Colonizing Kashmir: State-building under Indian Occupation
Hafsa Kanjwal
Stanford University Press: 2023
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The region of Kashmir has been bitterly contested between India and Pakistan since the 1947 partition, when Kashmir’s Hindu king, under pressure, acceded to India even as Pakistan-backed militias invaded. Although the UN demanded a plebiscite, none was ever held. Kashmir remains a disputed territory today, with Pakistan controlling Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan and India governing Jammu, Kashmir Valley and Ladakh.
The Indian government has long portrayed Kashmir’s inclusion as the will of the people and blamed unrest on Pakistan-backed militants. But it also has, for years, refused to hold a referendum, prompting questions about its claim on the territory. Kashmir’s status remains a core dispute fuelling hostility between the nuclear-armed neighbours. Deadly flare-ups erupt periodically, almost triggering war in 2019 after India revoked Kashmir’s autonomy. The Indian academician Pratap Bhanu Mehta has described Kashmir as “perhaps independent India’s greatest political failure”.
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- Tags: Hafsa Kanjwal, India, Issue 33, Kashmir, Muhammad Nadeem, Pakistan