Religion, Armed Conflict and the Quest for "Secular" - Mapping Martyrdom in Kashmir

Abstract

Religion is bivalent. It can be argued that religion is an instrument of peace and equivocally the role of religion in conflicts can be voiced as well. Religion can be a motivation to perpetuate violence; it can also be a background to conflict or it can be the means and end for parties involved in the conflict. Armed conflict has been a key feature of contemporary world politics, and its relation with religion would be interesting to probe into. Kashmir has been a festering political problem with little global attention. Intangible political positions have led to shame and humiliation. Kashmir has to resort to ‘scapegoating’ in the form of a ‘body of a militant’ as a sacrifice. The failure of the secular world to deliver on its secular promises in the form of the right to self-determination is increasingly turning the local populace to transcendental means to achieve the secular. This paper will try to contextualize the quest for “secular” while examining the construction of Muslim identity, the institution of martyrdom, and its societal basis in Kashmir.