Description
This paper traces the attempts of the leading Kashmiri nationalist, Sheikh Abdullah, and the advocacy efforts of the India-Pakistan Conciliation Group to secure international support for a plebiscite in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Focusing on Abdullah’s 1964-65 trips to Pakistan, the Middle East, and the United Kingdom, it examines his proposal for the creation of a confederation between India, Pakistan, and Kashmir. In doing so, it situates Abdullah within the pantheon of anti-colonial nationalists who challenged conventional conceptions of national self-determination and postcolonial sovereignty.