What do you think?
Rate this book
Kashmir: Land of Regrets
Moosa Raza was appointed chief secretary of Jammu and Kashmir in 1988—the brink of a tumultuous time in Indian history. The previous year’s state elections were suspected to have been rigged, and militants had found in them fresh ammunition for their call for ‘azadi’. Religious tensions threatened the social fabric of the state. Civil unrest was imminent as Srinagar and other major cities crumbled due to failing infrastructure.
As Raza took up the reins of administration in the troubled state, he needed to first acquaint himself with the complex history that brought Kashmir to this impasse. The Kashmiri Muslim–Pandit conflict had deep roots fostered by one exploitative set of rulers after another, and the Shia–Sunni rift ran equally deep.
In the backdrop of growing discontentment against the state policies and the diktats of the Indian government, the kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of the Union home minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, became a turning point that nobody could have predicted. And yet, the paths to peace and progress were there too for the taking—a comprehensive plan for rebuilding the major cities, a network of roads and railways to connect the state to the rest of India, proposals to recruit young Muslim men into the security forces, and modern schools to combat agenda-driven learning in religious centres.
Can the state and its administrators step up to the task of making real change, or will corruption and apathy continue to lay waste to one of the most beautiful states of India? Kashmir: Land of Regrets tries to answer these questions. The book provides multiple perspectives from which to assess the nascent stages of the insurgency, a movement that would eventually become one of the greatest threats to the idea of India as a just and secular republic.
As Raza took up the reins of administration in the troubled state, he needed to first acquaint himself with the complex history that brought Kashmir to this impasse. The Kashmiri Muslim–Pandit conflict had deep roots fostered by one exploitative set of rulers after another, and the Shia–Sunni rift ran equally deep.
In the backdrop of growing discontentment against the state policies and the diktats of the Indian government, the kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of the Union home minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, became a turning point that nobody could have predicted. And yet, the paths to peace and progress were there too for the taking—a comprehensive plan for rebuilding the major cities, a network of roads and railways to connect the state to the rest of India, proposals to recruit young Muslim men into the security forces, and modern schools to combat agenda-driven learning in religious centres.
Can the state and its administrators step up to the task of making real change, or will corruption and apathy continue to lay waste to one of the most beautiful states of India? Kashmir: Land of Regrets tries to answer these questions. The book provides multiple perspectives from which to assess the nascent stages of the insurgency, a movement that would eventually become one of the greatest threats to the idea of India as a just and secular republic.
240 pages, Hardcover
Published August 31, 2019
5 people are currently reading
102 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 19, 2019
An amazing book about Kashmir, Moosa Raja tells us that there is no hope of the highly complex Kashmir issue finding an easy solution because ' the root of the problem lie decades back in time'. He traces the continuing suffering of people from the time Kashmir lost its last independent king, Yousuf Shah Chak, in the sixteen century.
I endorse. with my limited knowledge of the region, views of author that Kashmiris have always been treated as "the other ". He writes: you know when a person goes to spend a night with a call girl, he praises her beauty, he admires her long tresses and her eyes, he extols her lip and her figure, he spends the night with her, enjoying her company and singing praises of her body. in the morning gives her a few hundred rupees and walk away.
He never looks at her as a human being with a personality of her own, her own concerns, her own problems of health and well being, her own requirements of affection and sympathy. He never enquires how she manages her house, what problem and travails she faces in her family. No one empathizes with her.
Must read by all, keen to solve Kashmir issue by peaceful means. Thanks
I endorse. with my limited knowledge of the region, views of author that Kashmiris have always been treated as "the other ". He writes: you know when a person goes to spend a night with a call girl, he praises her beauty, he admires her long tresses and her eyes, he extols her lip and her figure, he spends the night with her, enjoying her company and singing praises of her body. in the morning gives her a few hundred rupees and walk away.
He never looks at her as a human being with a personality of her own, her own concerns, her own problems of health and well being, her own requirements of affection and sympathy. He never enquires how she manages her house, what problem and travails she faces in her family. No one empathizes with her.
Must read by all, keen to solve Kashmir issue by peaceful means. Thanks
September 29, 2019
Average writing..too much beaurocratic details...flashes of brilliance on history behind psychology of kashmiris...
May 7, 2020
a good book on to understand 'The Kashmir Problem' from someone who has been there and actually worked to resolve the issues. This book has cleared a lot of misgivings I had about Kashmir.
May 2, 2020
I bought this book hoping it would give me insights into the political and bureaucratic picture of Kashmir. There is too much detail on the bureaucratic front (which at times is irrelevant) and little information on the political. However, it does paint a beautiful picture of Kashmiri society and depicts psychology of Kashmiri people in a persuasive way, with critical analysis of historical events, which has shaped the modern day Kashmir.
March 22, 2021
Removing the dogmas of the Kashmir issue.
This is a brilliant book to understand the real issues at stake in Kashmir. A tale of government blunder after government blunder, pushing its citizens against the proverbial wall.
A must read for every non-Kashmiri Indian citizen, as this will help understanding the issue at a human level, and forge a connect amongst the Kashmiri and non-Kashmiri populace of India.
Excellent read.
Thank you Mr. Raza sir for this excellent book.
This is a brilliant book to understand the real issues at stake in Kashmir. A tale of government blunder after government blunder, pushing its citizens against the proverbial wall.
A must read for every non-Kashmiri Indian citizen, as this will help understanding the issue at a human level, and forge a connect amongst the Kashmiri and non-Kashmiri populace of India.
Excellent read.
Thank you Mr. Raza sir for this excellent book.
November 1, 2024
Kashmir: Land of Regrets by Musa Raza offers a deep, bureaucratic perspective on the struggles of the Kashmiri people. Through Raza’s insights as a former bureaucrat, the book explores the psychological impact on the people and their complex relationship with the government, making it an eye-opening read for understanding Kashmir’s political challenges.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews