Freedom in Captivity - Negotiations of Belonging Along Kashmir''s Frontier

"How do borderland dwellers living along militarised frontiers negotiate regimes of state security and their geopolitical location in everyday life? What might 'freedom' mean to those who do not resist captivity engendered by borders? Focusing on the predicaments of a double-minority, Freedom in Captivity examines the affective attachments, political imaginaries and ethical claims-making among the Shi'a Muslims of Kargil in the union territory of Ladakh, India. In contrast to calls for freedom in the Kashmir Valley, Shi'as on the frontiers of Kashmir have sought belonging to India. Yet they do not entirely succumb to its hegemonic ideological boundaries. Departing from the dominant focus on physical cross-border mobility, this book is an invitation to re-imagine borderlands as cartographies of ideas, cutting across spatial scales. Based on original ethnographic research conducted between 2008 and 2021, the book offers a unique longue-durâee insight into the lives of people residing at the intersections of the biggest states in Asia"--

List of contents

Acknowledgments; List of Figures; List of Acronyms; Introduction: Freedom in Captivity; 1. Genealogies of Political Consciousness; 2. Reforming Self and Society; 3. Fighting for Justice; 4. Talking about Culture; 5. Living on the Edge; Epilogue; Bibliography; Glossary; Index.

About the author

Radhika Gupta is assistant professor at Leiden Institute for Area Studies in Lieden University, The Netherlands. Her research interests include anthropology of religion (especially Islam), borderlands, post-colonial politics, urban anthropology, environmental humanities and critical theory.

Summary

N ethnography of postcolonial sectarian politics in South Asia along the frontiers of Kashmir, this book speaks to interdisciplinary audience from anthropology, sociology and political science. It is a transregional study that explores how politics in South Asia are informed by the travel of religious-cultural ideas from west Asia.

Product details

• Authors: Radhika Gupta, Radhika (Leiden University Gupta
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 30.11.2022
• EAN: 9781009201612
• ISBN: 978-1-0-0920161-2
• No. of pages: 290
• Series: South Asia in the Social Sciences
• Subjects: Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Religion: general, reference works; Social sciences, law, business > Sociology > Sociological theories; Cultural Studies, POLITICAL SCIENCE / World / General, Social & cultural anthropology, ethnography, Politics & government, Religion & politics, Politics and government, Social and cultural anthropology, Religion and Politics, Indian sub-continent, South Asia (Indian sub-continent), Religious groups: social & cultural aspects, Social groups: religious groups and communities, Jammu and Kashmir