Kashmiri Nationalism, 1989-2016 E-Book

Arshi Javaid

• Herausgeber: transcript Verlag
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Seitenzahl: 306

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Beschreibung

Kashmiri nationalism is defined by its dichotomy between the ethnic and the civic. Arshi Javaid delves into this dichotomy, unravelling the political and social variables that shape it. Moving beyond a conventional securitized perspective on the Kashmir conflict, she offers an understanding of Kashmiri nationalism as a daily practice. This perspective critiques the view that reduces Kashmiri nationalism to a monolithic entity, highlights dynamic socio-political developments, and argues that the state nationalist majoritarian agenda undermines collective rights, erodes local identities, and escalates tensions, breeding confrontation.

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Arshi Javaid

Kashmiri Nationalism, 1989-2016

Contested Politics of ›Self‹ and ›Other‹

This work was initially submitted as a PhD thesis at the Centre for South Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India. The research was funded by a doctoral fellowship offered by the Indian Council for Social Science Research.

The publication of this work was funded by Einstein Foundation, Berlin.

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First published in 2024 by transcript Verlag, Bielefeld

© Arshi Javaid

Cover layout: Maria Arndt, Bielefeld

Printed by: Elanders Waiblingen GmbH, Waiblingen

https://doi.org/10.14361/9783839475478

Print-ISBN: 978-3-8376-7547-4

PDF-ISBN: 978-3-8394-7547-8

EPUB-ISBN: 978-3-7328-7547-4

ISSN of series: 2702-9050

eISSN of series: 2702-9069

For Mamma and Abu

Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Kashmiri Nationalism: An Overview

Conceptual Definitions

Hypotheses and Methodology

Chapterisation

Chapter 1 Nationalism: A Conceptual Framework

Introduction

The Study of Nationalism During the Early Years

The Study of Nationalism, 1944-1980

The Study of Nationalism Since 1980

Exclusion and Desire for Power: A Distinctive Characteristic of Nationalism

Ethnic Nationalism: A Derivative Discourse of the Contestation Between the Self and the Other

Sources of Ethnic Nationalism

Construction of Ethnic nationalism

Resource Competition and Ethnic Nationalism

Articulation of Interests as Ethnic Nationalism

Goals and Objectives of Ethnic Nationalist Movements

Strategies of Ethnic Nationalism

Conclusion

Chapter 2 The Origin and Nature of Kashmiri Nationalism: A Historical Background

Introduction

Politico-Economical Factors

Sociological Factors

Historical Factors

Educational Factors

Psychological Factors

Intellectual Factors

Conclusion

Chapter 3 Political and Militant Dimensions of Kashmiri nationalism

Introduction

Political Nationalism and the Politics of Plebiscite

Strategies Adopted by the Plebiscite Front for Garnering Public Support

Contribution of Plebiscite Front Movement to Kashmiri Nationalism

The Proliferation of Youth Groups: Al-Fatah and Other Organisations

Understanding the Impact of Youth Groups on Kashmiri Nationalism

Run-Up to the Elections of 1987

Understanding the Drift From Political Nationalism to Militant Nationalism

Rise of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front

Constitution and Strategy of JKLF

Challenges for Nationalism Proposed by JKLF

Rise of Hizbul Mujahideen

Strategies of Hizbul Mujahideen

Chapter 4 External Factors in Kashmiri Nationalism

Introduction

The Diaspora and Kashmiri Nationalism

Diasporic Contribution

Pakistan as an External Factor in Kashmiri Nationalism

Pakistan and Kashmiri Nationalism

Pakistan’s Irredential Claim and Kashmiri Nationalism

Conclusion

Chapter 5 Contesting Kashmiri Nationalism

Historical Background

The Moment of Partition

Jammu Province and National Conference

Jammu and the Pandit Migration

Jammu and the Amarnath Land Agitation

BJP/PDP Coalition and its Impact on Jammu

Conclusion

Final Conclusion

Hypotheses One

Hypotheses Two

References

Acknowledgements

I sincerely thank my academic adviser, Professor P. Sahadevan, whose invaluable guidance and expertise were instrumental in shaping the direction of this research. This work has greatly benefitted from the support of numerous institutions and libraries, without which its completion would not have been possible. I am deeply grateful to the library staff at Jawaharlal Nehru University, the University of Kashmir, and the Research Library of the Department of Information in Jammu and Kashmir. Their unwavering assistance, resources, and dedication were not just crucial but indispensable to this project and deserve special recognition.

I must also acknowledge the Indian Council of Social Science Research for awarding me the doctoral scholarship, a pivotal support that enabled the research for this study. Additionally, I extend my heartfelt thanks to the Einstein Foundation Berlin, whose generous support not only made the publication of this work possible but also underscored the value of this research.

The kindness of many individuals has enriched my time in Berlin. I am particularly thankful to Prof. Nadja Christina Schneider, Dr. Achim Rohde, Stefan Rummel, my friend Anna Schneider, Tomas Kitlinskli, Pawel Leszkowicz, Reyazul Haque, Mahmoud al Zayed, Amal Obeidi, Max Kramer, my other colleagues at Academy in Exile, Freie Universität, and the Gender and Media Studies for the South Asian Region at Humboldt Universität. I am also deeply indebted to the Nowshehri family -Manzoor and Shaheena, Chonka family-Basit and Sumaira, Mr. Majeed Sultani, and Tufail in Berlin.

In Delhi, my heartfelt thanks go to Leila Gautam, Ayushi Kaul, Anujeema Saikia, Idris Omarzada, Gulzar, Manpreet, Zoya, Mustafa, Zakaria, Heena Kausar, late Sumegha Gulati, Sonika Mam, Basit, Md Irfan, Farhana Lateef and Ayesha whose friendship and support have been invaluable. I also need to thank Sumegha’s and Heena’s family for their affection. I am equally thankful to my friends in Kashmir—Tasim, Faizan Bhat, Irfan Hassan, Abir Bazaz, Suhail Masoodi, Jasir, Hafsah, and Taneema, who, along with Altaf Sahib, Shakeel Sahib, and Malik Sahib, enriched this work by sharing their valuable insights and experiences with me. A special mention to my father’s late friend, Prof Farid Parbati, who pushed me to pursue academics. Not only did he encourage me, but he also found me a home with the Khan family in Delhi where I could start in a new city. I will be eternally thankful to the Khan family.

I thank Comrade Kishan Dev Sethi and Tahir Baba in Jammu for their time. I must also acknowledge Late Amb. Arif Kamal and Suraya Kamal for their kindness. This work would not have come together if my respondents and interviewees had found time for me.

My family has been my anchor throughout this journey, and I cannot thank them enough for their patience and understanding during the long hours spent on my research. To my parents, Javid and Abida, thank you for allowing me to follow my heart. To my grandmother, Shams-un-Nisa, your endless prayers sustained me. To my brother, Dawar, your silent strength was deeply felt. I owe more than words can express to my husband, Danish, whose unwavering support kept me going. A special mention must also go to my baby niece, Yashal, who was born on the day I submitted this book’s first draft.

Lastly, I am incredibly grateful to my editors at Transcript, Jakob Horstmann and Valentin Müller, for believing in me and my work and for their continued support in bringing this project to fruition.

Introduction

This book examines Kashmiri nationalism and its contestations to it. It explores the theoretically different forms of Kashmiri nationalism-ethnic and civic. The classical dichotomy between the civic and the ethnic has been a recurrent feature in Kashmiri nationalism. The nature and interplay of the two forms will be explored in the book by placing them against a set of political and social variables. It looks at Kashmiri nationalism as a political expression, a latent subjectivity defining the connection between the individual and the collective.

The book seeks to understand Kashmiri nationalism as a daily practice through socio-political developments and adjustments. The Kashmir conflict has primarily been understood through a securitised approach that defines the relationship between India and Pakistan. Internal political dynamics and other causalities are given little importance. This, in part, is because they disappear before analytical lenses that are focused on formal institutions, geopolitical security, and the nation-building project. This understanding presents Kashmiri nationalism as a homogenised monolith.

However, there are differences based on social, political, and economic parameters considered in this work. The study focuses on the internal and external factors that have influenced Kashmiri nationalism and further uncovers if Kashmiri nationalism is synonymous with Islamic nationalism or exists as a separate entity. Varshney (1991:999) has influentially demonstrated that Kashmir is a result of three forces: religious nationalism represented by Pakistan, secular nationalism epitomised by India, and ethnic nationalism embodied in what Kashmiris called Kashmiriyat (being a Kashmiri).

Kashmiri Nationalism: An Overview

The growth of Kashmiri nationalism can be broken down into a few critical themes: the construction of ‘self’ versus the ‘other’, the centrality of religious identity, the desire for political autonomy, and its contested nature. As Kashmiri identity cannot be seen as a homogenised monolith, its transformation into contestation does not happen without the intervention of exogenous factors.

Like in other identities, the constitution of Kashmir’s identity is about differences. Identity formation happens through the self-realisation of an individual of how others perceive the individual. Mead (1934:225) argues that “an individual becomes self by taking attitudes of individuals towards himself/herself within a social environment.” The collective formation of identity and the sense of self-reflexive action formulate the distinctions between the self and the other. The Kashmiri identity gets negotiated between the ‘self’ and the ‘other’ through how it imagines itself and how the identity of the other constructs an identity for the self. This book examines the self and the other through how the self/other binary is reproduced and arranged. The underlying argument remains that the relations of difference are distorted into othering only when certain factors play in. And in essence, those transformative processes form the constitutive basis of the self/other interaction. Often, the interaction between the self and the other could only be for securing one’s identity. However, the difference is characterised by other factors like the nature of identity, social distance, etc. This work draws on the understanding that contestations between the self and the other are produced where identities are invoked overtly and made the basis for conflict. The social and political reproduction of conflict transforms the incompatibility of interests into an active battle between the self and the other.

Kashmiri identity in response to the ‘other’ needs to be understood in the context of the centuries of foreign rule Kashmir has witnessed – Mughals, Afghans, Sikhs, and Dogras. The identity has to be located in the series of dynamic interactions that have taken place over the years. Khan (2012) observes that the anxiety for preserving the Kashmiri identity can be traced to two crucial junctures, 1586 and 1846, when Kashmir came under the control of the Mughals and the Dogras, respectively. The sense of national and religious belonging also changed owing to the different ruling regimes. The establishment of the British Residency and the centralisation of the Dogra state under the British at the turn of the 20th century provided a context for an emphasis on ‘community’, which later became a reference point for identity.

A vital element of the 19th and 20th centuries political discourse in Kashmir is the repeated regional assertion against anything from the ‘outside’ (Nebar). While the narrative on Kashmiri regional and religious identities was undoubtedly transformed in indirect colonialism’s social and political context, the historical discourse, literary forms, religious idioms, and symbols from the pre-colonial period were easily identifiable in the 19th and 20th-century Kashmiri public discourse. For instance, the growth of radical Islam in the valley caused discomfort among the Sufi practitioners of Islam. Similarly, the Kashmiri Pandit community became quite apprehensive of the designs of co-religionists who had migrated to Awadh and had begun attacking the regionally specific religious customs. The contending contentions of ‘insider’ and ‘outsider’ are witnessed numerous times.

In this context, the protests of 1931 are an important landmark as it was the first time that Kashmiri Muslims erupted against the Dogra rule. It was in the 1930s that the sense of belonging to a religious collectivity informed the discourse on rights and freedom. In other words, the new Muslim leadership that emerged in the wake of the events of 1931 linked religious affiliation with political demands by claiming rights for Kashmiri Muslims based on the concept of a just Islamic society. Furthermore, since this leadership ultimately sought to replace the autocratic rule of Dogras with Kashmiri self-rule, articulating national ideology was imperative to its project. The energies unleashed by this mobilisation phase resulted in the formation of the Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference. The period forms the fulcrum of how the emerging sense of political and religious belonging gradually hinged towards two directions –a civic territorial idea of Kashmiri nationalism and an ethnic idea of Kashmiri nationalism. The rechristening of the Muslim Conference into the National Conference indicates how emerging consciousness ranged from exclusivist to inclusive liberal democratic. The sense of belonging was split over the organic historical experience linked through linguistic, religious, and folk traditions versus a unified voluntary nature of the state. Therefore, the focus of the two is different: the idea of how people imagined and envisioned a community and the idea of belonging to the same. By the time of the partition, Kashmiri nationalism was emerging civilly. The emergence of a civil society within a demarcated geographic territory, legal equality to the members, a government that respects the law rather than exists above the law, and respect for liberal democracy were the demands nationalists were espousing. As the partition approached, the question of Kashmiri nationhood came to be tied with the fate of princely states in the eventuality of a British withdrawal. As a Muslim-majority kingdom with a Hindu ruler, Jammu and Kashmir’s status was unique in its complexity. The Kashmir War of 1947 led to the Maharaja of Kashmir acceding to India on 26 October 1947. Lord Mountbatten accepted the accession with a clause that a referendum would be conducted in the region as soon as possible. The people would be allowed to either validate or negate the accession.

This provision for referendum or plebiscite became one of the main rallying points and demands by the Kashmiri nationalist movement. The much-promised referendum never happened, and the Pakistanis and nationalist sections in the valley claimed that it was an act of sabotage.

To account for the complexity of Jammu and Kashmir and accommodate nationalist claims in the state, it was given a special status under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. Sheikh Abdullah, the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference leader, became the state’s first Prime Minister. As Prime Minister, Sheikh Abdullah combined secular, civic nationalism with socialist policies to create a constituency for his rule, which shaped the ideology of the National Conference. Besides ending the hereditary monarchy, one of his significant achievements was the Abolition of Big Landed Estates Act, which ushered in land reforms and abolished the feudal system in Kashmir.

In the post-independence era and particularly under Sheikh Abdullah, a central concern in the Kashmiri nationalist sphere was the desire to maintain the state’s autonomy vis-a-vis the Centre. Despite the assurance of Article 370, the central government continued pressuring the state government to accept more provisions of the Indian Constitution. After hard bargaining by both sides, India’s Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Sheikh Abdullah entered into what became known as the Delhi Agreement in July 1952. However, there were contesting narratives to this as well. While the Muslim Conference continued to advocate accession to Pakistan, Jammu’s Dogra Hindus formed the Praja Parishad in the early 1950s, demanding the final and irrevocable accession to accession to India. The removal and arrest of Sheikh Abdullah in 1953 proved to be a significant point of rupture between Kashmir and the Indian state. Abdullah created a support base for the National Conference through land reform and debtor relief measures. By winning over their loyalty, he managed to secure their tacit support for their accession to India. His arrest harmed the credibility of the state government. It also decisively turned the balance of power in favour of the Centre. A symbolic manifestation of this was degrading the vocabulary of the Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir to the Chief Minister under the state’s new constitution adopted in 1957.

The structural breakdown enforced by the state led to the creation of alternate spheres of political mobilisation. Non-state alternatives emerged when the state-dominated participation and representation. The state promoted nationalism, which was fundamentally majoritarian and restricted autonomous political agency. The political process was based on centralisation and hegemonic control, curtailing legitimate representation. Thus, the strategy of hegemony and delegitimation emerged at the doctrinal and political levels. The state’s interests were taking priority over all the other commitments made at the time of accession. The state-nationalism espoused a parochial character and made itself a carrier of limited loyalties, ignoring or deliberately wiping out local or cultural characteristics. This situation led to the crisis of legitimacy and longevity of regional nationalism. The internal crisis of the state and the search for community and identity made way for a confrontation between the forces of Kashmiri nationalism and state nationalism.

Abdullah’s arrest in 1953 strengthened the autonomous nationalist forces. The heightened political turmoil led to the formation of the J&K Plebiscite Front in 1955. Its doctrine was “ensuring self-determination through a plebiscite under UN auspices, withdrawal of the armed forces of both nations from Kashmir and restoration of civil liberties and free elections.” These demands continue to be a central part of the nationalist outfits’ program in Kashmir.

The state’s majoritarian character promoted nationalism, restricting collective rights at a doctrinal and political level. The interests of the central state were prioritised over all other promises made at the time of accession. State-led nationalism espoused an exclusionary character and became a carrier of limited loyalties. This situation led to a crisis of legitimacy and provided longevity to local nationalism. It also led to youth-led organisations creating alternate avenues of mobilisation, channelling alternate narratives towards sustained collective action.

The youth-led organisations mainly emerged to launch an indigenous struggle to highlight the Kashmir issue internationally by giving it an indigenous shade without the involvement of Pakistan. These political formations became essential to everyday life in Kashmir and shaped Kashmiri nationalism. Sheikh Abdullah’s growth as a figure of Kashmiri resistance was cut short with the Indira-Abdullah Accord of 1975. The years from 1950-1970 were a time of intensive political mobilisation that constantly invoked the shared memories of denial and dispossession. The narratives produced during this period came to configure the political events within a context and created conditions for shaping the collective conscience.

Shiekh passed away in 1982 and was succeeded by his son, Farooq Abdullah. However, the Centre dismissed Farooq Abdullah’s government and imposed President’s Rule in the state, in a repeat of what had happened in several other states in India under Indira Gandhi. The periodic dismissal of elected governments and interference by the Centre prevented even pro-accession leaders like Sheikh Abdullah and Farooq Abdullah from building a stable political base. This created a vacuum that was later exploited by separatist outfits. President’s rule administered by Governor Jagmohan Malhotra following the sacking of Farooq’s government was accompanied by a crackdown on protests and arrest of political leaders.

The events of the 1980s created perfect conditions for the growth of militant nationalism. Non-fulfilment of the political aspirations of the people, undemocratic functioning of different institutions of the state, and maladministration in running the affairs of the state made ground for violent expression and militant assertion of Kashmiri identity. The breaking point was the electoral rigging of 1987, where Congress and Farooq Abdullah’s National Conference contested in alliance. It was opposed by a coalition of nonmainstream, anti-establishment groups known as the Muslim United Front (MUF). MUF represented a new face of Kashmir politics. By most accounts, the elections are said to have been rigged, and reports reveal that candidates of the MUF were beaten up. Pakistan, on its part, tried to capitalise on the resentment in the valley and provided patronage to the MUF member’s militant groups, reinforcing its irredentist claims over Kashmir through the militant groups. While the JKLF stood for complete independence and reinforced civic nationalism, the Hizbul Mujahideen, which was the militant wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami, stood for the merger with Pakistan.

Kashmiri nationalism adopted a variety of structural combinations to pursue its goals. Political nationalism directed an effective mobilisation for nationalism and tried utilising electoral strategy to expand the base of popular struggle. It sought to establish formal access to the state to translate movement aspirations into policy and ultimately created new state institutions. Meanwhile, militant nationalism undermined the state’s legitimacy through mass agitation on social, economic, and political issues. It sought to erode the ruling government’s claim to authority in the eyes of constituents and also tried to convince the international community of the state’s legitimacy. In a way, the militant transition was directed towards securing the political rather than the military overthrow of the state. Thus, one can say that the military and political struggles were not waged distinctly but in alliance. The outbreak of militant nationalism was not sudden but rather a gradual culmination of demands expressed in political form earlier. The absence of democracy, deep political mobilisation, and the growth of modern education and the press further channelled the grievances into a vocabulary of nationalism.

One can broadly assume that over the years, these central themes pointed out earlier constantly reinforce Kashmiri nationalism — fear of the other, religious identity, and loss of autonomy. The study uses 1989 as an entry point to delineate the nature and emerging aspects of Kashmiri nationalism.

Conceptual Definitions

Nationalism and its Typology

Nationalism is a political belief that people representing a natural community should live under one political system. The underlying question is what classifies a natural community: was the natural community invented, or was there a preexistence of nations? Additionally, today, what is the relation of nations and nationalism to modernity? The position taken by the perennialists and primordialists reflects whether it is natural or not; nations have been there for a long. The features of a nation, whether symbolic or mythical, pre-date the living memory of its members. The second position by modernists is that nations have emerged within a modern context and are created cosmetically. Schleiermacher (2004) and Fichte (1808) are the primary theorists who based their arguments on the primordial/perennial grounds where nations are an ancient and natural phenomenon. As the nation is immemorial, national forms may change, age and particular nations may dissolve, but the identity of a nation remains the same. Fichte (1808) advocated for the earthly fatherland and based his claim on ethnic-genealogical and cultural-linguistic elements.

The second set of understanding is the rational liberal understanding, which was shaped prominently by the ideas of Hans Kohn (1961), Elie Kedourie (1966), and Isiah Berlin (1979). Their main argument rests on the premise that nationalism developed in response to the intellectual and political crisis during the Enlightenment. In this sense, nationalism is a unit bound together, and the group is looking forward to the highest organised activity, forming a sovereign state. As attaining sovereignty might take time, it satisfies itself with some form of autonomy or pre-state organisation but eventually would rest on sovereignty. However, this sovereignty operates on a dual principle of empathy towards fellow members of the nationality. Still, it is marked with indifference and distrust/hate for members and outlook within the nations and by the crystallisation of will. This aspect generated a debate and set a precedent for Benedict Anderson, Anthony Smith, and Ernst Gellner.

Modernists perceived nations as modern social constructs that emerged with increased communication and the growth of contemporary social and political processes such as capitalism, industrialism, state bureaucratisation, secularism, and urbanisation. So, nations became territorial political communities that constituted the chief political bond and overtook other formative allegiances. Gellner (1983) intervened in the debate by understanding nationalism as a peculiarly contemporary phenomenon with dual structural connections between society and the modern capitalist economy. He envisioned nationalism as imposing a high culture on society, replacing local low culture. Anderson (2006) maintains that the nation is an imagined political community because its members will never know of their fellow members, meet them, or hear of them. Yet, they all share a sense of communion and horizontal comradeship. It also has a finite character because beyond a nation are other nations. Hobsbawm (1990) sees nations as a result of the recent historic process. Hobsbawm agrees with Gellner in the invented notion of nations and writes nations are inventions both in their culture and form. A creative method of selection and composition of the past is designed, and then the symbols take a different significance through modern rituals and institutional forms that arise with industrialisation. As a Marxist, Hobsbawm links the political invention of the nation to the needs of capitalism and the rising bourgeoise seeking hegemony on coming into competition with old established groups and religious beliefs.

Another discourse around the study of nationalism is the marked differences between the rise of nationalism in the Western and the non-Western world. This idea of difference was given by Meinecke (1907), who differentiated between the Staatsnation and Kulturnation. The former was based on cultural similarity, while the latter was based on the unity of common political history and constitution. Kohn (1961) reworked the idea of two types of nationalism – civic and ethnic. He details how nationalism in the West emerged as a predominantly political occurrence. In non-Western societies, it grew as a protest against and in conflict with the existing state pattern- primarily to redraw the political boundaries in conformity with the ethnographic demands and found expression in the cultural field. Western nationalism originated with the concepts of individual liberty and rational cosmopolitanism; in Eastern/central Europe and the Asian contexts, it pitched on the natural fact of the community and sentiments held together not by will but by traditional ties.

There also exists an understanding that the nature of nationalism in developing countries differs from that of Western countries. One approach to studying nationalism can be viewing the concept in the background of colonial rule. Nationalism can be a product of a reaction of colonised people against their colonial masters. Chatterjee (1986) and Nandy (1994) agree that nationalism is essentially a Western construct. However, there is a lot of variation when the concept travels to non-western societies. Chatterjee (1986) explains that nationalism in Africa and Asia emerged to escape European domination yet could not be distant from it. However, anti-colonial nationalism creates its sphere of influence well before it begins its contestation with the other. It divides society into two categories: spiritual. The material involves science, technology, and economy, while spirituality is the inner sanctum of culture. Nandy (1994) argues that colonialism cannot express itself only through economic and political variables. Its impact on the sphere of psychology is more lasting.

The study of ethnic nationalism in South Asia has taken two prominent trajectories - the state-centred nationalist and ethnic-nationalist projects. Brass (1991) explains that one of the shortcomings of the theory of ethnic groups is that it reifies the classes or the ethnic groups. He proposes that the state is an institution where elites are engaged in a conflict to access greater power. The groups compete to establish their rule to control resources and legitimacy. Since the state is a resource and distributor of resources, it can provide a political formula for differing claims. On the other hand, the ethnic-nationalist claim is the outcome of the shortcomings or failure of the state-centred project. Oommen (1997) elucidates that the heightened ethnic consciousness of an ethnic group combined with territorial and language dimensions forms the cornerstone of the separate state formation.

Political Dimensions of Kashmiri Nationalism

Rai (2004) and Zutshi (2004) locate the Kashmiri political and national identity before 1947. Rai’s account links colonial history to the present and dissects the role of religion and secularism in the Kashmir conflict. Her primary concern remains to examine how the Dogra Maharajas used the Hindu religion to stake a claim to authority and ensure legitimacy. Adding a new dimension to the study of the Kashmir conflict, her work documents the arbitrary rule of Dogra princes and how the formerly utilised services of Kashmiri Pandits and Punjabi Hindus as their allies. On the other hand, Zutshi notes that Kashmir could have been politically dormant had the Indian and Pakistani states accommodated Kashmir’s regional aspirations. Instead, Kashmir became a confrontative emblem between their competing nationalist imaginations.

Bose (2003) argues that the Kashmir crisis might have originated in partition, but other factors combined to continue the conflict. The non-existence of democracy and the militant movement became factors other than the complex regional, linguistic, and religious causalities. Ganguly (1996) and Behera (2000) explore how existing political institutions have shaped the Kashmir conflict. Ganguly (1996) explains that the 1989 insurgency resulted from the profoundly paradoxical exercise engaged by the Indian nation-state since 1989. The effort was on one side to entice the Muslims of Kashmir into fuller integration into the Indian Union by providing them with every effort for political education and mobilisation, but on the other hand, perceiving the separatist threats, damping down the institutions that engendered popular political participation in Kashmir. The apparent result was institutional decay that left no other way than political violence to show their discontent. He argues that social mobilisation and consequently increased political participation, unless accompanied by robust political institutions, becomes a reason for political instability. Behera (2000) aptly asserts that the logic of the modern nation-state that recognises a nation’s demographically compact form is problematic for pluralistic societies like India. She contends that the self-assertion of a formerly non-dominant identity becomes inherently a site for violence. She reminds us how the balance between competing nationalisms was maintained legally and constitutionally by the Delhi agreement, Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. However, the breakdown of this framework occurred when the Indian state imposed itself on the Kashmiri people through legal integrationist measures by abolishing the legal and political space. Over the years, the claims for autonomy grew into claims for Azadi.

Varshney (1991:999) writes that at the core, the Kashmir problem is the result of three forces – religious nationalism represented by Pakistan, secular nationalism represented by India, and ethnic nationalism (Kashmiriyat) embodied by Kashmiris. He chooses to pit the contesting nationalisms in Kashmir in different phases. Phase one covers 1947-1953, suggesting ambiguity; the second phase marks shrinking religious nationalism favouring secular nationalism during 1953-1983. Phase three characterises diminishing secular nationalism and the resurgence of Islam to Kashmiri nationalism from 1983 to 1991. Aggarwal (2008:227) remarks that nearly all political actors evoke Kashmiriyat. Kashmiriyat is an abstract noun that signifies “origin or affiliation” to Kashmir, referring to the ethos of being Kashmiri. However, little agreement exists over the precision of the term”. Kashmiriyat refers to the class of terms known as empty signifiers, which have been prevalent in Indian politics for at least a century.

Militant Dimensions of Kashmiri Nationalism

Sikand (2007) notes that the appearance of radical Islamist groups added a new dimension to the ongoing conflict in the region. It made India, Pakistan, and Kashmiris equal stakeholders in the conflict. The Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) initiated an uprising against Indian rule in 1989. However, by the 1990s, the JKLF had been pulled off by Pakistan-based Islamist groups.

Puri (1995) argues the initial mishandling of the situation by Indian forces, with their ruthless and tactless repression, led to a mass uprising, including by sections of government employees and the police force. Firing at the funeral procession of a political leader, Mirwaiz Maulvi Farooq, can be seen as one such instance. A political leadership, which for some years was waiting for such an opportunity, seized it. The most organised militant outfit was the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), headed by Amanullah Khan in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. Yasin Malik was its leader on the Indian side of the Line of Control. Gradually, every separatist political leader formed a separate militant outfit, which could bank on armed support from across the LoC. Finally, Hizbul Mujahideen, an outfit sponsored by Pakistan’s Inter-Service Intelligence, emerged as the strongest. The various separatist organisations formed a loose political alliance under the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC). It became a kind of conglomerate of all secessionist parties. The mass militancy could not be maintained for too long. The expectations raised by it proved illusory. As pro-Azadi (nationalist) militants were replaced and, in some cases, eliminated by pro-Pakistan militants, the Kashmiri nationalists were alienated. Yet, as alienation from India increased, the militancy survived with massive popular support. The militant phase in Kashmir, without the active involvement of the people, continued through various ups and downs till it reached a point where it became no longer dependent on local political backing.

Schofield (2003) writes that by 1989, several militant groups had begun to function in the valley. They were spread around the major towns of Srinagar, Anantnag, Baramulla, and Sopore, and their objectives remained either complete independence or unification with Pakistan. The Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, led within the Valley, was the most prominent, and its aim was fighting for an independent state of Jammu and Kashmir. Some political parties who were part of the Muslim United Front had formed militant wings.

Definition, Rationale, and Scope of the Study

Since most of the literature on Kashmir is security-centric, which understands Kashmir in the context of the rivalry between India and Pakistan or looks at conflict resolution, there is a gap in terms of understanding the changes and continuities in Kashmiri nationalism.

The political elite invokes nationalism in civic or ethnic form as a political assertion of group identity. The political elite uses nationalism to replace some previously dominant cultural groups and create a new one. Theoretically, the route toward nationalism takes two ways: pursuing national identity through the formation of the nation-state or exercising national identity through invoking the shared commonality of religion, language, race, etc. This thesis does not seek to reject these routes to nationalism but instead shows that nationalism does not emerge without the intervention of the other variables. Core elements of both forms are used interchangeably to fulfil the goals of nationalism. For example, civic nationalism shares shared values, myths, and symbols, mainly if there is no principal territorial or population base from which they can establish a political community.

Similarly, ethnic nationalism imagines itself within a state. The idea of a demarcated territory for an ethnic base takes a lot from civic nationalism. Therefore, the categorisations are borrowed from each other. The mobilisation of the ethnicities forges the resurgence of ethnic nationalism. Re-defining and re-educating the ethnic intellectuals politicise culture and are constantly involved in the production of the ‘other’ and the ‘outsider’ within. One also needs to understand the possibility of the emergence of multiple narratives from margins. The counter-narratives that emerge from the margins continuously evoke and erase the nation’s boundaries and also late the ideological support through which the demand for the country is essentialised.

Kashmir becomes an exciting ground for understanding the juxtaposition of various forces. Since the formation of Kashmiri nationalism precedes the formation of the nation-state or the accession, this study focuses on the changing meanings, interpretations, and perceptions of Kashmiri nationalism. Also, to bridge theoretical and practical perspectives, this study unpacks Kashmiri nationalism and its central dilemma of not being equated with or within any global movement of terrorism.

The study’s rationale understands Kashmiri nationalism’s essence and the forms it assumes. Moreover, minimal comprehensive studies on Kashmiri nationalism have explored its dimensions, actors, trends, successes, limitations, failures, etc. The research agenda remains exciting as it would inform and expand our knowledge about Kashmiri nationalism’s moderate and militant dimensions.

The scope of the study is not only limited to Kashmir, but it also informs and expands the theoretical base to nationalism studies, locating its structural fault lines. The study covers the period from the beginning of militancy in 1989 to 2016. However, the study provides a historical overview as Kashmiri nationalism cannot be studied without examining the creation of Kashmiri identity through centuries