Kashmir - at the edge of India's borders and the heart of India's consciousness - also guards the frontiers of ideology. If there was a glow of hope in the shadows of Partition, it was kashmir, whose people consciously rejected the false patriotism of funamentalism and made common cause with secular India instead of theocratic Pakistan. Why has Kashmir's harmony disintegrated and been stained by the blood of rebellion? M.J. Akbar delves into the past for answers.

To be updated