Kashmir in the Crossfire [Hardcover]

Victoria Schofield (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 1996

Why has the valley of Kashmir, famed for its beauty and tranquillity, become a major flashpoint, threatening the stability of a region of great strategic importance and challenging the integrity of the Indian state? This book examines the Kashmir conflict in its historical context, from the period when the valley was an independent kingdom right up to the struggles of the present day. Located on the borders of China, Central Asia and the Sub-Continent, the insurgency in the valley has also created serious tensions between India and Pakistan.

Drawing upon research in India and Pakistan, as well as historical sources, this book traces the origins of the state in the 19th century and the controversial "sale" by the British of the predominantly Muslim valley to a Hindu Maharaja in 1846. Through an exploration of the implications for Kashmir of independence in 1947, it gives a critical account of why, for Kashmir, self-determination may seem a more attractive option than affiliation to a larger multi-racial whole.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Although the title would indicate a work on present-day Kashmir, Schofield presents a survey of Kashmir's tragic history. She describes how the Sikhs mistreated Kashmir in the first half of the 19th century and the British upon acquiring the Sikh kingdom in 1846 sold Kashmir to a Hindu, thus unwittingly setting the stage for a crisis that was to come in 1947. With independence and cession to India by its Hindu Maharajah, Kashmir became the only Muslim majority state in India. Schofield then documents the pathetic relations between Kashmir and India, making a convincing case for Kashmir's autonomy. However, Schofield notes in her preface that she is a personal friend of Prime Minister Benzir Bhutto of Pakistan. Thus, libraries should balance this title with works written by authors inclined toward India.?Donald Clay Johnson, Univ. of Minnesota Lib., Minneapolis
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Victoria Schofield is a freelance journalist living in the U.K.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: I. B. Tauris (September 15, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1860640362
• ISBN-13: 978-1860640360
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,214,001 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best narrative history of Kashmir published to date, March 31, 2000

By 

Alexander Evans - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kashmir in the Crossfire (Hardcover)

Victoria Schofield has managed to write an extraordinary book. Out of some 1,400 books on Kashmir 'Kashmir in the Crossfire' is an even-handed, carefully researched work of history that traces the political development of Kashmir right up to 1995. There's little about Victoria Schofield inside, but a great deal about Kashmir and Kashmiris. Instead of writing about Kashmir, Schofield weaves in a range of contemporary interviews and direct quotes from existing literature, allowing Kashmir to speak for itself.

You might decide that one account is more accurate than another, but it is a tribute to Schofield's capacity as an historian to offer different views without feeling obliged to elevate or demolish them.

Inevitably, books on Kashmir attract denunciations on-line for being either pro- or anti- established perspectives of the current conflict over the state. Let's hope that readers and reviewers alike will hold back their judgement until reading it fully and asking themselves some of the following questions.

Is this book littered with error? (No.) Does Schofield pitch a particular answer to the Kashmir problem? (No, although she acknowledges that Kashmiris should play a part if it is to be resolved in a meaningful fashion.) Is Schofield an India or Pakistan 'basher'? (Not at all.) And finally, is Schofield guily of a rose-tinted view of Kashmir often held by other Western writers on the subject? (No - unlike most of her counterparts, this book exposes the part that many Kashmiris themselves have played in making contemporary Kashmir the unhappy place that it is.)

If you buy one book on Kashmir, let it be this one. In 2000 a shorter, updated version was published under the title 'Kashmir in Conflict'. Equally excellent, this only pips it because it offers a deeper view of early Kashmir history.

3 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Useful but not objective, June 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Kashmir in the Crossfire (Hardcover)

This is a book on Kashmir by a friend of Benazir Bhutto, thediscredited and corrupt former prime minister of Pakistan. Althoughthe book is an improvement on many others on the subject by its consideration of the ethnic and linguistic complexities of the region, it suffers from its over-reliance on the leftist viewpoint... But in spite of its obvious failings the book will be useful to many readers who wish to get started on the subject.

We are waiting to see if her new book on Kashmir will be more insightful.