Love, Loss, and Longing in Kashmir

by Sahba Husain

Researcher and activist Sahba Husain has been working in Kashmir for two decades, and in this personal, passionate account of that state and its people, she documents her deeply engaged and empathetic involvement with Kashmir’s politicized terrain. We join her as she meets—and, crucially, listens to—people who carry all the anger, despair, and helplessness of a people caught in conflict and violence. Forming deep friendships through this process, Husain finds herself questioning her own “Indian” identity. It is those relationships that form the backdrop of this book, in which Husain focuses on certain key areas: the health of a people, militancy and its changing meanings for local people and the state, impunity and the search for justice, migration and the longing for homes left behind, and women’s activism along the faultlines of nation-state and community. A book of difficult subjects, but one that finds surprising beauty in its engagement with human relationships, of love for a land and a people and of hope for a future free of violence, Love, Loss, and Longing in Kashmir is a compelling and necessary read.

Genres: Nonfiction, India

288 pages, Hardcover

Published November 22, 2020

Reviews

[Saurabh Sharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s more to Kashmir than its natural beauty. And this other side or sides are well articulated in Sahba Husain’s Love, Loss, and Longing in Kashmir (Zubaan, 2019). It is the most militarized zone in the world and, with a new inhumane lockdown and revising the applicability of Article 370 on 5 August 2019, there’s no communication from and with Kashmir. (Please note that the Article 370 of the Indian constitution hasn’t been abolished. The mechanism of its applicability has been changed making it defunct in the Valley.)

Having worked as a consultant—Oxfam India Trust for its Violence Mitigation and Amelioration Project (VMAP) and Aman Public Charitable Trust under its Gender, Mental Health and Conflict Program— Sahba Husain has been writing on Kashmir since 2000.

Her book invokes a new sensibility toward Kashmir. Almost all the books that I’ve read on Kashmir have a book-cover stereotype: a Shikara, an empty Shikara, an old man rowing a Shikara, or a sunset scene and an old man rowing a Shikara, and last but not the least an army personnel looking through a barbed wire with a gun in hand. All these created a sad-beauty sort of a fetish of Kashmir. However, even the clothing of books demand much more examination at a deeper level. The beautiful cover, which shows an alley leading to a glass door through which we can see a man and woman treading on a meadow, is designed by the daughter of Sahba Husain—Saema Husain.

It’s important to talk about stereotypes such as the one that asserts that Kashmiri Pandits and Kashmiri Muslims cannot stay together in harmony, that Kashmiri Pandits were driven out by Kashmiri Muslims, that the India Army is there for the greater good etc. These stereotypes give rise to further issues, whereby people expect the presence of absolute academic objectivity while writing about Kashmir. However, a land that has sustained and endured extreme violence needs no stone-hearted researcher but an empathetic listener.

THESE STEREOTYPES GIVE RISE TO FURTHER ISSUES, WHEREBY PEOPLE EXPECT THE PRESENCE OF ABSOLUTE ACADEMIC OBJECTIVITY WHILE WRITING ABOUT KASHMIR. HOWEVER, A LAND THAT HAS SUSTAINED AND ENDURED EXTREME VIOLENCE NEEDS NO STONE-HEARTED RESEARCHER BUT AN EMPATHETIC LISTENER.

And I was elated to know one in Sahba Husain, in person, during the closed book launch in India International Centre, Delhi where she mentioned, “I knew I could not remain neutral or objective any more, although objectivity in research in much valued but here it was imperative for me to take a position – politically and emotionally – and it soon became clear to me where and on whose side I stood: by the side of the people and their struggle for justice.”

Read full review here: https://feminisminindia.com/2019/11/1...

[Areeb Ahmad (Bankrupt_Bookworm) · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Kashmir conjures up many images, perhaps the most common of them its stunning and majestic natural beauty. But there is another side to this fabled 'paradise'. In the words of a well-known local woman leader, Kashmir is a place where profound individual grief is absorbed into collective sorrow as people mourn the killings, the deaths, & the loss of those, known and unknown, who have gone."

RATING: 5/5

Over the course of history, Kashmir has been a prosperous bountiful land, attracting many rulers and invaders such as Mughals, Afghans, and Sikhs. In 1846, the Sikh rulers were defeated by the British East India Company. Turning it to the Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir, they sold it to Gulab Singh. His collaboration had been helpful in the Anglo-Sikh War and it was his prize. It cost him 7.5 million rupees and was perfectly legal under the Treaty of Amritsar. The Dogra Rajput man began the royal Dogra dynasty and was the first Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir. His dynasty exploited the native population. Then in 1947, the people weren't consulted regarding the future of Kashmir. Demanding independence, they rebelled. The Dogra retaliation was vicious and bloody leading to the entry of Pakistan-backed armed tribesmen. They created havoc and the Maharaja ran to India, signed a treaty of accession, allowing Indian troops to join the battle. UN had to declare a ceasefire. They divided the territories, advocated for a Kashmiri referendum which never actually happened.

What came before is a very truncated history where I hope is devoid of all error. Ever since the rise of militancy in the 90s, leading to the exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits, heavy Indian military presence has been the norm. It is an occupation, in everything but name. Clashes are common and tension is always bubbling under the surface, ready to spill over quickly. Women and children are the worst affected. I have been very interested in reading about the region, its rich history, and current state, especially since the mainstream opinion of it paints a very different picture compared to the ground reality which is complicated and complex. Sahba Husain is very consummate in her approach to the subject. She is lucid and articulate and really brings her research to the forefront that provides the scaffolding for the book and enriches every single page. From the very beginning, she questions and demolishes popular perceptions and ideas about the region, highlights just how much the insidious propaganda machinery gets very wrong.

She talks at length about the Pandit exodus, the largest chapter in the book, paying ample attention to all voices and letting them shine. She is a collector of narratives, of stories, of the lives of people. Moreover, Husain doesn't claim objectivity and I don't think objectivity is possible when talking about Kashmir. The book is made up of five chapters, which are essentially independent yet interconnected essays. The first one, as mentioned before, talks of the Kashmiri Pandits. The second is focused on enforced disappearances done by state forces. The third chapter looks at the presence of women in movements. The fourth deals with the deteriorating mental health of Kashmiri people and the last one look at sexual violence. Overall, it's a very thorough examination of socio-economical and political conditions in the state. It came out in early 2019. Much has changed in the Valley since then too after the abrogation of Article 370. Still, this is an essential read and I seriously can't recommend it enough.

[Marcy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an intimate look at ongoing issues facing Kashmiris - those who became exiled and those who remain. The topics she focuses on - particularly as it related to gender - mental health, forced disappearance, and rape give readers insight into aspects of the conflict that don't usually find their way into the newspapers' coverage. It's a moving and powerful read for anyone wanting a deeper insight into Kashmir.

[Sree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heart-breaking story on Kashmir.

[riti aggarwal · Rating 4 out of 5]

thanks for being unbiased as hell and throwing light on atrocities of each side