Yes

Syftet med denna komparativa litteraturstudie har varit att jämföra teorier om vilka sociala och psykologiska processer som kan vara bidragande till att unga muslimer i indienstyrda Kashmir dras till radikala och våldsbejakande grupper samt att undersöka vilken påverkan de hindunationalistiska strömningar som vuxit sig starka i Indien under de senaste decennierna har haft på radikaliseringen av denna grupp. Avsikten har varit att bidra med en fördjupad insikt om de processer som bidrar till en polarisering mellan en utgrupp (det hindunationalistiska styret) och en ingrupp (de unga muslimska aktivisterna) och genom jämförelse av olika radikaliseringsteorier utröna vilka eventuella skillnader och svagheter dessa teorier har. Med hjälp av en deduktiv metod och en hermeneutisk ansats har tre förklaringsmodeller jämförts och analyserats. Resultatet visar att radikalisering är en komplex process där både inre psykologiska och yttre sociala faktorer samspelar. Den hindunationalistiska diskurs som vuxit sig allt starkare i Indien under senare år har bidragit till att etnicitet och religion i allt större utsträckning hörs i en debatt som tidigare mest handlat om rätten till självbestämmande. De tre förklaringsmodeller som här analyserats visar att staten har en avgörande roll att spela i radikaliseringsprocessen. Slutsatsen är att det finns ett starkt samband mellan utgruppens användande av statssanktionerat våld och ingruppens radikalisering. I kampen mot terrorism är statsmakten med och skapar det polariserade klimat och de våldsaccepterande radikala grupper som den sedan investerar mycket tid och resurser för att bekämpa. Jag visar nedan hur den indiska staten under decennier besvarat kashmiriernas krav på rätt till självbestämmande med ökad militär närvaro, minskad autonomi och ökat militärt våld. Den intensiva militariseringen av området och förvägran av befolkningens rätt till självbestämmande har haft en stor inverkan på hur unga muslimer i Kashmir organiserar motstånd och en anledning till varför de kommit att se våld som en nödvändig del av detta motstånd. Ingen av de tre valda teorierna förklarar dock varför endast ett litet fåtal av befolkningen i området deltar i våldsamt motstånd mot det upplevda förtrycket. / The purpose of this comparative literature study has been to compare theories about the social and psychological processes that may contribute to young Muslims in Indian-led Kashmir being drawn to radical groups and to examine what impact the Hindu nationalist movement, which have grown strong in India in recent years, have had on the radicalization of this group. The intention has been to contribute with an in-depth insight into the processes that contribute to a polarization between an out-group group (the Hindu nationalist government) and an in-group (the young Muslim activists) and by comparing different radicalization theories to find out what differences and weaknesses these theories have. Using a deductive method and a hermeneutic approach, three explanatory models have been compared and analyzed. The results show that radicalization is a complex process in which both internal psychological and external social factors interact. The Hindu nationalist discourse, which has grown stronger in India in recent years, has contributed to ethnicity and religion being heard to an increasing extent in a debate that in the past was mostly about the right to self-determination. The three explanatory models analyzed here show that the state has a crucial role to play in the radicalization process. The conclusion is that there is a strong connection between the out-group's use of state-sanctioned violence and the in-group’s level of radicalization. In the fight against terrorism, the state is contributing to the polarized climate and the emergence of violence-accepting radical groups, which it then invests a lot of time and resources in combating. I show below how the Indian state for decades has responded to the Kashmiris' demands for the right to self-determination with increased military presence, reduced autonomy and increased military violence. The intense militarization of the area and the denial of the population's right to self-determination have had a major impact on how young Muslims in Kashmir organize resistance and a reason why they have come to see violence as a necessary part of this resistance. However, none of the three chosen theories explains why only a small minority of the population in the area participates in violent resistance against the oppressors.

This thesis contributes towards the knowledge of post conflict crafts of Kashmir and the role women play in this sector. It proposes crafts to be a culturally relevant activity which could generate income for people living in Kashmir. It analyses the impact of the conflict on the crafts of Kashmir from the perspective of the craftspeople. The research is based on fieldwork conducted in Srinagar, Kashmir (2003-2006). Here craftsmen’s groups were studied and a craftswomen’s organisation – Zanana Dastakari was used as a case study. Fieldwork techniques allowed the voices of crafts people to be heard, allowing this study to be conducted from their perspective. Supporting literature was used to place Kashmir within the larger context of crafts, gender and conflict. The research found the crafts of Kashmir to have changed in response to the conflict, the most significant shift being of women joining the crafts sector as stakeholders. Women have selected the area of crafts due to their subjective preferences, which often stem from their identity as Muslim women. This work proposes links between poverty, unemployment and conflict and suggests that culture can play a role in economic development. In Kashmir economic development and reconstruction could be boosted through promotion of this sector. The implications of this research in light of other research indicates a need for deeper understanding of identities and needs of women in conflict zones and the evolution of coping mechanisms used by them to generate sustainable incomes.

Master of Science / Department of Sociology / Laszlo Kulcsar / Kashmir has been in the throes of a civil war since late 1989. The armed conflict between Islamist militants and the Indian security forces has consumed over one hundred thousand civilian lives. Communities have been displaced from their centuries’ old heritage. Almost every household has lost a dear one to the bullet of either a security man or a militant. Deeply entrenched patterns of militarization of the Kashmiri society encompassing a range of material and discursive processes have produced horrific social suffering for local communities in the ostensible rhetoric of protecting national sovereignty. In a situation where Kashmiris have been identified as threats to national order and incarcerated, literally and figuratively, as prisoners of the state, they try hard to retain their sense of history since awareness of history enhances communal and national identity. However, in a society under siege the only tools to retain a sense of ‘social self’ and ethnic collectivity, are through narrative telling and recall to memory that help live trauma collectively to give vent to their plight. This thesis attempts to broadly review the problem in Kashmir and then describe in detail various techniques that Kashmiri society employs like commemoration, narrative telling, oral history, symbolism, theatre, language, and memory etc. to create and live trauma collectively to maintain identity and strive for the perceived cause. Through such reliving of collective trauma societies seek their identity and reinvent their ethnicity.

This thesis examines the implications of the operation of the Armed Forces (Jammu & Kashmir) Special Powers Act 1990 (“Act”) on Kashmir from human rights perspective. It draws a comparison between the Act and the existing penal legislations in India. It proposes that the Act should be repealed and actions of the armed forces should be governed by the already existing penal legislations. It suggests amendment of similar state and central legislations conferring immunity to the armed forces. The precondition of approval of the Central Government for instituting a legal proceeding should be removed. It proposes constitution of special grievance cells at district levels to adjudicate cases against the armed forces before being referred to the higher courts. The thesis urges the Indian Government to approach the issue of Kashmir following principles of Ahimsa (“non–violence”) and Satyagraha (“insistence on truth”) adopted by Mahatma Gandhi during the Indian independence struggle.

This thesis examines the implications of the operation of the Armed Forces (Jammu & Kashmir) Special Powers Act 1990 (“Act”) on Kashmir from human rights perspective. It draws a comparison between the Act and the existing penal legislations in India. It proposes that the Act should be repealed and actions of the armed forces should be governed by the already existing penal legislations. It suggests amendment of similar state and central legislations conferring immunity to the armed forces. The precondition of approval of the Central Government for instituting a legal proceeding should be removed. It proposes constitution of special grievance cells at district levels to adjudicate cases against the armed forces before being referred to the higher courts. The thesis urges the Indian Government to approach the issue of Kashmir following principles of Ahimsa (“non–violence”) and Satyagraha (“insistence on truth”) adopted by Mahatma Gandhi during the Indian independence struggle.

Autonomy is a concept often used within International law and conflict studies as a tool to resolve tensions between state and a distinct group wanting to break free from the state. However, autonomy has no real definition within international law. Similarly, autonomy retraction lacks a clear definition and conceptualization, mostly due to it being a rare occurrence. There are five known cases of autonomy retraction. The most recent is India’s revoking of article 370 of the Indian constitution previously granting the region of Jammu and Kashmir a special status of autonomy. This thesis used this case to try and conceptualize autonomy retraction by looking at the historical context of autonomy retraction comparing how the region of Assam, Kosovo, Sudan and Tibet lost their autonomy. Historical context tells us that retraction usually comes from legislative changes and increased nationalistic policy making by central governments. Additionally, the case of Jammu and Kashmir has been examined using an altered version of an existing framework developed by the author Maria Ackrén where she looked at how regional/territorial autonomy is established. The altered version used in the thesis looks at if her framework can be used to see how and why autonomy was retracted in Jammu and Kashmir. Evidently, ideology and growing asymmetric power structures and authoritarian tendencies imposed by the Bharatiya Janata Party in India seem to be at the core to the revocation of article 370. The ultimate goal in this thesis was to conceptualize autonomy retraction and while certain components such as ideology and ethnicity plays a large part as evident in the case of India revoking article 370, further research would be beneficial to identify additional components needed to generalize the concept of autonomy retraction.

Sikhs, in the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), represent only 1.87% – roughly 60,000 members – of the overall population in the region, which remains predominately Muslim. In the valley of Kashmir, Sikh minorities maintain distinct cultural, linguistic, religious, and (at times) political traditions from other Sikhs in India. In recent decades, beleaguered by the lack of secure work opportunities, religious and political violence, an overall political invisibility, and the slow migration of members out of the region, Sikhs have been agitating for minority status over their lack of official recognition by the Indian government as a religious and cultural minority. Many Sikhs have found it easier to seek opportunities outside the valley, leading to a “slow migration” of members from Kashmir. The efforts of minoritization would see Sikhs gaining better work and educational opportunities and potentially stemming their slow departure. This research looks at subjects of visibility, membership, minority rights and efforts, and looks to provide the historical contexts that remain relevant to the community in current discourses. This thesis seeks to understand more specifically (1) what minoritization would provide for Sikhs in the Kashmir valley and (2) the possible future implications of becoming recognized as distinct and different political subjects by the Indian State, while simultaneously seeking to maintain their own distinct cultural and regional identities. For Kashmir’s Sikhs, desires for visibility highlight anxieties related to their awareness of their own disappearance and economic suffering. Between the region’s violent history and India’s military occupation, their anxieties reveal complex social issues that are rooted in memories and experiences of traumas, weak government efforts to provide access to Scheduled Status, and the continued burden of oversight that have long left the community in the margins of relevance. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA) / This thesis looks at Kashmir’s minority Sikh community who have been petitioning the Indian government for minority rights and reservations. These reservations would alleviate issues related to economic, educational, and political oversights. These oversights have left the community without equity and access to work and representation as they compete for access against much larger communities in India’s competitive systems. However, government recognition would also force upon the community a criteria for membership as recognized by the state, challenging notions of self identification. This research looks at subjects of visibility, membership, minority rights and efforts, and seeks to establish the historical contexts that remain relevant to the community in current discourse, as they engage with Indian state.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 246-280) and index. Deals with the domestication of the goat and the history of the cashmere industry; investigates fibre physiology and production in general; and gives a detailed account of skin histology and fibre production of goats with particular reference to the cashmere-bearing animal; followed by research related to cashmere fibre production

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 246-280) and index. / [21], 280 leaves : ill. (some col.), maps, plates ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Deals with the domestication of the goat and the history of the cashmere industry; investigates fibre physiology and production in general; and gives a detailed account of skin histology and fibre production of goats with particular reference to the cashmere-bearing animal; followed by research related to cashmere fibre production / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Animal Sciences, 1990