section_path: Government and politics/Kashmir conflict
section_name: Kashmir conflict
paragraph_text: Kashmir conflict
  
  Kashmir, a Himalayan region at the northern tip of the Indian subcontinent, was governed as the autonomous princely state of Jammu and Kashmir during the British Raj before the Partition of India in August 1947. This sparked a major territorial dispute between India and Pakistan, resulting in several conflicts over the region. India controls about 45.1% of Kashmir, including Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, while Pakistan controls roughly 38.2%, comprising Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit−Baltistan. Additionally, about 20% of the region, known as Aksai Chin and the Shaksgam Valley, is under Chinese control. India claims the entire Kashmir region based on the Instrument of Accession signed by the princely state's ruler, Maharaja Hari Singh, while Pakistan argues for its Muslim-majority population, and geographical proximity to Pakistan. The United Nations was involved in resolving the conflict, leading to a ceasefire in 1949 and the establishment of the Line of Control (LoC) as a de facto border. India, fearing Kashmir's secession, did not hold the promised plebiscite, as it believed Kashmiris would vote to join Pakistan.
  
  Pakistan claims that its position is for the right of the Kashmiri people to determine their future through impartial elections as mandated by the United Nations, while India has stated that Kashmir is an " integral part " of India, referring to the 1972 Simla Agreement and to the fact that regional elections take place regularly. Certain Kashmiri independence groups believe that Kashmir should be independent of both India and Pakistan.