Languages of Belonging: Islam, Regional Identity, and the Making of Kashmir
"This is an outstanding book. Based on massive archival research in Delhi, Jammu and Srinagar and the unearthing of rare Kashmiri literary sources, it skillfully uncovers the religious sensibilities that underlay the formation of Kashmir's regional identity in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century...Languages of Belongingwill light up new ways of understanding the formation of identities in South Asia's regions." --Sugata Bose, Harvard University"Zutshi examines the development of Kashmir's intellectual, economic, cultural, and religious history over the "long duree" to illustrate the shifting nature of Kashmiri identity(ies) in the last two hundred years....The book is significant in its interweaving of heretofore untapped sources, especially Kashmiri poetry, to describe the development of Kashmiri political consciousness. Recommended"--CHOICE"Zutshi arrives at [her] conclusions with...attention to nuance and detail...[Zutshi's] study of the working of Dogra rule suggests the need for a careful examination of what, if any, meaning the notion of a 'Hindu state' may have actually had to contemporaries...Notions of a homogenous Kashmirir Muslim identity, Zutshi's analysis suggests, need to be tempered by an understanding of the working of caste, class, and ideology."--American Historical Review"...nuance[d] and detail[ed]."--American Historical Review"Languages of Belongingis a quantum leap forward in Kashmir studies and will make one of the best histories of 'regional' identities and economies in India yet produced. The work brings forward a great deal of new and important material and provides for a new framework for understanding regional identities in South Asia."--C.A. Bayly, Cambridge University"Rarely has Kasimir received sustained scholarly attention that goes beyond the issues of rival territorial claims and policy studies.  Drawing on a rich vein of sources, this book breaks new ground...A monograph of exceptional rigour and insight, a must for specialist and lay person alike." --Mahesh Rangarajan, Visiting Assistant Professor at Cornell University