Christopher Snedden (2015), Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris, London: Hurst and Company
Gurjot Singh
The departure of the British from the Indian subcontinent was no less than an apocalypse for people who happened to fall on the wrong side of the newly marked boundaries of the two nations. The ghosts of millions of them who lost their lives to this mayhem still follow us in the form of numerous overt and latent conflicts. The Kashmir conflict is a veritable example of how enduring and profoundly consequential they can be. Over the years, this pristine piece of earth has become a ground for deadly contests. Although the scholarship available on the Kashmir conflict is in great abundance, the emotional fervour that flows in both India and Pakistan adds a great deal of complications. Over the years, this enigma called ‘Kashmir’ has become a defining factor in both the Indo-Pak bilateral relationship and greater geopolitical theatre.
“Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris” by Christopher Snedden, an Australian politico-strategist, is one of the most authoritative accounts of Kashmir’s past and contemporary history. It is counted among the rare books that dare to go beyond the statist paradigm in discussing the issue and narrates an Independent, all-encompassing version of the Kashmir conflict. The author confirms in his introductory remarks that it is aimed at informing the general audience/readers. The author has tried to write a go-to book for the ones curious about the field of geo-politics and have an interest in the strategic implications of the Kashmir conflict in the region. The book is divided into five broad parts each containing a list of relevant sub-chapters. The first part ‘Important Antecedents’ focuses on the historical evolution of the Kashmiri Identity, its people, its rulers, religions, and interactions with the external world. It also demystifies the notion that is pre-held by many that the whole of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir has historically been aligned with Kashmir valley. It provides sufficient reasoning that it was due to the fame of Kashmir that the neighbouring areas also ascribed and identified with it. Kashmir due to its geographical location had been mostly separated from other regions. The second part ‘Jammu and Kashmir, 1846-1947’ discusses the transfer of Kashmir from the Sikh Empire to Dogra ruler Gulab Singh, under the de-facto British suzerainty. It describes the strategic rationale of the British behind leaving Kashmir out of its direct control under the Gulab Singh which was promised to him for his treacherous role in the fall of the Sikh Empire. It was at this time that these three different regions comprising different identities and landscapes called Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh were formally united under the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. It brings into light the fact that the pre-colonial realities are as inherent to the contemporary conflict over Kashmir as are the post-colonial actions by the politicians in India and Pakistan.
The most impressive thing about Snedden’s well-researched work is that it does not concern itself with who did what and said what but weaves a bold thesis based around relevant facts and provides a larger contextual understanding of the historical events. It is followed by the third part which takes account of the post-partition situation. The author’s thesis which also has been the subject of his previous book is that the internationalization of the Kashmir dispute has, in most part, to do with the Anti-India uprising in Muslim majority regions of Poonch and Mirpur in western Jammu and not with the Pakhtoon invasion. The author has been criticized on these grounds by scholars in India for exonerating Pakistan of its role in destabilizing Kashmir despite the formal accession of its ruler on October 26, 1947, in India’s favour. The last two chapters ‘Contemporary and Divided J & K’ and ‘Resolving the Kashmir dispute’ assess the trends, major events and engagements between India and Pakistan concerning Kashmir.
For an issue as public as Kashmir, it is not possible to manipulate or cover factual information, but it is under the purview of the author to choose the areas of focus as per his/her ideational understanding. In my humble opinion, the author’s take on the relationship between Indians, Pakistanis and Kashmiris is essentialist in nature, it overlooks the varied perspectives that exist with regards to Kashmir. A lot has changed since the book was last published. In August 2019 the state of Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated making Ladakh a separate region and downgraded to the status of a Union territory. It still remains to be the most militarized region in the world, with no prospect of peaceful settlement visible in the near future, Kashmiris strive to have their voices heard.
Gurjot Singh is a Research Intern at NIICE.
