Kashmir: The Case for Freedom

by Tariq Ali, Hilal Bhat, Arundhati Roy

At home, the Kashmiri people’s ongoing quest for justice and self-determination is as much ignored by their venal politicians as it is rejected by Pakistan. Internationally, their struggle is forgotten, as the West refuses to bring pressure to bear on its regional ally India. Kashmir: The Case for Freedom is an impassioned attempt to redress this imbalance and to fill the gap in our moral imagination. Covering Kashmir’s past and present and the occupation’s causes and consequences, the authors issue a clarion call for the withdrawal of Indian troops and for Kashmir’s right to self-determination.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, India, Politics, Pakistan, Asia, War

160 pages, Paperback

First published October 24, 2011

About the author

Tariq Ali (Punjabi, Urdu: طارق علی) is a British-Pakistani historian, novelist, filmmaker, political campaigner, and commentator. He is a member of the editorial committee of the New Left Review and Sin Permiso, and regularly contributes to The Guardian, CounterPunch, and the London Review of Books.

He is the author of several books, including Can Pakistan Survive? The Death of a State (1991) , Pirates Of The Caribbean: Axis Of Hope (2006), Conversations with Edward Said (2005), Bush in Babylon (2003), and Clash of Fundamentalisms: Crusades, Jihads and Modernity (2002), A Banker for All Seasons (2007) and the recently published The Duel (2008).

Reviews

[Murtaza · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only issue part of the world where I find Tariq Ali's analysis worthwhile these days is South Asia, where he has been an astringent critic of the kleptocracy and fundamentalism of contemporary Pakistan. It turns out that he is quite good on India as well, as this collection of essays (including two of his) on Kashmir reveals. I enjoyed every essay and particularly Pankaj Mishra's stirring introduction. This book is an excellent short primer to the past and present of the Kashmir conflict. The personal reflection "Fayazabad 31223" by Kashmiri writer Hilal Bhatt was absolutely chilling. Angana P. Chatterji's firsthand appraisal of the Kashmiri freedom struggle was excellent and included some thoughtful reflections people that I have also come to know.

It is important to divorce Kashmir from the framework of an India-Pakistan conflict. It is clear from the beginning of Partition that the people of that state were always supposed to have had a choice on their political future. The misgovernance of Pakistan and the post-9/11 Global War on Terrorism have obscured a political issue that predates both and requires an independent solution. Like all postcolonial states India is understandably paranoid about any change to its borders. From Pandit Nehru onwards however it was never clear that Kashmir should have been within those borders in the first place. The indefinite postponement of Kashmiri self-determination has led to an absolutely barbaric military occupation, as well as the slow, violent unraveling of Kashmir's social fabric as a whole. Until this issue is settled there will never be the broader economic and political integration that South Asia will require to thrive (survive?) in the 21st century.

If nothing else these essays provide a must-read primer on one of the most vicious military occupations in the world. I had expected polemics but actually found nuance.

[Amal Kant · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the veracity of well-documented events can't be doubted - the depiction of opinions and wild claims as historical facts is troubling. Indulging in rhetoric, underpinned by human emotions and sufferings, while sparing no thoughts for the outcome of suggested actions made the reading of these essays an onerous task for me.

[E.T.]

Let me be as brief and specific as possible. For me, the core issue is :-
Azadi to Kashmir would result in a semi-theocratic (or theocratic) Pakistan 2.0. Did the authors making a case for freedom refute this ?
They did not and resorted to what-boutery or side-stepped this. And so, I remain completely unconvinced.
As an Indian, I hope I live to see the day when police and legal reforms are done all over India (not just in J&K) and the excesses of the state are kept in check. Currently, one can only have illusions of justice if wronged.
Picked this book up after the suicide bomber attack on CRPF convoy on 14th Feb 2019.
Recommended reading :-
Our Moon Has Blood Clots: The Exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits on the Kashmiri Pandit expulsion which has hardly been mentioned in this book along with some other things.
The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad on illiberal democracies by CNN's Fareed Zakaria.

[Marcy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting introduction to Kashmir. Lots of interesting stories are included here that narrate the violence perpetrated by the Indian army in Kashmir as well as way that media in India ensures that most Indians have no idea about what is really going on or what Kashmiri people want. What is especially interesting is the way so many of the stories about administrative detention and night raids made feel like I was reading a book about Palestine. In fact, two of the most interesting facts I learned in the book are: 1) Much of the weaponry used in Kashmir by the Indian army is purchased from Israel; 2) Israeli army officials have gone to Kashmir to train Indian soldiers. The one thing I wish this book did have was a nice bibliography for further reading in the back.

[Omama. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This anthology of articles bring together a case for Kashmir diaspora, intellectually giving insight and introspection inside Kashmir's historical context, dating back to 8th Century, invasions and oppression; and what it is like to live under constant tyranny and occupation.
Kashmir, as the Mughal Emperor Jahangir wrote in his diary, Jannat Nazeer, actually bears half a million Indian troops, paramilitary forces, and police waging a war on Kashmiris for over a half-century, killing more people than the occupations in Northern Ireland, Palestine, and Tibet combined. Tariq Ali shed light on the historical events regarding the invasions from different rulers and oppressors over the course of centuries. Arundhati Roy, witnessed through her own eyes, the protests rally in IOK, observed what Kashmiris really want? Freedom and self-determination. Hilal Bhatt, exposed an absolutely terrifying and heinous first hand account of violence against Kashmiris in the aftermath of the demolition of Babri Masjid; detailing out his horrific experience of surviving a deadly and brutal attack by BJP extremists on his Train journey from Aligharh to Kashmir. His article specially highlights the precarious position Kashmiris have to live everyday. The book also contains a collection of heart-wrenching poems by the Kashmiri poet, Hubbah Khatun, on the long lost love and free days.

It's high time for UN, international governments, agencies and organizations, to take into consideration the high amount of atrocities and injustices being committed by Indian army every single day. Thousands have perished, and thousands are ready to take their place; but for how long? When will the day come when spring will truly blossom on Kashmir?

[Praveena D.M. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Biased book. Only Tariq Ali part of the book makes sense. All other writers are very biased. Except once, there was no mention of Kashmir Pandiths. No author bothered to explain how and Pandiths driven out of their home land. Let's agree for a moment that Kashmir issue is homegrown and people of Kashmir wants azadi then who drove the Kashmir Pandiths out of valley from their houses, who killed innocent Hindu families and Hindu Women. As per Tariq, 15% of Kashmiries are Hindus, what is the percentage of Hindus left in the Kashmir now. Is it a curse to be Hindu?

Kashmir families who lost their beloved ones should get justice but what about the Kashmiri Pandiths who are living as refugees in their own country from last 26 years.

[Randall Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This 2011 book, written well before Israel’s genocidal onslaught, refers to Kashmir as the “biggest, bloodiest, and also most obscure military occupation in the world.” Back then it was, “with more than eighty thousand people dead in an anti-India insurgency backed by Pakistan” that involves “the everyday regime of arbitrary arrests, curfews, raids, and checkpoints enforced by nearly 700,000 Indian soldiers” (more soldiers than the US deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan combined) in which “the valley’s four million Muslims are exposed to extrajudicial execution, rape and torture, with such barbaric variations as live electric wires inserted into penises.” In May 2009, two women are gang raped and murdered in Kashmir. “In the summer of 2010, soldiers shot dead more than a hundred protestors, most of them teenagers.” “Indian forces opened fire on crowds, tortured children, detained elderly people without explanation, and coerced false confessions. There were seventy-three days of curfew and seventy-five days of strikes and agitation.” Who doesn’t love long curfews? Indians like to think if India grants concessions to Kashmiris that they will go adopt radical Islam, but the authors say there’s no evidence, Kashmiris say their sympathy for Pakistan comes largely from India’s long and brutal repression of Kashmir.

The first Muslim dynasty ruled Kashmir for 700 years. It wasn’t until the late 15th century that “a majority of Kashmiris embraced Islam.” Then came the Mughal empire, then in 1772 fifty years of Afghan rule, followed by 27 years of Sikh rule considered by Kashmiri historians as their worst calamity and which included taxing the poor. The Kashmiri countryside is still under the influence of Sufi mysticism and so is largely indifferent to militant Islam. The transformation of India into India plus Pakistan (the Partition) cost almost a million lives with crimes on both sides.

Note that “neither Pakistan nor India favors the cause of Kashmiri independence” which leaves the left and right side of Kashmiris with stereo assholes. China doesn’t want it either, because Kashmiri independence might get Tibetans talking about freedom; can’t have that. Instead money that should be spent on India’s general population’s welfare goes to enforcing the Kashmir military occupation w/ weapons, concertina wire and more prisons. One Kashmiri youth, tortured in detention was quoted as saying, “India asks us, ‘Why do you throw stones?’ No one asks, ‘Who burned your house down’?” Indians call the Kashmiri Muslim “violent, impure, anti-national” and who won’t fit in or try to belong (sounds like how Zionists see their occupied). Funny how India and Israel both brand you as “seditious” if you merely want self-determination and not annexation. “Kashmiris are allowed to protest in Delhi, but in Kashmir, sloganeering is met with force.” When a pro-freedom leader printed a written appeal to “Quit Kashmir”, its circulation was banned. “Kashmiri students who are related to former or deceased militants have not been permitted to travel abroad even when they have secured scholarships to do so.” In 2011, Amnesty International said between 8,000 and 20,000 Kashmiris have been detained under India’s 1978 preventive-detention law. Yet even India admits that the total number of Kashmiri militants is under 1,000 and that rank-and-file Kashmiris by in large don’t want to ally with them.

If ignored by the world and left to fester, Kashmiris might rise up again going beyond non-violent resistance. If that happens, expect India to call them ‘terrorists’ and NOT simply a “locally grown independence movement.” Hey, it works for Israel…

Tales of Kashmiri Torture: “Over 60,000 people have been tortured in interrogation centers” people who have been water-boarded, mutilated, and paraded naked, who have had petrol injected into their anuses, who have been raped, starved, humiliated, and psychologically tortured.” “Indian forces stationed in schools and colleges verbally and physically harass girls.” And who doesn’t love to be verbally and physically harassed? Kashmir has 671 security camps where “male youths and men refusing to participate in the sexual servitude of women (in the camps) have been sodomized.” US Mainstream Media won’t tell you any of this simply because India is our ally.

Hindu Compassion: “Many have been forced to witness the rape of women and girl family members. A mother was reportedly commanded to watch her daughter’s rape by army personnel pleaded for her child’s release. They refused. She then pleaded that she could not watch and asked to be sent out of the room or else killed. The soldier put a gun to her forehead, stating he would grant her wish, and shot her dead before they proceeded to rape her daughter” (p.110). Between 1990 and 2011, the Kashmir economy lost the equivalent of $40 billion dollars. As in Gaza (see Sara Roy’s great writings) it is the conscious de-development of the economy of the illegally occupied by its brutal illegal occupier.

India’s Untouchable class are used to combat the Kashmiri population. “Indian forces in Kashmir shoot and kill on unverified suspicion and are immune from prosecution”. It’s such an amoral assignment that in 2008 alone, 34 soldiers committed suicide in Kashmir. Imagine having a job so bad, you’d rather commit suicide. Between 2002 and 2008, India spent $5 billion US dollars on the illegal occupation – this in a country where 38% of the world’s poor live. Clearly, withdrawing the Indian military from Kashmir is not an option. What? Save billions by not being a controlling douchebag? Inconceivable! Instead, like Israel and Morocco, India wants the occupation problem to disappear for PR reasons.

In a strange game, Pakistan overlooks India’s occupation of Jammu and Kashmir, while India overlooks Pakistan’s occupation of Azad Kashmir. Will that last? Good luck trying to inspect Azad Kashmir for human rights violations, you’d have an easier time getting Biden to not put his hands on little girl’s shoulders. Just like US neoliberalism around the world empowers local elites to control the working class while US siphons off the lion’s share of the cash, so too does India empower an elite collaborator class to undermine the will of the Kashmiri people. As in Western Sahara and Israel’s occupied territories, all desires for self-determination must be squashed. US patriots love to prattle on about Freedom, unless the conversation turns toward Freedom ALSO in Kashmir, Western Sahara, or Israel’s occupied territories.

Indian society, like Israeli society and US elites all assume “that Islam and democracy are incompatible.” The joys of Western “inflamed Islamophobia.” India & Pakistan together will never discuss the foremost aspiration of Kashmiris”. Jammu is “a Hindu nationalist stronghold”, while Ladakh has a Buddhist majority. For those few who still care about injustice against the powerless, know that “in Kashmir, 70,000 are dead and over 8,000 have been disappeared”, and 250,000 displaced, all because of the occupation. In 2008, Kashmir’s population was 6,900,000 of which 95% were Muslim. When the Brit Prime Minister David Cameron visited India in 2010 and Obama in 2010, BOTH were clearly told not to mention Kashmir or India’s human rights violations (p.122).

Good News - Nehru quotes on Kashmir: Pandit Nehru said the people of Kashmir should decide their own fate and “it is ultimately for them to decide. We will not and cannot back out of it.” He clearly wanted to “abide by the will of the people of Kashmir as declared in a plebiscite or referendum”. He also said, “people seem to forget that Kashmir is not a commodity for sale or to be bartered.” And “Its people must be the final arbiters of their future.” And “It is not the property of either India or Pakistan. It belongs to the Kashmiri people.” “We are determined to abide by their decision.” “I want to stress it is only the people of Kashmir who can decide the future of Kashmir.” And finally, “We are not going to impose ourselves on them by the point of the bayonet.” Who knew Nehru was so cool? Makes me want to buy a Nehru jacket.

What a great book to have read, I highly recommend it. No wonder why Kashmiris chant “Azadi” which means both Freedom and Liberty. US patriots also love Freedom and Liberty – they just don’t talk about it for non-white, non-Americans. I’ve reviewed almost 70 Israel/Palestine books since October 7th 2023, so I’ve always wanted to also study the illegal occupations of Western Sahara and Kashmir to study what they have in common. One HUGE thing they all have in common is that the United States will not lift a finger to stop or discourage ANY of them. The joys of living in a rogue state that intentionally turns a blind eye to all crimes of its allies. Bravo to the authors.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book provides a sobering and enlightening read concerning rarely-reported events within Kashmir whose wounds, if left untreated, shall most likely fester and cause greater unrest for the area. The book, therefore, seems a dangerous portent that shall hopefully quicken others to action so as to prevent a slide into complete mayhem.

[Sharaiz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great overview of the issues facing the people of Kashmir. This book brings together Pakistani, Indian and (most importantly) Kashmiri voices to explain the history and contemporary problems in the valley. A very useful starting point for those who want to learn about this topic.

[Muhammad Ahmed Siddiqui · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an unbiased historical review of a bleeding heaven on earth with great essays like:

- The past and present story of Kashmir from Tariq Ali is super informative
- Arundhati Roy is bold and blunt as ever in her piece "Azadi" and "Seditious Nehru"
- Angana P. Chaterji showcases reports,interviews from people living in Kashmir
- "Fayazabad 31223" by Kashmiri writer Hilal Bhatt shook my soul by it's core

Ironically, it also shows that countries choose self-interest over everything while humanity suffers.

P.S : I highly recommend Vishal Bhardwaj's "Haider" movie, although with a slightly different plot altogether, it does mention "Half Widows" concept and life of youth in Kashmir

[Anushka Pardikar · Rating 1 out of 5]

A book governed by the pain of first-hand experiences, demanding it be read with a pinch of salt. The narrative of ‘Azadi’ is propagated all throughout, without refuting, or even considering the counter-claims. Not a recommended read either for insights into the lives of the Kashmiris, or for a historical narration.

[ahmad afridi · Rating 4 out of 5]

i accidentally picked up this book . accidentally in a sense that i was looking for Tariq Ali's Islam quintet and i came across this title . I longed to read about background of kashmir crisis and this time these fresh insurgencies were going on so i decided to give this book a try and found this exactly what i was looking for

basically this book is a collection of essays by a number of writers . in the start a short and brief introduction to the history of kashmir from the time of mughals till 2010 was given by tariq ali, a job done splendidly . anyone to whom political discussion seem vague can skip rest of the book .

arundhati roy raised very good questions about the grounds of kashmirs freedom movement but these questions remained unanswered and will need further reading . in another essay where she quoted nehru's several addresses are useful to understand india's stand on kashmir issue in early years ..

hilal bhatt presented a dreadful picture of atrocities on religious basis in india
Mrs. Chatterji discussed the death game played in kashmir beyond iron curtains.

give it a read . its is a short book but will give you good understandings about the said issue

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now a new generation of Kashmiri youth is on the march. They fight, like the young Palestinians, with stones. Many have lost their fear of death; they will not surrender. Ignored by politicians at home, abandoned byPakistan, they are developing the independence of spirit that comes with isolation, and it will not be easily quelled.
8 July 2010
And once that fear has gone, of what use is the largest, or second-largest, army in the world? What threat does it hold? Who knows this better than the people of India, who won their independence in the way that they did?
At the heart of it all is a moral question. Does any government have the right to take away people’s liberty with military force?
India needs azadi from Kashmir just as much – if not more – than Kashmir needs azadi from India.

[Laeba Haider | Readgret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moves you to the core. Makes you rethink a lot of things.

[readeeerr hammad 🇵🇸🇵🇰 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a combination of stories from different writers, including human rights activists from India and some from Indian-occupied Kashmir. Despite the varied contexts provided by different writers, the book presents a timeline of Kashmir from its early stages, when most people were Buddhists, to approximately 2010. The armed resistance to Indian rule by Kashmiris began in 1987, after a staggering 40 years. The book also highlights the significant role of women in Kashmiri culture, particularly the poet Habba Khatun, whose works from the early sixteenth century are especially noteworthy. Although this book is very informative, it is mostly written by leftists. If there were contributions from some right-wing writers, it would make a wonderful curriculum for civil services exams. Also, some specific crimes done by either tribesmen, Indian military or Kashmiri freedom fighters should not be included without proper citations.

[Arif Abdurahman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dalam memperlakukan Kashmir, Israel memberi nasihat India untuk mencontek caranya dalam menangani Palestina, sekaligus membeli senjata-senjata darinya. Pengantar menarik untuk konflik Kashmir. Merupakan kumpulan esai yang ditulis jurnalis, sastrawan, akademisi dan ilmuwan. Tariq Ali mengulas sejarah panjang Kashmir, dan satu laporan pendeknya soal kegeramannya atas pemberitaan krisis Kashmir yg ditutupi liputan gosip. Arundhati Roy yg menyoroti nasionalisme hindu sayap kanan India. Esai berjudul "Fayazabad 31223" yang paling bikin gemas.

[Student · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a completely one-sided book. But that is to be expected. It is, after all, a case for freedom. So if you are looking for a nuanced view on Kashmir, this is definitely not for you. But if it's a rarely told side of the Kashmir story you seek, this is an impassioned and eclectic version of it for your consideration. I enjoyed it. Almost as much as I liked Basharat Peer"s Curfewed Nights.

[Ayush Anand · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had always wanted to read a book on Kashmir. This felt like a good start. Of course there could be allegations (may be rightly so) about this book and how jt is biased. But the fact remains that thousands have died in valley, many more pandits had to flee and there is no closure on this yet after 30 years. May be there needs to be a different, a softer and a more humane solution to this modern tragedy.

[Seahorse · Rating 3 out of 5]

The essays by Tariq Ali and Hilal Bhatt carry the essence of this book, the latter was chilling to read. Amazing primer on the subject with very accessible writing, therefore not very academic. Will write a longer review sometime soon. Looking to now get into academic history and sociopolitical literature on the subject.

[subhi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very comprehensive of the current situation in Kashmir but my only complaint is I wish it indulged or gave a timeline of Kashmir’s early recorded history

[Omar Faruk · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book explicitly Shows the neutral history and critics of both India and Pakistan government and shows how the Kashmiri people have been going through in those critical situations.

[Neelam · Rating 5 out of 5]

heartbreaking essays and snippets into experiences and perceptions of the kashmiri struggle from its origins to now.

[Maya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Obviously this book has a clear bias to it, but it argues its point well and is a really clear primer on the history leading up to the Kashmir we know today

[Hafsa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short book comprises of 8 segments, written between 6 without. It is only fair to give my thoughts on the book author by author. I also recognise that my review most likely isn’t completely objective, so someone reading my review may disagree with my opinion, which is okay :).

Tariq Ali- “the story of kashmir”
Ali recounts the history of Kashmir. He includes accounts of people who have written on the beauty of Kashmir, and tells us the history of the state before and during the creation of Pakistan and India. My opinion on this segment is that it is quite factual and therefore a bit hard to follow (although this could definitely be accounted to my general struggle to remember and follow dates haha). Tariq Ali can sometimes have a sarcastic or jovial tone, which to me, slightly undermines the seriousness of the situation of Kashmir. But I guess he wanted to inject some of his personality into his writing. To me, it retracted from the complication and significant history and the region and felt a bit distasteful. He included section of a man itching his nether region, which is funny lol, but when in places in a paragraph where American Kashmiris are asking for their voices to be heard by politicians, is this the right place or time for that? He also refers to Muslim men as “beards”. Again, it just feels slightly distasteful. However, does provide an excellent account of the history of Kashmir, and the intricate relationships that occurred during its creation and decision making following. Albeit, it is a bit hard to follow, but that is just me generally not being able to absorb historical dates well hahah.

Arundhatti Roy: Azaadi, the only thing Kashmiris want.
To me, this was a useless chapter. One sentence, one question she asked destroyed her credibility and voice for me. During protests in Kashmir, a Slogan was chanted. The concise definition being freedom = Islam. The author isn’t Muslim, and upon hearing this she writes that Islam is not congruent with freedom (arguing that secularism is essential for freedom, but that’s not the point or debate I’m entering into right now hahah), especially for women’s rights. I can argue that this is misinformed, but as mentioned earlier, this isn’t the point at which I lost respect for the author. She asks a woman who is protesting whether freedom for Kashmir means less freedom for her as a woman. The woman replies, “what kind of freedom do we have now? The freedom to be r*ped by Indian soldiers?”. The women is correct, and the author is silenced by her response. I remain astounded by the authors question to this woman. Essentially, how dare she? It angered me. She inserted a concept of western feminism and focused the conversation on an eventuality that may or may not happen. This was ridiculous and incredibly tone deaf. Yes, of course, these conversations need to bad. But they need to be asked to legislators and organisers, not to woman who have experienced extreme gender based violence at the behest of soldiers. I was reading this chapter and not wholly seeing eye to with the author anyway, but kept going to be open minded. But this one question completely made Roy’s points obsolete. Just to mention that Roy’s argument was not anti Kashmiri, but sceptical and worried of extremist groups such as the Taliban to come into power). This is a valid concern, but it is also important to examine the likeliness of this, and examine how and why they would come into power. You’ll then often find that they’re funded or strategically ignored by government. It is not Islam, or Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, Sikhism etc that are the issues. It is those who manipulate and abuse their religions as a means violence and control. You can skip this chapter in all honesty, it is unnecessary. Unless you want to become riled up like me haha.

Poems by the Queen of Kashmir - Habbah Khatun.

This poet is actually mentioned in Tariq Ali’s earlier chapter of his retelling of Kashmiris history. This chapter contains a collection of Khatun’s beautiful poetry, translated from Farsi into English. The poetry is beautiful, sombre. I loved “why are you cross with me”. The longing she conveys, the hurt she’s trying to conceal. Lovely poetry; and this chapter highlights and sho cases the beauty and talent of the region. Beauty in the land, the arts, and the people:

Fayazabad 31223 - Hilai Bhatt
This chapter is incredible and haunting. The author, Bhatt, starts with talking about his childhood in Kashmir. The stories of those around him, why young boys become fighters. Bhatt then goes to college, where he hears that it’ll soon become difficult to travel back to Kashmir, and then leaves for the next train. Him and a few of his Kashmiri friends get onto the train and head back, innocent and unaware of the dangers they are about to face. Hindu extremists start hunting Kashmiris on the train, killing them. Bhatt describes what he sees. How he escaped. I mention that Tariq Ali’s sense of humour felt distasteful, this is why. The stories are too horrific to involve humour in my opinion.

The Militarised zone - Chatterji

I would say that this is the most valuable chapter in this book. Chatterji includes stories and voices and truly details what innocent and ordinary Kashmiris go through. She details why there has been no intervention, the tools and manipulation that the Indian government uses to keep Kashmir an oppressed state. To me, this is the most informative chapter and she truly goes into details of why things are the way they are. How has Indian gotten (& getting!) away with it? She details the plight that ordinary Kashmiris have gone through. The sadism they have faces at the hands of the Indian military. I highlights many quotes in this segment, here are 3:

“The assumption that a Muslim-majority state in Kashmir would be ruled by Islamist extremists I’m support of global terror reflects the racism of Hindu dominated India”. Although Chatterji most likely didn’t intend to, this directly challenges and responds to Roy, the author that I had criticised earlier.

“Repressive regimes tend to overlook that freedom struggles are not about violence versus non violence, but reflect a desire to be free. The oppressors forget that the greater the oppression, the more fervent the resistance. Violence is apt to reproduce itself in cycles”

“I gave listened to the testimony of a mother who sleepwalks to the grave of her son, attempting to resuscitate his body”

I highlighted many more, but these 3 felt important for me to share. They challenge an assumption, challenge systemic oppression, save shows us the nightmare that Kashmiris face.

I really enjoyed reading this. It is a quick read, but retelling of the horrors Kashmiris face may cause you to put the book down for a little, just to absorb your reading, and be mentally ready to read more retellings of the sadism and oppression that Kashmiris have (& still do) face.

[Nish G · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, which is a collection of essays, predominantly factually based but written in a highly opinionated tone, provides a basis for the argument:

“Let the Kashmiris decide their future!”

In a world dominated by corporate media pushing the agenda of elites in society (This being Hindu Majoritarianism in India, Ideological Honour in Pakistan or simple Economic gains within the Kashmiri elite), the voice of the people of Kashmir has been silenced.

In the neoliberal era, with both India and Pakistan being friendly with the American empire, media coverage of the military occupation of Kashmir has been seriously undermined and under-represented.

Tariq Ali’s first piece is a stunning history of Kashmir never taught in classroom, while Arundathi Roy’s first essay is an internal description of the Kashmiri non-violent struggle.

The collection of Poems by the 16th century Sufi ascetic Habbah Khatun provide basis for the rich pre-Mughal islamic traditions in the Valley.

This followed by “Fayazabad 31223”, a autobiographical account by the Kashmiri Journalist Hilal Bhatt provides a harrowing and deeply troubling event that happened on a train of the same name, as well as a understanding of the brutal 1989 Kashmir Insurgency.

Angana Chatterji’s piece “The militarised zone”, solidifies the need to use the terms “colonial/military brutal occupation” when speaking of Indian controlled Kashmir, while Roy’s second “The seditious Nehru” reaffirms the 75 year injustice inflicted on the Kashmiri people.

This is a book to be read by anyone interested in the Kashmiri conflict, and can act as a guide to the curious and as an affirmation to those already converted.

[Rama · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lightning-quick read that serves as a fine introduction to the non-mainstream perspective on Kashmir. Although focused on Kashmir's case for self-determination and freedom, there are references to the Kashmiri Pandit killings and the exodus, so crass nationalists have not much to complain about. Hilal Bhatt's fear of the religious majority as a result of his post-Ayodhya travel travails depicted through a police station visual and his looking out for bearded and turbaned Sikhs in a train to travel with is quite moving. I couldn't relate to Habbah Khatun's translated poetry and couldn't see the point of Arundhati Roy's chapter titled "Seditious Nehru." Nehru's media, forum and public pronouncements are excerpted to convey that Arundhati was arguing for the same things; however, this ignores the fact that Nehru's statements represented "Indian interests," which is why they changed or disappeared underground over time.

[Rukesh Reddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe you have an uncomfortable voice at the back of your head saying everything is not okay. Maybe you suspect you are wrong but are choosing to ignore it. Maybe you worry about being hypocritical and living a myth, but are brushing those thoughts away. If you have even a little of that gnawing doubt in your mind, then this book will open up an alternate reality of what the Indian state has actually been up to in Kashmir. I think many of us become inured to 'leftists' screaming human rights violations but the bald truth is that no military occupation can prevail without large scale violations. And Kashmir has been under military occupation for 70 years now.

If nothing, just read the 2 page chronology at the start of the book around India's unkept promises over the decades - will be quite an eye opener.

[Swakkhar · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read to revise the story and history of Kashmir, neither it is Indian occupied or by Pakistan. Kashmir, unfulfilled dream of its people.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like many on the U.S. Left, I was horrified, post-Oct. 7, with the Biden administration's abandonment of Gazans. Yes, Gazans are a stateless people corrupted through their ties to a militant gang. And so, like many, I voted without pleasure for Biden's running mate, after Biden dropped out of the presidential campaign. We got whupped -- as we might have expected.

I return to this other, South Asian region, its peoples also corrupted by its ties to religious fundamentalism, a conflict also framed, inaccurately, as a conflict over territory -- the J & K region marked by the "Vale of Kashmir," sitting between two mountain ranges beyond the Western and Eastern borders of two vast military powers, India and Pakistan. The deal struck in 1947 was for the peoples of this region to accede to a bureaucratizing administration in the aftermath of a war between India and Pakistan in exchange for a promised-plebiscite on self-determination. That plebiscite that never occurred just sits there -- historical janus -- looking at two corrupt states, as well as the proxy-democracy on whose own corruption may be hung a phrase -- forty acres and a mule -- that will not vanish. Thus is Kashmir occupied as thoroughly as Gaza.

This is an amazing book. Hilal Bhatt's account of his passage from the riots at his university in Aligahr (in southern Kashmir) through the militarized zone to Delhi is one of survival through a haze of Hindu militants who would kill a muslim like Bhatt as well as look at him. (My internet searches suggest to me that 15 years after this book was published, Bhatt is himself recently killed in sectarian fighting.) As Angana P. Chatteriji writes in these pages, "India needs to make the 'Kashmir problem' disappear, to force Kashmiris to forsake their claim for independent statehood (or, for some, to be assimilated with Pakistan), or their demand for full autonomy. Military offensives and multi-track diplomacy seek to nullify civil society's legitimate anger and dissent." We are all Kashmiris. She goes on: "Diplomats and Indian peace agents traverse Kashmir, enacting the obligatory gestures of Track II Diplomacy [cricket diplomacy & the like] to secure a peace proposal that will acceptable to India and ostensibly, Kashmiris." [my editorial addition]

The question becomes, what does it mean to the U.S. that its Indian emigre population has become such a political force (I'm thinking of DOGE, in particular) just at the point when the American Left is broken by the failed pasts of its South Asian and Middle Eastern foreign policies? this failed past is marked by the way young people marginalized by the great military powers (armed by the U.S.) have inherited a childhood of hatred and bloodsport? Talk about Growing Up Absurd.

[warren · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a very helpful and impressively concise 101 on the brutal and deadly Indian occupation of Kashmir, a MASSIVE injustice that goes basically undiscussed in the west. and you can read it 0nline 4 fr3eeee so check the bottom of this review!

it starts with "The Story of Kashmir" by Tariq Ali, which gives a broad historical overview of Kashmiri society and politics, including the freedom movement. i have a few qualms w his style but he covers a ton of ground in only 50 pages and i rly needed that historical context, so props.

the first Arundhati Roy essay ("Azadi: The Only Thing Kashmiris Want") and the Angana P. Chatterji essay ("The Militarized Zone") seemed like very well-rounded accounts & analysis of the recent freedom movement and the Indian occupation. i say seemed like bc im not well-read on Kashmir so im not good to judge it, but i felt like they were both very nuanced and principled perspectives. Hilal Bhatt is the only Kashmiri writer featured — his essay recounts his bone-chilling experience of extra-judicial Hindu supremacist mob violence. that essay added a lot, i just wish there was also more analytical writing from actual Kashmiris ... a first hand voice would help navigate the internal complexities and politics of the freedom movement better.

despite some issues, i would really recommend reading this, or at least 1-2 of the above essays. Kashmir is the most densely militarized zone in the planet, and the violence that entails — the commonplace torture, disappearances, sexual assaults, killings, maimings, displacement, the hundreds of thousands of soldiers, the deep and constant surveillance, the detention centers, the checkpoints — is impossible for me to comprehend. the staggering numbers presented by Chatterji, read right next to Bhatt's horrifying first hand experience ... is really hard. and all of it gets a blank check from the united states ... Kashmir really demands the attention and solidarity from progressive people in the west.

here's a (ugly but totally readable) pdf of it: http://prfjk.org/wp-content/uploads/2...