State, Identity & Violence - Navnita Chadha Behera

This book traces the origins of and provides the most complete account of the diverse group. identities in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) -- Kashmiri Muslims, Pandits, Gujjars, Paharis, Dogras and Ladakhi Buddhists; their politicisation and demands ranging from affirmative discrimination, more autonomy and a separate constitutional status to outright secession. Grounded in history and political theory, and based on primary sources and extensive fieldwork in J&K, it presents the first detailed and critical appraisal of the State and Regional Autonomy Committee Reports released in April 1999 and adopted partly, by the J&K State Assembly in June 2000. The appropriation of J&K's autonomous status by interventionist and centralized state structures alienated the Kashmiris. But fighting against those integrative pressures, they replicated the unitary power structures in J&K, thus, alienating the people of Jammu and Ladakh. Dr Navnita argues that the root cause of this alienation lies in the organisation of the nation state that submerges sub-national identities into a national identity and the control of state power by the majority community tends to marginalise the minorities. The Kashmiri separatist movement failed primarily because it represented the political interests of only the majority community -- Kashmiri Muslims. The minority social groups, in fact, seek autonomy from the Kashmir Valley, thus, threatening the possible fragmentation of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. She suggests that the only viable, just and lasting solution to the problem lies in a multi-layered federal arrangement of power-sharing that will fulfil the political aspirations of all the communities in the state.