GEOGRAPHY—The state of Jammu and Kashmir, call the disputed territory by its official name, has an area of 86,024 square miles, making it slightly smaller in size than Britain. It is bounded on the northeast by the Sinkiang region of China: on the northwest by Afghanistan, on the east by Tibet, on the south by India and on the west—its longest border—by Pakistan.

The Indus River bisects the state from east to west. The northern region is dominated by soaring mountain ranges and the only extensive area of relatively flat land is in the southern region—including the lush Vale Kashmir, site of the capital Srinagar. The forests that cover about one‐eighth of the state are a major source of revenue, as is agriculture.

PEOPLE—About 80 per cent of the population of 3.9 million is Moslem. Hindus comprise the largest minority group, and Hindus of Kashmiri background are substantially represented in the elite of India's bureaucracy and Government—including Mrs. Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister.

HISTORY—The present state was essentially created in the mid‐19th century through the merger of five smaller states under a single ruler, and came under British rule in 1849. Less than five months after the division in 1947 of the subcontinent into India and the widely separated Pakistan, the two nations were at war over Kashmir.

The fighting continued until the end of 1949, when both nations agreed to a United Nations‐sponsored cease‐fire and a temporary division of the state along the truce line until the Kashmiris could decide their allegiance by plebiscite. The result gave control of about two‐thirds of Kashmir–to India, with the poorer, northwest region under Pakistani control.

In 1965 the situation once again exploded into fullscale violence. The 22‐day war in 1965 began, after months of clashes along the cease‐fire line, with Indian charges that Pakistan was fomenting civil war in the Indian‐held part of Kashmir. Pakistan said the charges were merely persiflage to obscure an internal rebellion. The situation was resolved after a cease‐fire with the signing by both countries of the Declaration of Tashkent, which promised withdrawal of troops and future discussions of the Kashmir issue.