Behind the Popular Narrative: Negotiating Life and Political Engagement in Conflicted Kashmir
| Date | 01 December 2021 |
| Author | Wahid Ahmad Dar |
| Published date | 01 December 2021 |
| DOI | 10.1177/23210230211043076 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Behind the Popular Narrative:
Negotiating Life and Political
Engagement in Conflicted Kashmir
Wahid Ahmad Dar
Abstract
The article focuses on the subaltern system of micro appropriations or Jugaads used by young Kashmiris
to survive within precarious situations inflicted due to armed conflict. More particularly, it argues that
such Jugaads are invoked by the subaltern consciousness of Tehreeq-e-Azadi, which offers space for
not just the negotiation with the state but also the creative improvisation of daily political actions. It is
illustrated that young people’s political participation is entangled with the attempts to overcome the
uncertainty around their lives, thereby offering them pragmatic solutions in advancing their interests.
It is further elaborated that the existing polarization between separatism and mainstream is obscure
at the experiential level, living within precarious situations has taught young people to silently craft
possibilities of a good life without looking confrontational to either side. The article argues that localized
forms of engagement are crucial for a comprehensive understanding of how modern states operate.
Keywords
Mainstream, Kashmir conflict, separatism, lived experiences, political engagement
Introduction
Anthropologically, political actions are often analysed from a localized and experiential perspective,
thereby giving room to creative cultural and social productions (Kokal, 2019). Besides being the citizens
of the state, people are members of their community, whose value systems and expected modes of
behaviour lay a great influence on political actions. In this backdrop, we analysed young people’s
response to the Kashmir conundrum within a wider anthropological perspective, taking into account the
embeddedness of political engagement and decision-making within the alternative normative orders.
More particularly, this study discusses the influence of the subaltern political consciousness, i.e.,
Tehreeq-e-Azadi (Movement for Freedom in English) on people’s engagements with the state and its
grass-root functionaries. In this scenario, the article makes three important arguments. First, Tehreeq-e-
Azadi as part of Kashmiri subjective experience invokes an incantation, a utopian social realm (Azadi)
Article
1 Department of Anthropology, Government Degree College Shopian, University of Kashmir, Hazratbal, J&K, India.
Corresponding author:
Wahid Ahmad Dar, Department of Anthropology, Government Degree College Shopian, University of Kashmir,
Hazratbal, J&K, India.
E-mail: wahiddar@kashmiruniversity.net
Studies in Indian Politics
9(2) 179–191, 2021
© 2021 Lokniti, Centre for the
Study of Developing Societies
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DOI: 10.1177/23210230211043076
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