Srinagar, Jan. 6 -- The strategic influence and historical imprints of Baramulla have been pivotal in the evolution of Kashmir. However, there has been a paradigm shift right from the blockade of the Jhelum Valley Trade Route.

By Muskan Maknoo

BEFORE opening the partition floodgates in the valley, Baramulla-as nonagenarian Aziz Mir remembers in his old town home-was a thriving town on the banks of Jhelum. As the entry point of pre-47 Kashmir, the place was dotted with inns, intrigues and inquisitiveness.

Some eight eventful decades later, the town has entered into the local lexicon as some northern town whose thoroughfare merely runs up to the line of control.

"Before the arrival of uprooted people and armed tribals, and before the so...