ABSTRACT
The genesis of the current Kashmir problem can be traced to 1846 if you are willing to look back that far. The battle of Sobraon in the Punjab fought in February that year ended Sikh rule in north India and allowed the British to consolidate their empire in India. Maharaja Gulab Singh, then the Dogra ruler of Jammu and an ally of the Sikhs, was persuaded by the British to remain neutral. At the Treaty of Amritsar signed following the battle, Kashmir was sold to him for a paltry sum of seven
than France, although it had a population of about four million in 1941.
