Kashmiris call India's rule settler-colonialism - and we should listen to them
Kashmiris are producing precise analyses of the situation in Kashmir, explaining the structures of power and their effects. They are not just soundbites of suffering, but are analysing, theorising and teaching. The form of rule exercised over Kashmir is being understood t…
Intelligence analysis by Llama
Kashmiris are producing precise analyses of the situation in Kashmir, explaining the structures of power and their effects. They are not just soundbites of suffering, but are analysing, theorising and teaching. The form of rule exercised over Kashmir is being understood through a colonial lens, with some interpreting India's occupation as settler-colonialism.
Kashmiris are writing their own histories and explaining the structures of power and their effects in Kashmir. They are not just soundbites of suffering, but are analysing, theorising, and teaching. The form of rule exercised over Kashmir is being understood through a colonial lens, with some interpreting India's occupation as settler-colonialism. This is important for understanding emancipatory futures in South Asia and beyond.
Analysis
A Rich Body of Journalism and Scholarship
A rich body of journalism, creative writing, and scholarship lays bare the violence of Indian military occupation and human rights abuses in Kashmir. It is quite a feat that Kashmiris themselves, facing state surveillance and the threat of detention and violence, are producing much of this work. Both within the country and in the diaspora, Kashmiris are seeking to write their own histories. By explaining the structures of power and their effects in Kashmir, they are producing some of the most precise analyses of the situation.
Transformations on the Ground
Kashmiri calls for liberation have deep roots. Collective memory recalls the tyranny of the Mughal Empire. But it was in the 1930s, under Hindu Dogra rule within the framework of British colonialism, that a modern mass movement for Kashmiri liberation began to take shape. The partition of British India in 1947 reconfigured this struggle. Competing claims by India and Pakistan led to war, and in 1949, the United Nations brokered a ceasefire and established a de facto partition of Kashmir. India occupied the lion’s share of the Kashmir Valley, the heart of the struggle for Kashmiri self-determination, along with Jammu and Ladakh. Pakistan occupied smaller parts of the Kashmir Valley and Gilgit Baltistan.
The Analytical Work Being Produced by Kashmiris
The analytical work being produced by Kashmiris is not peripheral. It is central to understanding emancipatory futures in South Asia and beyond. The UN called for a referendum to let people decide their future. It was never held. Shortly after the 1949 ceasefire, India granted Jammu and Kashmir a form of autonomy under Article 370, allowing for its own constitution, flag, and residency protections. But key domains - defence, foreign affairs, finance, and communications - remained under Delhi’s control, and reliant on local collaborating elites. The facade of autonomy could not conceal a deeper reality: Kashmiris did not want symbolic autonomy in return for material inclusion within India. They wanted freedom. These demands would explode in 1989 and continue through the 1990s in the form of a mass uprising. Dubbed the “Kashmiri intifada” in international media, having broken out at around the same time as the first Palestinian intifada, Kashmiri demands for freedom have persisted ever since.
Key points
- Kashmiris are producing precise analyses of the situation in Kashmir, explaining the structures of power and their effects.
- The form of rule exercised over Kashmir is being understood through a colonial lens, with some interpreting India's occupation as settler-colonialism.
- Kashmiri voices are central to understanding emancipatory futures in South Asia and beyond.
- The analytical work being produced by Kashmiris is not peripheral, but rather essential for grasping the situation in Kashmir.
- Kashmiri demands for freedom have persisted ever since the 1989 mass uprising, despite the Indian government's attempts to suppress them.
If the international community listens to Kashmiri voices and supports their demands for freedom, it could lead to a more just and peaceful resolution of the conflict. This could also inspire other movements for self-determination and human rights around the world.
If the Indian government continues to suppress Kashmiri demands for freedom and ignores international calls for a peaceful resolution, it could lead to further human rights abuses, violence, and suffering for the Kashmiri people.
