Kashmir: Contested Identity : Closed Systems Open Choices

Ashok Kaul

ISBN 10: 8131604365 / ISBN 13: 9788131604366

Published by Rawat, 2011

About this Item

Contents Preface 1 Understanding subjectivity 2 Assemblage and formation 3 Loss of nativity 4 Unfolding upsurge 5 Nativity nationalism and colonial 6 Cold war dynamics and regional polemics 7 Illusions and disillusionments 8 Totalizing history contested discourse 9 Discursive reflections an epilogue Glossary Bibliography indexThe book unfolds the subjectivity of estrangement in the consensus social history of Kashmir In a derivative discourse it traces the origins of its contemporary cultural assemblage its rupture and then loss of nativity with the history of subjugations The Quit Kashmir Movement prompted by the National Movement was an assertion to regain the nativity after centuries in a secular democratic India Since independence came with the fragmentation of culture it turned into a binary hostility with Pakistan The Cold War polemics mystified Kashmir with illusions and mythical referents that did not allow institutions to strike roots The wash off effects of development produced a new rich class which sought legitimacy in power and share in resources through disempowerment of politics Prompted by the process of excessive democratization it set its agenda on confessional referent And with the demise of the Cold War Kashmir got linked with the Counter World Order Project bringing enormous loss of human lives exodus of minority community and further fragmentation of its society In post-September 11 world order the disillusionments in flawed leadership have brought ailment to its society with fractured nativityThe author treats Kashmir ailment beyond politics of identity and a political dispute between India and Pakistan Its estrangement is historical in nature and needs remedies not in compartmentalization of confessional religion but evolutionary cultural capital resurgence through empowerment of politics in a holistic paradigm 272 pp.

Seller Inventory # 96278

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Kashmir: Contested Identity : Closed Systems Open Choices
• Publisher: Rawat
• Publication Date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 8131604365
• ISBN 13: 9788131604366
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

This book examines the social history of Kashmir, tracing the origins of Kashmir's contemporary culture, its rupture, as well as its loss of national identity through a history of subjugations. The Quit Kashmir Movement, prompted by the National Movement, was an assertion to regain identity after centuries as part of a secular, democratic India. Since independence came with the fragmentation of culture, it turned into a binary hostility with Pakistan. The Cold War polemics mystified Kashmir and did not allow institutions to take root. The by-product of this development produced a new rich class, which sought legitimacy in power and a share in the resources through disempowering others. Prompted by the process of excessive democratization, it set its agenda on confessional referent. And, with the demise of the Cold War, Kashmir got linked with the Counter World Order Project, bringing enormous loss of human lives, exodus of minority communities, and further fragmentation of its society. In the post-September 11 world order, the disillusionment in the flawed leadership have brought alienation to its society. The book treats the Kashmir condition beyond the politics of identity and the political dispute between India and Pakistan. Kashmir's estrangement is historical in nature and needs a cultural resurgence through empowerment of politics in a holistic paradigm.

About the Author

Ashok Kumar Kaul is Professor of Sociology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. He has over thirty years of teaching and research experience at a number of universities in India and abroad.

Prof. Kaul was postdoctoral fellow at the University of Klagenfurt, Austria (1991-92), and the Department of Sociology University of Alberta, Edmonton (1993-94), and has been Visiting Faculty at the Department of Sociology, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi (2002), CSS, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi (2005) and also at the University of Jammu.

He is actively involved in academic assignments and is from time to time invited for special lectures and public discourse both in India and abroad. His specialization includes Social Theory and Modernization. He has published two books and produced more than fifty papers.