This is a remarkable work of scholarship which shows how Kashmir’s modern Muslim identity came into existence. In doing this, it demonstrates the complex manner in which politics can enforce the creation of religious identity. Kashmir is a hotbed of religious politics. Disputed between India and Pakistan, this territory comprises a large majority of Muslims who are subject to the laws of a predominantly Hindu and increasingly hinduised India. How did religion and politics become so inextricably enmeshed in defining and expressing the protest of Kashmir’s Muslims against Hindu rule? |
