They fought four wars, three of them over Kashmir. It still continues to be the major irritation in the relations of the two neighbouring countries. Many believe Kashmir to be the sole reason for the two countries to go nuclear.

Moreover, J&K throughout the last 63 years has remained unstable. The instability led to the eruption of militancy in 1988. The counter-insurgency that followed continues to be priority of the state even though the number of insurgents have gone down. The crisis cost J&K a lot. Nearly one percent of the state’s population was killed and many more have received bullet and other firearms injuries. Millions became part of the collateral damage. Property worth billions was destroyed and triggered demographic upheavals within a small population.

The native narrative emerging out of this humanitarian crisis has become yet another reference point to the two countries to further stiffen their positions. Efforts to manage a way out to address Kashmir’s internal and external dimensions have failed many times.

This has left the subcontinent into a perpetual war. If soldiers are not fighting, their diplomats are. These ‘wars’ become fierce when top dignitaries of world powers visit the region. This is exactly what is happening these days in wake of US president Barak Hussain Obama’s India visit.

Kashmiris living far away from the places of decision-making in India and Pakistan and from other global institutions have romanticized the role of USA in the protracted Kashmir mess. So whenever somebody from Washington is on way to South Asia, there is hype. And when it is a President it is a major concern.

This issue, dedicated to Obama’s visit, has tried to report the US policy – past and current – towards Kashmir, besides the many initiatives taken by various diplomats and prominent Kashmiri Americans, over the decades. From soft borders to autonomous regions, all these things have been suggested and rejected as well.

Some space has been devoted to Kashmiri diaspora in the US. As far as people living in Kashmir and their expectations regarding the visit is concerned it ranges from optimism that Obama will talk Kashmir to utter despair that he would not. We may not have been able to produce a holistic appraisal, nor do we claim to come to any conclusions. At the most it is an outline or an overview of US connections with Kashmir .

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