In 1846, the British created the state of Jammu and Kashmir and then quickly sold this prized region to the wily and powerful Raja Gulab Singh. Intriguingly, had they retained it, the India-Pakistan dispute over possession of the state may never have arisen; but Britain’s concerns lay elsewhere-expansionist Russia, beguiling Tibet and unstable China-and their agents played the ‘Great Game’ in Afghanistan and what was then known as ...
