From Alienation to Co-existence and Beyond: Examining the Evolution of the Borderland in Kashmir

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe article applies Oscar Martinez’s theory of borderland evolution to the case of Kashmir. The India–Pakistan border in Kashmir is a violent and contested South Asian border with implications for the states and the people living along the contested geographical space. The article challenges the premise that the borderland is static in Kashmir. It contends that though it is difficult to predict the course of evolution of the borderland in Kashmir, it is equally imprudent to ignore the evolution of this borderland from being highly rigid to being relatively flexible. Drawing from historical analyses and ethnographic data collected over the last decade, the article makes a case for an engagement with the borderland in Kashmir, and argues that such a reorientation will bring this contested landscape to the center of borderland discourse in South Asia and beyond.