Society and Politics of Jammu and Kashmir

Kashmir is one of the world’s least understood conflicts. In this critically important volume, Serena Hussain has brought together a remarkable range of voices and topics. Its incisive and insightful chapters present nuanced perspectives making this book essential reading on Kashmir.

- David Barsamian, Director of Alternative Radio

 Examining Jammu & Kashmir’s complex history and many ruptures in its past and present, this book offers a rich addition to scholarship on the region. The variety of voices bridge the disconnect between two sides of the LoC and offer valuable understanding of inter-regional contestations. 

- Anuradha Bhasin, Executive Editor, Kashmir Times

 For more than seventy years the bloody conflict smoldering in Kashmir has been obscured by its portrayal as an ‘issue’ between India and Pakistan. By bringing together diverse points of view, this new collection reprises the complexity of this region and it shows us where hope might lie in the future.

- Sanjay Kak, Award-winning Filmmaker and Writer

Kashmir is one of the longest-standing conflicts yet to be resolved by the international community. In 2000, Bill Clinton declared it the most dangerous place in the world and since then the situation continues to escalate. Positioned between India, Pakistan and China – three nuclear powers – Kashmir is the most militarized zone on the planet. Against this backdrop, the urgency to understand what Jammu and Kashmir means to those who actually belong to its territory has increased. This book not only helps readers navigate subtleties in a complex part of the world but is the first of its kind – written for a global audience from local perspectives, which to date have been sorely lacking.

Serena Hussain is Associate Professor of Sociology and Human Geography. She completed her Ph.D. at the University of Bristol and a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Oxford. As well as her time in academia, she has worked as an expert consultant for a number of British government departments and organizations such as Ipsos MORI, BBC World Service and Islamic Relief Worldwide.