27 October 1947. Shortly after dawn, Indian troops begin landing at the Srinagar airfield amid extreme uncertainty. It’s possible that the airfield, which lies within striking distance of Pakistani soldiers, has already been overrun. Regardless, the airlift of Indian soldiers continues swiftly and with incredible audacity.

On 7 November, the Battle of Shalateng, the first deliberate offensive undertaken by Indian forces in the Kashmir Valley, is fought. The invaders, unprepared for a coordinated mechanized thrust, collapse completely. In 1947: The Battle of Badgam and Shalateng, Colonel Ajay Kumar Raina records a definitive account of the India–Pakistan conflict over the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir following Partition. He looks at the persistence of British influence during the transition from empire to independence, and how it allowed Pakistan to strategically invade Jammu and Kashmir, while India remained mired in diplomatic uncertainties.

The book shows how Jammu and Kashmir was absorbed into India under conditions that were fundamentally different from those applied elsewhere, and how this anomaly lies at the heart of the Kashmir dispute. Drawing on archival records, official correspondence, and first-hand accounts, this book depicts how the survival of the valley was secured in those first critical days after India achieved independence. It restores a sense of balance to the Jammu and Kashmir question and invites an ‘honest reckoning with the past’.