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pink_distro's review
4.0
this is a very helpful and impressively concise 101 on the brutal and deadly Indian occupation of Kashmir, a MASSIVE injustice that goes basically undiscussed in the west. and you can read it 0nline 4 fr3eeee so check the bottom of this review!
it starts with "The Story of Kashmir" by Tariq Ali, which gives a broad historical overview of Kashmiri society and politics, including the freedom movement. i have a few qualms w his style but he covers a ton of ground in only 50 pages and i rly needed that historical context, so props.
the first Arundhati Roy essay ("Azadi: The Only Thing Kashmiris Want") and the Angana P. Chatterji essay ("The Militarized Zone") seemed like very well-rounded accounts & analysis of the recent freedom movement and the Indian occupation. i say seemed like bc im not well-read on Kashmir so im not good to judge it, but i felt like they were both very nuanced and principled perspectives. Hilal Bhatt is the only Kashmiri writer featured — his essay recounts his bone-chilling experience of extra-judicial Hindu supremacist mob violence. that essay added a lot, i just wish there was also more analytical writing from actual Kashmiris ... a first hand voice would help navigate the internal complexities and politics of the freedom movement better.
despite some issues, i would really recommend reading this, or at least 1-2 of the above essays. Kashmir is the most densely militarized zone in the planet, and the violence that entails — the commonplace torture, disappearances, sexual assaults, killings, maimings, displacement, the hundreds of thousands of soldiers, the deep and constant surveillance, the detention centers, the checkpoints — is impossible for me to comprehend. the staggering numbers presented by Chatterji, read right next to Bhatt's horrifying first hand experience ... is really hard. and all of it gets a blank check from the united states ... Kashmir really demands the attention and solidarity from progressive people in the west.
here's a (ugly but totally readable) pdf of it: http://prfjk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Tariq-Ali-Hilal-Bhatt-Arundhati-Roy-Kashmir-The-Case-for-Freedom-2011.pdf
it starts with "The Story of Kashmir" by Tariq Ali, which gives a broad historical overview of Kashmiri society and politics, including the freedom movement. i have a few qualms w his style but he covers a ton of ground in only 50 pages and i rly needed that historical context, so props.
the first Arundhati Roy essay ("Azadi: The Only Thing Kashmiris Want") and the Angana P. Chatterji essay ("The Militarized Zone") seemed like very well-rounded accounts & analysis of the recent freedom movement and the Indian occupation. i say seemed like bc im not well-read on Kashmir so im not good to judge it, but i felt like they were both very nuanced and principled perspectives. Hilal Bhatt is the only Kashmiri writer featured — his essay recounts his bone-chilling experience of extra-judicial Hindu supremacist mob violence. that essay added a lot, i just wish there was also more analytical writing from actual Kashmiris ... a first hand voice would help navigate the internal complexities and politics of the freedom movement better.
despite some issues, i would really recommend reading this, or at least 1-2 of the above essays. Kashmir is the most densely militarized zone in the planet, and the violence that entails — the commonplace torture, disappearances, sexual assaults, killings, maimings, displacement, the hundreds of thousands of soldiers, the deep and constant surveillance, the detention centers, the checkpoints — is impossible for me to comprehend. the staggering numbers presented by Chatterji, read right next to Bhatt's horrifying first hand experience ... is really hard. and all of it gets a blank check from the united states ... Kashmir really demands the attention and solidarity from progressive people in the west.
here's a (ugly but totally readable) pdf of it: http://prfjk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Tariq-Ali-Hilal-Bhatt-Arundhati-Roy-Kashmir-The-Case-for-Freedom-2011.pdf
hikemogan's review
4.0
Kashmir, the Case for Freedom is a fascinating look at a corner of the world that rarely makes the news. This despite half a million Indian troops, paramilitary forces, and police waging a low-level war on the population there for over a half-century, killing more people than the occupations in Northern Ireland, Palestine, and Tibet combined. On the rare occasions some extraordinary event there merits a paragraph in the back of the New York Times, the conflict is framed as a budding democracy versus Islamic zealots fomenting a guerilla war in some rural hinterland. The fact that the democratic activists in Kashmir have rejected radical Islamic militants for the most part is either ignored or misunderstood by Western media.
Tariq Ali’s concise history of the region and its politics which opens this collection is worth the purchase price alone. Arundhati Roy’s examination of what Kashmiris really want examines the modern movement for Kashmiri self-determination. Hilal Bhatt offers an absolutely terrifying first-hand account of the religious and ethnic violence that pervade the region and India as a whole, despite the latter’s public relations gloss which paint it as a modern, democratic and open country.
Admittedly, I knew little about Kashmir, its occupation, or the movement for freedom by its people before opening this book. Now I’m fascinated by the area and will certainly read more, even if it means rooting out that lonely paragraph in the back of the New York Times.
Tariq Ali’s concise history of the region and its politics which opens this collection is worth the purchase price alone. Arundhati Roy’s examination of what Kashmiris really want examines the modern movement for Kashmiri self-determination. Hilal Bhatt offers an absolutely terrifying first-hand account of the religious and ethnic violence that pervade the region and India as a whole, despite the latter’s public relations gloss which paint it as a modern, democratic and open country.
Admittedly, I knew little about Kashmir, its occupation, or the movement for freedom by its people before opening this book. Now I’m fascinated by the area and will certainly read more, even if it means rooting out that lonely paragraph in the back of the New York Times.
neethineethi's review
4.0
This book offers a great in-depth history of the freedom struggle in Kashmir in the form of short works by a few different writers. I really appreciated Angana P. Chatterji’s chapter the most, as well as both of Arundhati Roy’s.
I think this book is ideal for someone who has a basic understanding of the history of Kashmir and its occupation but would like to learn more, or maybe someone who’s been brainwashed by Hindu nationalist media or even their diaspora peers into thinking the Muslim population of Kashmir hasn’t endured great atrocities for years and years now. There is no way to read this book and come away with anything other than a profound pain and understanding that Kashmiris have endured so much devastation at the hands of the Indian state.
I think this book is ideal for someone who has a basic understanding of the history of Kashmir and its occupation but would like to learn more, or maybe someone who’s been brainwashed by Hindu nationalist media or even their diaspora peers into thinking the Muslim population of Kashmir hasn’t endured great atrocities for years and years now. There is no way to read this book and come away with anything other than a profound pain and understanding that Kashmiris have endured so much devastation at the hands of the Indian state.
abidhaaaa_'s review
4.0
A really good book if you want to understand the situation in Kashmir better, gives a really good insight from the perspective of Pakistani, Indian and Kashmiri activists.
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