The thesis has been an attempt to make sense of the political discourse in Kashmir from the early 1940s till the emergence of the popular uprising in the Valley towards the late 1980s. The thesis... Show moreThe thesis has been an attempt to make sense of the political discourse in Kashmir from the early 1940s till the emergence of the popular uprising in the Valley towards the late 1980s. The thesis has tried to underscore the fragmented nature of the political in Kashmir, and the implications it has had on the politics of the region, particularly on the politics of rai-shumari (self determination) and aazadi. These inner fragments or contradictions that underline the political life in Kashmir may be attributed, as the thesis has sought to argue, to the multiple political subjectivities that constitute ‘Kashmiri people’ as a community. Show less
This past year has witnessed India and Pakistan battling over an area that has known little peace since 1947. While the two states speak of 'nationalism', 'secularism' or 'Muslim unity', and... Show moreThis past year has witnessed India and Pakistan battling over an area that has known little peace since 1947. While the two states speak of 'nationalism', 'secularism' or 'Muslim unity', and various Islamist organizations call for jehad, most Kashmiris speak of 'self-determination' and 'Kashmiri identity'. The idea of self-determination as independence was first formulated in 1947 by the last Hindu Dogra Maharaja, Hari Singh. The concept of a distinct Kashmiri identity (kashmiriyat) evolved in the 1930s with a movement, explicitly involving both Muslim and Hindu intelligentsia, against feudal-cum-colonial rule. The notion of a discrete Kashmiri citizenship goes back to the 1920s, when Kashmiri Hindus, facing competition from Punjabi Hindus, pressed for a formal definition of 'state subjects'. Show less
