Mohammed Ali Jinnah was the founder of Pakistan. He is referred to as Qaid-i-Azam, or "father of the nation." Leader of the Muslim League in preindependence India, he negotiated the split between India and Pakistan in 1947 with leaders from the Congress Party of India and with the departing British. He died shortly after the independence of Pakistan but is remembered by all Pakistanis for his critical role in Pakistan's birth as a nation.
Kashmir itself was not formally a part of the British Empire but was an independent "princely state" headed by a Hindu maharaja, even though the large majority of the population was Muslim. This maharaja signed an Instrument of Accession that made Kashmir part of India despite its Muslim majority.
As Indian support was rushed to Kashmir, Pakistanis invaded from the west and took about a third of the total territory of Kashmir. From its viewpoint, it was a liberating force sent to defend the Islam Kashmiri Muslims, and the part of Kashmir held by Pakistan is called Azad, or "free" Kashmir. The Vale of Kashmir, considered to be Kashmir's heartland, remained under Indian control and is referred to as "Indian-Occupied Kashmir" by Pakistanis, who feel that because of Kashmir's Muslim majority it is clearly part of Pakistan and not India.
Much scholarly activity today is devoted to the timing and circumstances surrounding the signing of the Instrument of Accession. The United Nations, which got involved in the Kashmir
World History
