Colonising Kashmir: State-building Under Indian Occupation
By Hafsa Kanjwal
Stanford University Press
ISBN: 978-1503636033
384pp.

Colonising Kashmir by Prof Hafsa Kanjwal offers a theoretically informed and empirically rich account of Kashmir’s relationship with postcolonial India. The book mobilises the case study of Kashmir to expand the existing theoretical framework of postcolonial and critical South Asian studies.

Typically, the concept of ‘colonial occupation’ refers to the occupation of former colonies (South countries) by European powers, driven by resource extraction and market expansion. By examining Kashmir, the book raises a fundamental theoretical question: can a postcolonial (South) country be conceptualised as an occupying colonial power? This question has significant epistemic implications, extending well beyond India and Kashmir.

In fact, on page four, Kanjwal explicitly makes this point by raising the following two questions: “What can the case of Kashmir tell us about how state-building occurs in other politically liminal sites, tied to the emergence of the (post-) colonial nation-state?” and “What insight can Kashmir provide us in ongoing theorisations of colonialism, settler colonialism, and occupation?”

By framing these questions, Kanjwal engages a broad spectrum of readers who may not be primarily interested in the particularities of Kashmir but rather seek a conceptual framework that helps them understand South-South relationships.

The book comprises seven chapters, in addition to an introduction and conclusion. Chapter One offers genealogies of colonial occupation and state-building in Kashmir. Chapter Two contextualises the role of the media under Bakshi Ghulam Mohamad’s government in shaping discourse on Kashmir, both domestically and internationally. Chapter Three provides a detailed analysis of the role of tourism and cinema in promoting Kashmir as an integral part of India in popular imagination.

A book examines India’s fraught relationship with Occupied Jammu and Kashmir but also expands discussion of the dynamics of postcolonial states in general

Chapter Four delineates various economic modalities, such as five-year plans and budget allocations aimed at ‘modernising’ Kashmir, while also accentuating its economic dependency on India. Chapter Five examines the role of the educational system in assimilating Kashmiri Muslims into the project of India’s state-building in Kashmir.

Chapter Six analyses ‘Jashn-i-Kashmir’ (a cultural festival initiated in 1956) as a means to culturally integrate Kashmiri identity within postcolonial India, through a partial and selective portrayal of Kashmir’s history. Chapter Seven contextualises the struggle for self-determination in Kashmir, alongside the state’s repression, within the broader framework of ‘settler colonialism.’

The book provides an in-depth analysis of state-building practices in Kashmir during the 1950s and 1960s. Throughout the book, Kanjwal argues that India’s relationship with Kashmir is best understood through the lens of “colonial occupation.” She contends that the state-building practices in Kashmir should be viewed through the prism of settler colonialism.

Previous analyses of power asymmetries between India and Kashmir have been framed using different lenses, such as ‘deficit of democracy’ or ‘crisis of federalism.’ Kanjwal critiques these approaches for their failure to transcend implicit methodological nationalism, insisting instead that the lens of colonial occupation reveals the underlying contradictions of state-building in Kashmir.

Internal political and ideological differences among the political elites of India-occupied Jammu and Kashmir are generally overlooked in mainstream discourse in Pakistan. This book offers a fresh perspective on the political and economic history of India-occupied Kashmir. It provides a detailed examination of the regime of Bakshi Ghulam Mohamad, who served as the second prime minister of India-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Bakshi’s rule is widely considered one of the pivotal eras in Kashmir’s history. Interestingly, Bakshi ascended to power in 1953 through a coup against the popularly elected prime minister of Kashmir at the time, Sheikh Abdullah.

The Indian state was uncomfortable with Sheikh Abdullah due to his perceived pro-independence stance. Bakshi was imposed on the people of Kashmir and remained in power for 11 years, primarily leading the project that Kanjwal describes as the “integration” of Kashmir into India through modernisation. In essence, Bakshi’s governance aimed to ‘modernise’ Kashmir by culturally and economically integrating it with India.

The book outlines in detail the special economic programmes for Kashmir during Bakshi’s rule. At first glance, it might appear that the Indian state was very generous towards Kashmir during Bakshi’s tenure. However, we must question why this was the case. The founders of independent India were aware and relatively sensitive (compared to later leaders) to the political sentiments of the Kashmiri people.

The issue of Kashmiri self-determination posed a significant challenge for India’s postcolonial leadership. Political elites in Delhi tried to coopt their counterparts in Srinagar in order to shift the focus from the demand for a plebiscite in Kashmir to what Kanjwal terms the “politics of life.”

Kanjwal utilises the conceptual framework of the “politics of life” to highlight everyday concerns, such as livelihoods and access to basic public goods like education, health services, road infrastructure, etc. Essentially, Bakshi exploited the inherent contradictions in the India-Kashmir relationship to extend his tenure and to secure economic benefits for Kashmir. In other words, the Indian state granted special privileges to Kashmir with the hope of dampening demands for self-determination.

It is imperative to note that the power asymmetries across spatial-geographic regions of the Global South are among the major contradictions of our epoch. Pakistan is no exception in this regard, as the relationship between Islamabad and ethnic/regional peripheries remains contested.

Kanjwal’s framing raises new and interesting theoretical questions that require further exploration. For example, does colonial occupation imply the same thing across different times and places? Are there qualitative differences between the colonial occupation of India by the British and what Kanjwal describes as the “colonial occupation” of Kashmir by the postcolonial state of India?

If so, does colonial occupation in the contemporary epoch need further specification? Especially given the fact that, in the contemporary era of financialised and globalised capitalism, the agency of postcolonial nation-states is significantly constrained compared to European colonial powers.

Similarly, Kanjwal rightly critiques the “methodological nationalist” approach to understanding India’s relationship with Kashmir. What is a suitable alternative? Is a global/regional lens suitable for understanding South-South relationships? This requires further specification.

Lastly, Pakistan has dialectically shaped India’s relationship with Kashmir. However, it would be academically unfair to criticise the book for not addressing the broader Pakistan-India-Kashmir dynamic, given that the book’s stated scope is limited to India’s relationship with Kashmir. Building on Kanjwal’s work, I hope future scholarship on Kashmir will incorporate this important dynamic into its analysis.

In short, Colonising Kashmir is an illuminating and essential read for anyone interested in developing a nuanced understanding of Kashmir’s relationship with India. Given the nature of the book’s core thesis, it is poised to stimulate lively debates in critical South Asian studies in the years to come.

The reviewer is Assistant Professor and co-Director of the Inequality, Poverty, Power & Social Justice Initiative in the Department of Economics at Franklin & Marshall College, USA.

Email: dkhan@fandm.edu

X: @khandahnish

Published in Dawn, Books & Authors, July 14th, 2024