Kashmir By Manreet Sodhi Someshwar

Maharaja Hari Singh rules Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Princely State expected to accede to Pakistan during the partition in 1947. But Hari Singh dreams of a Switzerland-like status for his Himalayan kingdom. Meanwhile, popular leader Sheikh Abdullah rallies for freedom and the Poonchis in western Jammu revolt, telegramming Jinnah for help; soon, fearsome kabailis are carving a swath of savagery and destruction through the kingdom towards Srinagar.

In the Valley, tourists flee in the face of the tribal invasion. When Durga Mehra’s husband is murdered by the kabailis, she seeks refuge in a camp where another desperate inmate, Zooni, is also awaiting passage to Srinagar. As rations become scarce, newly widowed Kashmira worries how she’ll feed her children, but her houseboat guest, intrepid American journalist Margot Parr, is unfazed. She realizes she has the scoop of a lifetime on her hands …

The rattled Maharaja signs the accession to India, pleading for immediate help. Pandit Nehru and Sardar Patel dispatch the Indian Army to defend the Valley, and Akbar Khan of the Pakistan Army races to aid the kabailis. Barely two months into independence, the two new nations are pitched into battle. The first Indo-Pak war begins, upending the subcontinent forever.

Kashmir is the thrilling conclusion to The Partition Trilogy that began with Lahore and continued with Hyderabad.