A desolation called peace
Subtitle: voices from Kashmir
By: edited by Ather Zia and Javaid Iqbal Bhat
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers India
Published: 2019
Place of publication: Noida, Uttar Pradesh
Language: eng
Number of pages: 288
ISBN-13: 9789353570057; 9789353570064
Subjects: History; Autonomy and independence movements; Anthropology; Private collections; Political and social views
Description: "The accession of Kashmir to the Indian Union in 1947 had raised objections both in Kashmir and India, echoes of which continue to be heard even today. At the time, Sheikh Abdullah was the uncrowned king of Kashmir; today, his grave is under security lest it be vandalized. What accounts for this change in attitude? A Desolation Called Peace provides important insights to understand the political aspirations of the people of Kashmiri and the change in their perceptions since Independence. Written and edited by Kashmiri author, this collection of ethnographic essays explores the desire for 'azadi' as a historical and indigenous demand. While the accounts traverse the period from before 1947 to the momentous time of 1989 when militancy began, the essays illustrate how postcolonial politics has impinged on Kashmiri lives and aspirations, thus paving the way for the intractable dispute of today. This anthology of deeply felt essays will enable an understanding of Kashmir beyond the hackneyed tropes that portray the issue reductively as a proxy war, terrorism or a simple law and order situation."--Back cover.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 269-275) and index.

Also available as an e-book.
Table of contents: title: Introduction / Ather Zia and Javaid Iqbal Bhat; title: In the arms of fire / Prof. G.R. Malik; title: The life story of Kashmir / Zareef Ahmed Zareef; title: Fragments from a diary: Trials and tribulations of a Kashmiri life / Zahir U Din; title: Of rooms and resistance: Prisons, protests, and politics in Kashmir / Mona Bhan; title: The calm and early signs of conflict / Anuradha Bhasin Jamwal; title: In memory lake / Mirza Waheed; title: My journey towards political consciousness / narrative: Khurram Parvez ; written by: Haziq Qadri; title: To be Kashmiri in the present: Politics, ethics, and history in the work of Akhtar Mohiuddin / Mohamad Junaid; title: A childhood to insurgency / Shahnaz Bashir; title: From the torture chambers and back / narrative: Abdul Qadeer Dar ; written by Nawaz Gul Qanungo; title: The vernal interlude 1989 / Mir Khalid; title: How I became a Kashmiri rebel in India / Syed Zafar Mehdi.