Violence Exposure and Ethnic Identification: Evidence from Kashmir

2019 ◽  
Vol 73 (02) ◽  
pp. 329-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gautam Nair ◽  
Nicholas Sambanis
Keyword(s):  
Regional Identity ◽  
Psychological Distance ◽  
The State ◽  
Ethnic Identification ◽  
Kashmir Valley ◽  
Jammu And Kashmir ◽  
State Information ◽  
National Identification ◽  
Indian State ◽  
Large Representative

AbstractThis article studies the conditions that lead peripheral minorities to identify with the state, their ethnic group, or neighboring countries. We contribute to research on separatism and irredentism by examining how violence, psychological distance, and national status determine identification. The analysis uses data from a novel experiment that randomized videos of actual violence in a large, representative survey of the Kashmir Valley region in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, an enduring site of separatist and irredentist conflict. We find that a strong regional identity is a counterweight to irredentism, but violent repression by the state can push members of the minority to identify with an irredentist neighbor. Violence increases perceived distance from the nation and reduces national identification. There is suggestive evidence that these effects are concentrated among individuals with attributes that otherwise predict higher levels of identification with the state. Information about integrative institutions and increased national status brought about by economic growth is insufficient to induce national identification in a context where psychological distance from the nation is large.

scholarly journals Protracted Displacement in Conflict Zones: Refugees and Internally Displaced People in Jammu and Kashmir

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 90
Author(s):  
Reeta Chowdhari Tremblay
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
Jammu And Kashmir ◽  
Difficult Situation ◽  
Conflict Zones ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
Indian State ◽  
Princely State ◽  
Displaced People ◽  
The One ◽  
Surrounding Areas

This study concentrates on the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir and on those displaced people who, for the past six and a half decades, have remained invisible against the high profile background of the conflict between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir region.  Their difficult situation arises in large part from the identity-based politics of Kashmir Valley which has led to the failure of the state (both national and regional) fully to respond to their very significant conflict-induced displacement resettlement requirements. This essay will address two distinct types of displacement which occurred in 1947 in the wake of Partition and the tribal invasion of the Princely State: the one involving the West Pakistan Refugees (WPR) who moved from Pakistani towns adjacent to the State of Jammu and Kashmir and had not been citizens of the Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir; and the other involving the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir Displaced People (PoKDP), citizens of the State, who moved from the Pakistan-administered part of Kashmir to the Indian-administered Kashmir, mainly the Jammu region and surrounding areas.  Both groups belonged predominantly to the Hindu community.  While the former, the WPR, remain stateless with no citizenship rights in J&K, the latter, the PoKDP, are considered by the State as temporary migrants, and thus have received only temporary relief.

“Guns Plus Interest”

2019 ◽  
pp. 64-96
Author(s):  
Yelena Biberman
Keyword(s):  
Balance Of Power ◽  
The State ◽  
Local Power ◽  
Kashmir Valley ◽  
The South ◽  
Jammu And Kashmir ◽  
Security Forces ◽  
The North ◽  
Principal Factors ◽  
Defense Committees

This chapter shows that the principal factors driving the state-nonstate alliances in Kashmir (1989–2003) were the local balance of power and actors’ interests. It was only when the Indian army demonstrated force employment prowess through a string of military victories that it was able to attract opportunists. These were former rebels seeking local power, profit, and security. The proxies—most notably the Ikhwan-ul-Muslimoon in the north, as well as the Jammu and Kashmir Ikhwan and Muslim Mujahideen in the south of the Kashmir Valley—helped to shift the balance of power in India’s favor. This prompted the insurgency to move to the mountainous Jammu region. There, the security forces turned to local activists. These, mostly Hindu, villagers formed the so-called Village Defense Committees.

The New Wave of Mobilisation in Kashmir: Religious or Political?

Social Change ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simple Mohanty
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
New Wave ◽  
Kashmir Valley ◽  
Causal Factors ◽  
Street Protest ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Indian State ◽  
Real Danger

The intractability of the Kashmir conundrum continues despite the success of counter-insurgency operations carried out by the Indian state which can be seen in militancy levels climbing down since the early 2000s. While in part, this is because India and Pakistan are unable to break new ground on Kashmir, a key factor is that alienation still runs deep among Kashmiri people despite duly elected governments being in place. It does not help when their anxieties are further stoked by religio-political mobilisation, such as the Amarnath land agitation in Jammu in 2008, when Hindutva forces enforced a blockade of essential supplies to the Kashmir Valley. A spate of protests have since wracked Kashmir with stone-pelters confronting security persons who use disproportionate violence to quell them. Though each street protest, whether in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013 or 2016, had a different trigger, the underlying restlessness and alienation are constants which pose a very real danger of breeding anarchy. This article seeks to explore whether this new wave of mobilisation in Kashmir is religious or political or both in nature, its causal factors and how it is different from the armed insurgency that erupted in 1989. It contends that the state must address and fix such alienation urgently to prevent things going further downhill in the Valley.

scholarly journals The Special Status Conundrum and the Problem of Rehabilitation in Jammu and Kashmir

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 73-83
Author(s):  
Moksha Singh ◽  
Munmun Jha
Keyword(s):  
Central Government ◽  
The State ◽  
Political Crisis ◽  
Jammu And Kashmir ◽  
Political Upheaval ◽  
Government Aid ◽  
The Status ◽  
Indian State ◽  
Inclusive Policy ◽  
Laws And Policies

AbstractThe political crisis in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, following the partition of the sub-continent, resulted in state-society construction that was embedded in religious, ethnic and ideological lines. Coupled with specially designed legislative and political framework, the final status of the state was marred with inbuilt ambiguities. The latter subsequently provided a foundation for further political destabilization in the region. The present contention on the status of Jammu and Kashmir within the Indian union is the outcome of one such temporary political adjustment that was implemented in the state in the form of Article 370 of the Constitution of India. This, over the years, has resulted in political upheaval, growth of secessionist feelings and violence in the state. The relief and rehabilitation of those affected by the conflict have suffered at the hands of this political adjustment. Article 370 does not allow for the implementation of various central government laws and policies in the state, preventing many from receiving the much deserved state and central government aid. This paper proposes that under Section 9 of the State’s Constitution, changes should be brought about in this political adjustment so that there is an all inclusive policy on rehabilitation, ending the conundrum over who is benefitted and who is not.

scholarly journals AGITATIONAL DYNAMICS IN THE KASHMIR VALLEY AND ITS IMPACT

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 297-304
Author(s):  
S.I. Humayun ◽  
◽  
Col. Navneet Dahiya
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
Law And Order ◽  
Kashmir Valley ◽  
Common People ◽  
Jammu And Kashmir ◽  
The Public ◽  
The People ◽  
Proxy War ◽  
Mass Murders ◽  
National Governments

The state of Jammu and Kashmir (now a UT after the abrogation of article 370) is not only the casus belli of three wars between India and Pakistan but is also a possible nuclear flashpoint. Thus the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) is a cause of concern not only for the two states but also for South Asia and the entire world. The state-sponsored proxy war in J&K and the resultant militarization of the entire state has turned the situation into a vicious spiral that threatens to go out of control every few years since the 1980s. The dynamics of Kashmir valley have also oscillated from peaceful marches on one end to the forced exodus of Kashmiri Pandits, mass murders by the terrorists, heavy-handedness by the security forces, and violent protests across the Kashmir valley. Amongst this melee of constant violence and curbs on a day to day freedom, the ultimate losers are the people of the state. The aspirations and happiness of these common people have somehow been lost on the state and national governments, the curbs on the flourishing of civil society, and the environment of fear generated by the so-called militants and militarization of the state. An analysis of these mass protests gives out the general mood of the public if not the actual aspirations of the people. The factors causing the security situation in the valley to deteriorate need to be taken cognizance of not only in the domain of law and order but also in the modifications to the approach required to renew and reestablish a compact with the people of the state.

What Happened to Governance in Kashmir?

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aijaz Ashraf Wani
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
Critical Study ◽  
Material Loss ◽  
Jammu And Kashmir ◽  
Economic Implications ◽  
The Public ◽  
Popular Government ◽  
Cultural Strategies ◽  
Indian State ◽  
First Time

What Happened to governance in Kashmir? studies the state of Jammu and Kashmir from the perspective of an ‘exceptional state’ rather than a ‘normal state’, a periphery on the margins of the centre, and thus shifts the focus from the central grid to the local arena. It contains a mass of information on what successive governments did to manage the conflicted state of Jammu and Kashmir. It identifies the various issues and problems the state has been confronted with since the transfer of power to ‘popular’ government in 1948 to 1989. The book makes a critical study of the engagement of Indian state and its clientele governments and patronage democracies with political instability to create ‘order’ in ‘durable disorder’. With having examined the different political, military, legal, economic, social, and cultural strategies, instruments and tactics employed by the state at different times to suit changing environments, this is the first work on post 1947 Kashmir which brings together many capital dimensions of state, politics, and governance in Kashmir under one cover. While critically delineating the doings of the governments, the book does not only provide flesh and blood to some existing narratives, it also modifies and even refutes some of the long held assumptions on the basis of hitherto unexamined evidence. All in all, the book illuminates the reader about the policies of Indian state towards Kashmir and the extent the successive governments have succeeded in winning the emotional integration of Kashmiris with the Indian Union. As Sheikh Abdullah was a central figure of Kashmir politics and governance, the readers will find a refreshingly new light on his governance when he was in power, and a most influential agency to mould the public opinion when he was out of state power. Similar revealing information on the other governments are documented for the first time. Having studied each government in its own right, we find the governance characterized by change in continuity. Indeed, governance in Kashmir does not constitute one single development. In essence it is a diachronic assemblage, a composite result of different systems each with its own internal or imposed coherence moving at different speeds—some are stable, some move slowly, and some wear themselves out more quickly depending on various forces and factors. What Happened to Governance in Kashmir? is a telling tale on the state of governance in Kashmir; the policies and strategies adopted by Indian state and the successive patronage governments to grapple with the multifarious problems of the state. Kashmir is an ailing state. It is the victim of colonialism and partition, which subverted its geographical centrality with serious economic implications besides making it a permanent conflict state causing immense human and material loss. Besides being claimed by India, Pakistan, and Kashmiris, it is also a rainbow state very difficult to manage with various ethno-regional and sub-regional nationalities at cross-purposes. Added to this, it is a dependent state. This book situates governance in its total milieu and examines the governance in the framework of challenge and response continuum. It unfolds how in a conflict state like Kashmir democracy and governance is always guided and controlled. This is the first comprehensive book on the post 1947 governance in Kashmir.

A PROPOSED EVALUATION PLAN TO ASSESS THE IMPACT OF A YOUTH DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME FACILITATED BY THE STATE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AGENCY (SITA) IN RURAL SOUTH AFRICA

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 174-181
Author(s):  
Maura Mbunyuza-deHeer Menlah
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
The State ◽  
State Information ◽  
Evaluation Plan ◽  
Lessons Learnt ◽  
Slow Development ◽  
The Impact

This article reports on a proposed evaluation plan that has been developed to assess the work done by the State Information Technology Agency (SITA). The SITA programme was implemented in response to the South African government’s call to improve the lives of the populations in some rural areas through technology. The programme was meant to address slow development in  rural  areas  that  lack  technological  innovations  and  advances.  In  the proposed evaluation plan a review is made of secondary data, deciding how strategic priorities are to be determined, as well as analysis of the rural context environment. The researcher gives an account of how the evaluation strategies are to be piloted and rolled out thereafter. Lessons learnt are recorded and reported upon. A proposed evaluation plan will be developed, based on the lessons learnt in line with the objectives of the project.

Environmental Scanning for Organisational Effectiveness: A Study of Select MSMEs of Jammu and Kashmir, India

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vinay Chauhan ◽  
Sushma Kaushal
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Effectiveness ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
The State ◽  
The Other ◽  
Political Environment ◽  
Environmental Scanning ◽  
Jammu And Kashmir ◽  
Economic Dimension ◽  
The Impact

Environmental scanning yields greater anticipatory management that provides important inputs for aquitision and use of information for planning and designing organization strategies. Apart from this, effective environmental scanning activities are likely to deal with threats and grasp the opportunities to finally link with enhancing organizational effectiveness. In fact this relationship matrix has led the researchers to conduct an environmental scanning through an examination of the existing status the components of the macro-environment vis-a-vis their relationship with the organizational effectiveness. There are a number of approaches, which describe the macro-environment, of which PEST analysis is regarded as the most common approach for considering the external business environment. Thus, the present study applies PEST analysis to scan the existing business environment. Jammu and Kashmir due to its peculiar political, geographical, economic, and socio-cultural features, had led its cost mountain economy become a distinctive identity. Despite the fact that the state has rich endowments, international relations with its neighbours vis-a-vis its impact on political environment also pose developmental challenges for the business units operating in the state. This has provided valid rationale for conducting the present. The environmental scanning is done through the perception of the select entrepreneurs operating MSMEs in the state of J & K. An impact analysis of environmental factors (PEST) on the organizational effectiveness is also done in the study. The findings of the study show that the political environment of the state that is not favourable for entrepreneural development whereas the rest of the other drivers of PEST i.e. economic environment, socio-cultural environment, and technological environment show a favourable response of the entrepreneurs. In terms of cause and effect relationship, it is found that the first two drivers of the PEST i.e. political and economic dimension impacts OE positively whereas the other two dimensions namely socio-cultural and technological impacts OE negatively but it is pertinent to mention that the impact is very less and is insigninificant. The study also suggests some of strategic options for developing and creating an enabling environment for successful entrepreneurial development to achieve integrated development of the state.

Political and Economic History of Land-Grabs in India

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peer Ghulam Nabi Suhail
Keyword(s):  
Economic History ◽  
The State ◽  
Developmental Approach ◽  
Land Grabs ◽  
Indian State ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Media

This chapter begins with tracing the roots of colonialism in India, followed by understanding its various structures and processes of resource-grabbing. It argues, that India has largely followed the colonial approach towards land appropriation. After independence, although the Indian state followed a nationalistic path of development, the developmental approach of the state was far from being pro-peasant and/or pro-ecology. In a similar fashion, hydroelectricity projects in Kashmir, developed by NHPC from 1970s, have been displacing thousands of peasants from their lands and houses. Despite this, they are yet to become a major debate in the media, in the policy circles, or in academia in India.

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