Jammu and kashmir has been one of the world’s most enduring conflicts since the middle of the last century. Yet it is also one of the least understood; not just among outsiders but also the citizens of India and Pakistan, including those from J&K. Decades of state propaganda on the subject by Islamabad and New Delhi have often reinforced strongly held passions on Kashmir in both nations, but with little patience for either the complexity of the dispute or its dynamic evolution over the decades.

As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and General Pervez Musharraf persevere with their rare exploration of a final settlement on J&K, the issue is likely to be even more politicised in the coming months. If we ever needed a balanced debate on Kashmir, it is now. And giving us an informed basis for such a discussion is Navnita Chadha Behera, with her solid volume on a conflict that has so thoroughly undermined the prospects for enduring peace in the Subcontinent.

In Pakistan, Musharraf has been accused by the Jamaat-i-Islami of abandoning long-standing Pakistani positions on J&K, including the demand for a plebiscite and independence for the state. In India, the leader of the opposition, L.K. Advani, has accused Manmohan Singh of “surrender” to Pakistan on J&K.

The criticisms in both nations come amidst the first substantive official negotiations on J&K in nearly four decades. The last time they took place was during 1962-63 between foreign ministers Swaran Singh and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.

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