"Kashmir remains one of the world's most militarized areas of dispute, having been in the grips of an armed insurgency against India since the late 1980s. In existing scholarship, ideas of territoriality, state sovereignty, and national security have dominated the discourses on the Kashmir conflict. This book, in contrast, places Kashmir and Kashmiris at the center of historical debate and investigates a broad range of sources to illuminate a century of political players and social structures in contested Kashmir and to reveal Kashmiris' myriad imaginings of "freedom," transcending the borders of the nation-states that partition the region. It contends that the idea of territorial nationalism that has mesmerized India and Pakistan has failed to bring peace to the South Asian subcontinent. Instead, the trauma of partition continues to unfold in Kashmir as Kashmiris struggle for dignity and rights"--

Historically grounded study of post-partition Kashmir that places Kashmir and Kashmiris at the centre of the historical debate.

Kashmir remains one of the world's most militarized areas of dispute, having been in the grips of an armed insurgency against India since the late 1980s. In existing scholarship, ideas of territoriality, state sovereignty, and national security have dominated the discourses on the Kashmir conflict. This book, in contrast, places Kashmir and Kashmiris at the center of historical debate and investigates a broad range of sources to illuminate a century of political players and social structures on both sides of divided Kashmir and in the wider Kashmiri diaspora. In the process, it broadens the contours of Kashmir's postcolonial and resistance history, complicates the meaning of Kashmiri identity, and reveals Kashmiris' myriad imaginings of freedom. It asserts that 'Kashmir' has emerged as a political imaginary in postcolonial era, a vision that grounds Kashmiris in their negotiations for rights not only in India and Pakistan, but also in global political spaces.

The Aftermath of Partition in South Asia draws upon new theoretical insights and fresh bodies of data to historically reappraise partition in the light of its long aftermath.

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.

Forgotten Kashmir examines the evolution of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK) over the past seven decades. It includes major milestones like the 'tribal' invasion in 1947-48, the Sudhan revolt in the 1950s, the Ayub era, the Simla Agreement, the adoption of an 'Interim Constitution of 1974' and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). It is not simply a historical account but one that analyses the events in POK against the background of developments in Pakistan's polity to better understand Pakistan's motivations for its policies in the region. The book delves into contentious issues such as the right of self-determination - that is distinct from the concept of plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir which was debated in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). More recently, the Chinese presence in the region has been considered, which is bound to grow with the development of CPEC, which runs through the Northern Areas. The book covers internal developments in that remote area. The author, a seasoned diplomat, provides a wealth of information that comes from his stint in Karachi, involvement in the Jammu and Kashmir issue at the Ministry of External Affairs, discussions in the United Nations, and as a member of bilateral working groups to counter-terrorism with the US, EU, UK, and Canada.