Published in association with Regional Centre for Strategic Studies, Colombo. This volume looks at the Indo-Pak conflicts and the recent peace process through the prism of various ripeness theories, especially William Zartman's: when the parties engaged in the conflict realize that a stalemate is reached which is hurting, they look towards reaching a compromise. Has the Indo-Pak conflict reached the mutually hurting stalemate stage? What made General Musharraf adopt a political approach towards India after initiating a military confrontation in Kargil? Why did the Vajpayee government decide to change its policy towards Pakitan after a year long confrontation in 2002? Has there been a realization that the confrontational policy/military option had failed? Or was it due to external pressure from the international community led by the US? Numerous changes have been taking place inside Jammu & Kashmir. The Indian government has organized a successful election for the state legislative assembly. The new state government in J&K has initiated a healing touch' policy, which is yet to make changes at the ground level. The Hurriyat stands vertically divided and the armed non-state actors including the militant and jihadi organizations have their own objectives. The bus service between the two Kashmirs has started and is welcomed by people despite opposition from a section of militants and separatists. Is the Kashmir conflict finally ripe to resolve? The book also look into certain preconditions essential to make the conditions ripe and suggest measures that would initiate a process towards a final compromise between India and Pakistan.