Internally Displaced Kashmiri Pandits: Negotiation and Access to Cultural Capital

Abstract

A large-scale displacement of Kashmiri Pandits occurred in 1989–90 when Kashmir came under the control of secessionist groups. The successful resettlement of these refugees was dependent on their access to cultural and social capital. For the migrants from rural areas of Kashmir, resettlement was accompanied by occupational rupture because they had lost their immovable assets such as land and crops. By contrast, Kashmiri migrants from urban areas had greater access to cultural and liquid capital, which enhanced their ability to pick up their lives. This paper demonstrates that access to educational qualifications, and social and cultural capital, had a determining effect in perpetuating class inequalities among Kashmiris in their new locales.