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Muzamil Jaleel
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Senain Kheshgi and Geeta V. Patel
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Two young American women, Senain, a Muslim, and Geeta a Hindu, sneak cameras into Kashmir, where conflicting faiths fuel the war. Their mission: to find out how peace can begin when bordering countries are deeply divided by conflict. The answers they seek are not posed to political leaders, but to the people of the land. The project tests the limits of friendship and documents the costs of war in one of the most dangerous and beautiful places on Earth. Project Kashmir airs on KUED Tuesday, May 18 at 11:00 p.m.

Filmed by Academy Award-winning photographer Ross Kauffman, the film captures the stunning beauty of Kashmir, while interweaving deeply moving personal stories of Kashmiris who have never known a world without war. Project Kashmir shows how hatred and suspicion grow into violence, but also how dialogue and peacemaking have the power to make change happen.

Premiering at the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival in New York, Project Kashmir continues to screen around the world. The film has been selected by the U.S. State Department to be screened at over 55 embassies and consulates internationally.

Kashmir, one of the most militarized zone on the planet, has been the battleground for more than 60 years of Pakistan, Indian, China, and its own citizens. In 1947, the Indian subcontinent, previously under British rule, was divided into the countries of India and Pakistan. One state, Kashmir, which had a Muslim majority of citizens but Hindu leadership, was situated squarely between these two nations. Kashmiris were given a choice: India or Pakistan? Both countries wanted Kashmir, a lush mountain region called "paradise on Earth." From that point on, Kashmir became a disputed region.

Armed insurgencies, seeking freedom, began to appear in Kashmir in the late 1980s. Some are pro-Pakistan, others pro-Indian, while still others fight for an independent nation. This complex conflict continues to divide along cultural, religious, and national lines, with no current end in sight, each claiming the other responsible for the conflict.

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