ABSTRACT
The line of control (LOC) in Kashmir has not only not stabilized it has subsumed within its geopolitical history all other dimensions of the situation of the land, virtually partitioned by this line, including its internal ethno-linguistic variety. In the time of globalization there are few better ways to have dividends from conflicts than to have local wars over borders that make the milieu global, and therefore make the political returns for the state high. In October 1947, a force of invading Pathan tribesmen, with some help from Pakistani army crossed from the Northwest frontier and invaded the Kashmir valley. The Hindu Maharaja of this Muslim majority state signed a deed of accession with India to gain India's help in repelling the invaders. Nehru's official biographer is of the opinion that such a treaty completely changed Indian posture toward Pakistan. The Kargil border war over the LOC signalled that the line's greatest function has been to symbolize a double metamorphosis.
