Confronting the Indian State: Islamism, secularism, and the Kashmiri Muslim question

Abstract

AbstractThis paper investigates the framework of Islamist politics of Jama'at e Islami in Indian-administered Kashmir. Even though Jama'at e Islami creates the notion of “other” in the Indian state and challenges it but Kashmir's provincial relationship with India also forces it to work within the limits set up by the same state. This paper, thus, conceptualizes the relationship between Indian state and Islamists in a Muslim Majority region that demands the right to self-determination. In doing so, the paper interrogates Jama'at e Islami's rhetorical opposition to the political doctrine of Indian secularism and raises queries about minority rights and their place in the Islamist project.