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Whither Kashmir Studies?: A Review

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 June 2011

CHITRALEKHA ZUTSHI
CHITRALEKHA ZUTSHI*
Affiliation:
Department of History, College of William and Mary, PO Box 8795, Williamsburg, Virginia 23187-8795, USA Email: cxzuts@wm.edu
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Abstract

This paper explores the current state of the field of Kashmir Studies and argues that, whilst scholarship on Kashmir has come a long way since the decades after Indian independence and partition, the political situation in the region continues to cast a long shadow over writings on Kashmir. Nevertheless, and despite the continued difficulties associated with research within Kashmir, a new generation of scholars has emerged at the turn of the twenty-first century, whose writings transcend geographical and political determinism as well as the discourse of Kashmiri exceptionalism, to present Kashmir as a complex, but not unique, entity, that has been shaped by multiple influences. In addition, this scholarship explores the ideas that have given Kashmir a particular shape in our imaginations, through analysis of a variety of sources, including poetry, art, film, and oral histories. A lot remains to be done, however, particularly in the field of Kashmir's medieval and pre-modern history, and in the application of theoretical approaches such as borderlands to the region's past and present.

Type
Research Article
Information
Modern Asian Studies , Volume 46 , Issue 4 , July 2012 , pp. 1033 - 1048
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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References

1 To name just a few published recently: Jamal, A. (2009). Shadow War: The Untold Story of Jihad in Kashmir, Melville House, BrooklynGoogle Scholar; Dhar, D. N. (2008). Kashmir's Accession to India: Unravelling the Truth, Aravali Books International, New DelhiGoogle Scholar; Joshi, M. (2008). Kashmir, 1947–1965: A Story Retold, India Research Press, New DelhiGoogle Scholar; Sahgal, C. L. (2008). Kashmir and Kashmiriyat: A Profile of Events, Unique Publishers and Printers, DelhiGoogle Scholar; Joshi, A. (2008). Eyewitness Kashmir: Teetering on Nuclear War, India Research Press, New DelhiGoogle Scholar.

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15 Ibid., p. 74.

16 Ibid., p. 124.

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18 Ibid., p. 49.

19 Ibid., pp. 49–53.

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30 Madan, T. N. (2008). ‘Kashmir, Kashmiris, Kashmiriyat: An Introductory Essay’, in Rao, A. The Valley of Kashmir, pp. 1–34; Evans, A. (2008). ‘Kashmiri Exceptionalism’, in Rao, A. The Valley of Kashmir, pp. 713–741.

31 Inden, R. (2008). ‘Kashmir as Paradise on Earth’, in Rao, A. The Valley of Kashmir, pp. 523–562; Manchanda, R. (2008). ‘Kashmiri Women and the Conflict: From Icon to Agency’, in Rao, A. The Valley of Kashmir, pp. 653–712.