In a State of Violent Peace: Voices from the Kashmir Valley

Literature on Kashmir tends to focus on politics, the army, border skirmishes, on India and Pakistan. The very real human beings – whose lives the alternately raging and simmering conflict has an inexorable hold on – are often relegated to the background. In a State of Violent Peace is an attempt to humanize the conflict through lived experience and it provides an insight into the complex situation in Jammu and Kashmir. There are the stories of Surayya Ali Mattoo and Khaleda Begum, the daughters of Sheikh Abdullah; Krishna Misri, who was literally hounded out of Kashmir by militants; writer and academic Neerja Mattoo, who chose to stay on in Kashmir despite the dangers; Bilal, a former militant; Asmat, the wife of a militant; Brig. Sher Jung Bahadur of the Battle of Skardu; Naseer Ahmed Shah and Girija Dhar who braved threats and attempts on their lives by militants, and several otherss. These are tales of compassion, courage and faith in Kashmiriyat to counter the broader focus of conflict reportage. The shifting perspectives and contradictory facts in these histories assert that there is no singular narrative for the people of Kashmir.