Kashmir


Book Description

Kashmir is one of the most protracted and bloody occupations in the world—and one of the most ignored. Under an Indian military rule that, at half a million strong, exceeds the total number of US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, freedom of speech is non-existent, and human- rights abuses and atrocities are routinely visited on its Muslim-majority population. In the last two decades alone, over seventy thousand people have died. Ignored by its own corrupt politicians, abandoned by Pakistan and the West, which refuses to bring pressure to bear on its regional ally, India, the Kashmiri people’s ongoing quest for justice and self- determination continues to be brutally suppressed. Exploring the causes and consequences of the occupation, Kashmir: The Case for Freedom is a passionate call for the end of occupation, and for the right of self- determination for the Kashmiri people.




The Vale of Kashmir


Book Description

"Charmed by the generous people and exquisite beauty of Kashmir, celebrated photographer John Isaac set out to honor this enchanting land that is unknown to so many. The 160 photographs in The Vale of Kashmir present the people and landscape of this remote and exotic region and the unique way of life that has developed on Dal Lake." "Nestled in the lush area where India, China, and Pakistan meet, the Vale of Kashmir is a vast garden dotted with lakes, marshes, orchards, and terraced fields, surrounded by the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas. Isaac's spectacular photographs show us canals crowded with houseboats, floating gardens on Dal Lake, and the ancient city of Srinagar. The varied details of daily life-the harvesting of saffron, Hindu pilgrimages through the mountains, shepherds on the Himalayan slopes, and prayers at the mosque-come alive in these pages." "In addition to capturing the breathtaking natural beauty of the Vale, Isaac also honors the private realm of family life in Kashmir, with images of the merchants, farmers, weavers, and fishermen who live on the lake. Though renowned for its abundance of superb handicrafts, including carpets, shawls, silks, woodwork, and papier-mache boxes, Kashmir and its people are largely uncelebrated; Isaac's tender portraits honor these hard-working families. This arresting view of the land and Kashmiri people is put into a historical and geographical context by author Art Davidson's insightful and sensitive introduction."--BOOK JACKET.




Resisting Occupation in Kashmir


Book Description

Resisting Occupation in Kashmir considers the social and legal dimensions of India's occupation of Kashmir and the ways in which Kashmiri youth are drawing on the region's history of armed rebellion to reimagine the freedom struggle in the twenty-first century.




Kashmir


Book Description

Since 1947-48, when India and Pakistan fought their first war over Kashmir, it has been reduced to an endlessly disputed territory. As a result, the people of this region and its rich history are often forgotten. This short introduction untangles the complex issue of Kashmir to help readers understand not just its past, present, and future, but also the sources of the existing misconceptions about it. In lucidly written prose, the author presents a range of ways in which Kashmir has been imagined by its inhabitants and outsiders over the centuries—a sacred space, homeland, nation, secular symbol, and a zone of conflict. Kashmir thus emerges in this account as a geographic entity as well as a composite of multiple ideas and shifting boundaries that were produced in specific historical and political contexts.




The Night of Broken Glass


Book Description

Over the last three decades, Kashmir has been ravaged by insurgency. While reams have been written on it - in human rights documents, academic theses, non-fiction accounts of the turmoil, and government and military reports - the effects of the violence on its inhabitants have rarely been rendered in fiction. Feroz Rather's The Night of Broken Glass corrects that anomaly. Through a series of interconnected stories, within which the same characters move in and out, the author weaves a tapestry of the horror Kashmir has come to represent. His visceral imagery explores the psychological impact of the turmoil on its natives - Showkat, who is made to wipe off graffiti on the wall of his shop with his tongue; Rosy, a progressive, jeans-wearing 'upper-caste' girl who is in love with 'lower-caste' Jamshid; Jamshid's father Gulam, a cobbler by profession who never finds his son's bullet-riddled body; the ineffectual Nadim 'Pasture', who proclaims himself a full-fledged rebel; even the barbaric and tyrannical Major S, who has to contend with his own nightmares. Grappling with a society brutalized by the oppression of the state, and fissured by the tensions of caste and gender, Feroz Rather's remarkable debut is as much a paean to the beauty of Kashmir and the courage of its people as it is a dirge to a paradise lost.




Death in Kashmir


Book Description

Written by celebrated author M. M. Kaye, Death in Kasmir is a wonderfully evocative mystery ... When young Sarah Parrish takes a skiing vacation to Gulmarg, a resort nestled in the mountains above the fabled Vale of Kashmir, she anticipates an entertaining but uneventful stay. But when she discovers that the deaths of two in her party are the result of foul play, she finds herself entrusted with a mission of unforeseen importance. And when she leaves the ski slopes for the Waterwitch, a private houseboat on the placid shores of the Dal Lake near Srinagar, she discovers to her horror that the killer will stop at nothing to prevent Sarah from piecing the puzzle together.




Kashmir


Book Description

Himalayan Kingdoms, Buddhist palaces, mountain treks and spectacular scenery entwine in newly accessible Kashmir, introduced by Bradt in the first detailed guide to the region.




Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris


Book Description

The seemingly intractable Kashmir dispute and the fate of Kashmiris throughout South Asia and beyond are the twin themes in Snedden's meticulously researched book.




The Kashmir Dispute, 1947-2012


Book Description

The Kashmir Dispute 1947-2012 traces the complex history of this long- standing issue, and the political discontent and dissent surrounding it - relating especially to the question of the accession of the state of Jammu and Kashmir to the Union of India. The book opens with a critical and insightful introduction based on recently published material, which illuminates the multitudinous issues and resolutions relating to Kashmir in a holistic manner. It then delves into the intricacies of the Kashmir problem with a collection of the author's articles published over the last five decades in various dailies, journals, and books, bringing to light many hitherto unknown or forgotten issues and facts relating to the troubled history of the state. The articles are divided thematically into three major headings, namely, The Indo-Pak Dispute, The US and Kashmir, and The Endgame. They provide a critical perspective on the issues that are raised. The book concludes with a selection ofboth archival and contemporary documents, which highlight some important episodes in the history of the formation of the state of Jammu and Kashmir and provide a background to the current political reality.




Writings About Kashmir


Book Description

Any attempt to homogenize Kashmiri society or the politico-cultural discourse on Kashmir is a dangerously flawed exercise. To that end, the chapters in this book address various aspects of the political, cultural, and socioeconomic life in Kashmir. These chapters are interdisciplinary interventions that could potentially bridge ethnic, religiocultural, and political divides in the region. The book is divided into three sections: the first section explores history and memory, offering a critical dialogue between these phenomena and fiction. The chapters in section two offer a critical dialogue between history, politics, and gender, analyzing historical and political discourses to underscore the agential capacities of Kashmiri women, which are, traditionally, subsumed within masculinist discourse. The sole chapter in section three foregrounds the complex relationship between history, trauma, and poetry. Taken together, this book is a nuanced attempt at giving readers the opportunity to engage with multiple subjectivities, historical understandings, and political opinions. It will be of interest to general readers, scholars, and advanced students of Literature, Politics, History, Human Geography and Sociology. This book was originally published as a special issue of the South Asian Review.