India

- Andrew North

Demands for a referendum persist in Kashmir, but the chances of it happening are remote

India's foreign minister didn't know Scotland was considering divorce, until an aide whispered in her ear. A more pressing concern for some Indians was what it meant for the price of Scotch.

There's also been some schadenfreudein the air, watching their former colonial master prepare to "partition" itself.

For many, the idea that the UK was about to give away some of its territory voluntarily - and because the British prime minister himself had allowed a vote - was hard to comprehend.

And if the Scots had voted "Yes", it would have set an uncomfortable precedent in Kashmir. India has never carried out its 1948 promise to hold a referendum there, and Kashmiris were quick to make the comparison with the Scots getting a vote.

So it's not surprising Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj's initial reaction to the idea the UK could break up was "God forbid". It would have just made things too complicated.