Since 2003-04, many new developments have been taking places on both sides of Kashmir across the Line of Control (LoC), raising expectations and new questions. These three books in review adopt different methodologies to look into various questions in a historical and contemporary perspective. While Pakistan Occupied Kashmir: The Untold Story is an edited book, with scholars in India analysing events across the LoC, primarily on the other side of it, Andrew Whitehead and David Davidas, both journalists provide an account of how they saw events, based on numerous interviews inside the Kashmir Valley.   On the other side of the LoC, the devastating earthquake in October 2005 has turned out to be a blessing in disguise for those parts of Kashmir occupied by Pakistan. For a long time, as Baronness Emma Nicholson, MP, EU Parliament mentioned recently, these regions were in ‘chains’ and were a ‘black hole’. The huge relief and reconstruction package from the international community also brought the aid agencies, paving the way for outsiders to see what is actually happening in the Muzaffarabad, Gilgit and Baltistan regions.   The result was magnificent, in terms of creating awareness at the global level. Three spectacular reports were published by different organizations; the International Crisis Group (ICG), an independent research organization based in Brussels, published a report titled Discord in Pakistan’s Northern Areas (March 2006), the Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a report titled ‘With Friends Like These...’ Human Rights Violations in Azad Kashmir (2006) and Baroness Emma Nicholson’s report titled Kashmir–Present Situation and Future Prospects (2007) which was passed by the European Union Parliament in May 2007.   Inside India, unfortunately for a long time, there has been no quality research work on these regions. The last known work Pakistan Occupied Kashmir: Under the Jackboot was an edited book, published in 1995. It is also equally unfortunate, that until recently, the Government of India failed to promote any independent research on various aspects of what is exactly happening inside PoK. Nor did it take active note of what is happening on the other side of the LoC, for example the problems of governance, lack of democracy and democratic institutions, sectarian violence and other related issues. Information regarding the other side was considered highly classified to be interpreted only by the intelligence agencies on narrow security perspectives.   Pakistan Occupied Kashmir: The Untold Story, edited by Virendra Gupta and Alok Bansal fills this huge lacunae. The ...