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Synopsis The state of Jammu and Kashmir is the bone of contention between India and Pakistan. India occupies two thirds of Kashmir. The rest is with Pakistan and China. PoK (called Azad Kashmir in Pakistan) and Northern Areas (Gilgit and Baltistan) are held by Pakistan. China is in control of Aksai Chin, Saksgam and Raksgam areas of Ladakh sub-division of Kashmir. India claims that the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of the country. Pakistan, on the other hand, considers Kashmir to be an unfinished agenda of the partition. This clash of interests is mainly responsible for the crisis in Kashmir which has immensely affected the political dynamics of states in its internal as well as external dimensions. The book is mainly based on the research work done by the author in the area of politics and government in Jammu and Kashmir. The contents of the book are—state politics: a theoretical framework; panorama of Jammu and Kashmir politics; politics of ethnicity and regionalism; dimensions of mainstream political parties; process of elections and oppositional politics; phenomena of defections and factionalism; party-government relations in state politics; local devolution and panchayat institutions; alienation and militancy in Jammu and Kashmir.