (Koshur) and a rich intellectual and cultural heritage, with more than 5000-years of history. The core of Kashmiri political aspiration has historically been for self-determination, not assimilation.