2011/06/20 by Chitralekha Zutshi · 2 citations
Arts and Humanities · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Aesthetics #Art #Exceptionalism #Field (mathematics) #History #Independence (probability theory) #Kashmiri #Law #Political science #Politics #Psychology #Scholarship #Shadow (psychology) #Sociology #South Asian Studies and Conflicts #South Asian Studies and Diaspora #Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies #State (computer science) #Variety (cybernetics)
paper · doi:10.1017/s0026749x11000345
openalex publication_date 2011/06/20 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/15
Abstract This paper explores the current state of the field of Kashmir Studies and argues that, whilst scholarship on Kashmir has come a long way since the decades after Indian independence and partition, the political situation in the region continues to cast a long shadow over writings on Kashmir. Nevertheless, and despite the continued difficulties associated with research within Kashmir, a new generation of scholars has emerged at the turn of the twenty-first century, whose writings transcend geographical and political determinism as well as the discourse of Kashmiri exceptionalism, to present Kashmir as a complex, but not unique, entity, that has been shaped by multiple influences. In addition, this scholarship explores the ideas that have given Kashmir a particular shape in our imaginations, through analysis of a variety of sources, including poetry, art, film, and oral histories. A lot remains to be done, however, particularly in the field of Kashmir's medieval and pre-modern history, and in the application of theoretical approaches such as borderlands to the region's past and present.