A challenge, an opportunity

India had to respond to adapting its strategic thinking on the Kashmir issue, if it was serious in resolving the conflict

Because of their geographical and cultural differences, the Kashmiris have maintained separate identities despite their incorporation into the Indian state long ago. The competing political tendencies of democratic liberalism and regressive traditionalism have advocated the retention of differences in administration, customs and the thought process. Special constitutional provisions ensured that a sense of Kashmiri identity is more important to people than their relationship to India. Different interpretations of the Islamic faith have come to contribute significantly to the persistence of Kashmiri resistance to psychological integration with the Indian republic, and then to the inability of their representatives to agree among