Rethinking Conflict at the Margins: Dalits and Borderland Hindus in Jammu and Kashmir

By Mohita Bhatia.

This book departs from the conventional academic narration of the conflict situation in Jammu and Kashmir and expands the debate by shifting the focus from Kashmir to Jammu region. Generally, it is the response of Muslim-majority Kashmir region – particularly its contestation of the hegemonic and assimilative temperament of the Indian state – that captures the attention of researchers. The Hindu-majority Jammu region which is affected by the conflict in many ways remains in the shadows. This book seeks to address this crucial academic gap by locating the conflict in Jammu region. Besides explaining the ‘Hindu reactionary’ and ‘ultra-nationalist’ responses of some sections of Jammu’s society, the book also foregrounds the genuine grievances of its people and their concerns within the dominant ‘Kashmir-centric’ discourse.

Mohita Bhatia has worked as a Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellow, Sociology, at the Center for South Asia, Stanford University (2016-2018). Before that, she was an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the Centre for the Study of Discrimination and Exclusion, JNU, Delhi (2013-2016).

For more information, click here.