India does not own the whole of Kashmir. As it is evident in the above map, Kashmir is divided into 3 control sectors. Some of it is controlled by the Pakistan since the 1947 war and is called POK- Pak occupied Kashmir. While some of it is under Chinese control. However, the strategically important and favourable part of Kashmir is with India. A question that often arises is – Why don’t we take back what is ours? But the truth is India is better off without PoK, here’s why.
1. Terrain: Geographically, PoK is a barren land of mountains and ridges with scarce population and no economic value. The terrain is better accessible from Pakistani frontier rather than the Indian side.
2. Afghan interlude: PoK shares its boundary with Afghanistan. If PoK becomes part of India, it will mean that India will have to deal with terror groups in like ISIS, Taliban, Al Qaeda, etc. Also, the Pakistani terror hubs in PoK will be inducted into India.
3. Economy: India already spends about 10% of its central funds on J&K which does not even hold 1% of the population. Inclusion of Pok will only mean waste of resources that could be used in the welfare of 99% of the country’s population. Retaining PoK will put India into a state of deep economic trouble.
4. Demographics: PoK will be an extremely difficult part to control because of the scattered mentality of its residents. Majority of the population has anti-India and pro-Pakistani sentiments and this potentially poses a major internal security threat to India.
So for security, economic and accessibility reasons this region is extremely difficult to control and would only cause chaos in India’s economy and to security. That’s why India is better off without PoK.
These are the problems India would face if PoK was a part of India and does not include the problems india would face internally and internationally to acquire this region with military might which includes a whole another set of problems including war.