Secrets or Death. In this collection of true stories, American scholar Farhana Qazi reveals why women keep secrets to survive another day of conflict. She meets with political activists, protestors and peacemakers to understand their emotional loss and love for Kashmir. Despite the chronic social suffering, these women fight to survive against all odds. These stories are the hidden truths of the valley.
Azad (Free) Jammu and Kashmir (J&K)) is that part of Kashmir within Pakistan, separated by a Line of Control from Indian territory. This book is a rarity: it offers a fresh interpretive history of the largely forgotten four million people of Azad Kashmir. The author contends that in October 1947, pro-Pakistan Muslims in south-western J&K instigated the Kashmir dispute-not Pashtun tribesmen invading from Pakistan, as India has consistently claimed. Later called Azad Kashmiris, these people, Snedden argues, are legitimate stakeholders in an unresolved dispute. He provides comprehensive new information that critically examines Azad Kashmir's administration, economy, political system, and its subordinate relationship with Pakistan. Azad Kashmiris considered their administration to be the only legitimate government in J&K and expected that it would rule after J&K was re-unified by a UN-supervised plebiscite. This poll has never been conducted and Azad Kashmir has effectively, if not yet legally, become a (dependent) part of Pakistan. Long disenchanted with Islamabad, some Azad Kashmiris now favour independence for J&K, hoping that they may survive and prosper without recourse to either of their bigger neighbours. Snedden concludes his book by assessing the various proposals to resolve Azad Kashmir's international status and the broader Kashmir dispute.
Every war has a war story. The Kashmir Book Collection features essential reading on the human aspect of the "forever" conflict in Kashmir, the world's most militarized zone. American scholar and storyteller Farhana Qazi takes you inside this pristine valley, straddled between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan, to share the raw emotions of a people struggling to survive the brutalities of war--a place where madmen, militants, and the military battle one another. This series offers proven research showing how people manage difficult life or death situations, focusing on the emotional well-being of women, who channel their energy into activism. With heartbreaking stories and descriptive prose, Qazi interviews the visible women of Kashmir: political activists, peacemakers, protestors, and ex-prisoners. These women all have one thing in common: they demand change to the Indian occupation of eight million people. Women deserve basic civil liberties and the right to human security. Like their men, women are calling for an end to torture, communication blackouts, curfews, and lockdown. These women are not the silent sufferers of war but the brave activists determined to bring peace to the valley. Uplifting and emotional, Qazi offers this two-volume set to show that the chain of struggle is unbroken until freedom is granted to the Kashmiri people. The inspiring examples of women, who fight with words and non-violent resistance, are a testimony of their strength and solidarity. This collection traces the lives, passions, and roles of women as they fight for self-determination. PRAISE FOR THE KASHMIR BOOK COLLECTION "A brilliant read. This book reveals why human security is a global issue." - Ambassador Prudence Bushnell "Qazi brings the colors, smells, people and politics of Kashmir to life." - Porter Fox, Editor of Nowhere Magazine "This powerful book provides emotional insight into this divided region." - Ross Kaufman, Academy Award-winning Filmmaker “Qazi gives us insights into rarely visible Kashmir. Her powerful narrative and sensitive, brilliant storytelling, reveal her personal background and in-depth research experiences in Kashmir. A highly skilled writer, Qazi also provides a heart-and-soul connection for the reader that has been featured in organized panels at the United Nations.” - Lois A. Herman, United Nations "Farhana Qazi, a Texan of Pakistani descent, has written a shimmering book about her encounters with the women of Kashmir, starting with her own mother, who joined the Pakistani Army to fight for Kashmir. Qazi travelled to this land of haunting beauty to interview activists and advisors, protestors and politicians, mothers and martyrs, educators and entertainers, and more. The result is a moving journey through what has been called "the most beautiful prison in the world." - Deborah Scroggins, Award-Winning Journalist “An American woman sets out on a journey to understand one of Asia’s longest running wars and the role of women within it. Farhana’s bravery, open-mindedness, intelligence and tenacity take her into danger, real lives, raw emotions and ultimately discovery. This is a book that must be read by those who wish to deeply understand the motivations, lives and thoughts behind women in Kashmir." - Robert Young Pelton, Author & Documentary Filmmaker “Farhana Qazi's brilliant book combines her unique personal experience with her deep knowledge of the region, its people and its culture to tell us a story far more informative about today's events than any intelligence brief. And it is beautifully written--a joy to read.” - Brian Michael Jenkins, Counter-Terrorism Expert "My new favorite author!" - Isabel, Amazon Customer "This is an important book for women and for us all." - Diane Thomas, Best-selling Author "I couldn't stop reading!" - Betsy Ashton, Amazon Customer
Rahul Pandita was fourteen years old when he was forced to leave his home in Srinagar along with his family. They were Kashmiri Pandits-the Hindu minority within a Muslim-majority Kashmir that was by 1990 becoming increasingly agitated with the cries of 'Azaadi' from India. Our Moon Has Blood Clots is the story of Kashmir, in which hundreds of thousands of Pandits were tortured, killed and forced to leave their homes by Islamist militants, and forced to spend the rest of their lives in exile in their own country. Pandita has written a deeply personal, powerful and unforgettable story of history, home and loss.
Basharat Peer was a teenager when the separatist movement exploded in Kashmir in 1989. Over the following years countless young men, seduced by the romance of the militant, fuelled by feelings of injustice, crossed over the Line of Control to train in Pakistani army camps. Peer was sent off to boarding school in Aligarh to keep out of trouble. He finished college and became a journalist in Delhi. But Kashmir—angrier, more violent, more hopeless—was never far away. In 2003, the young journalist left his job and returned to his homeland to search out the stories and the people which had haunted him. In Curfewed Night he draws a harrowing portrait of Kashmir and its people. Here are stories of a young man’s initiation into a Pakistani training camp; a mother who watches her son forced to hold an exploding bomb; a poet who finds religion when his entire family is killed. Of politicians living in refurbished torture chambers and former militants dreaming of discotheques; of idyllic villages rigged with landmines, temples which have become army bunkers, and ancient sufi shrines decapitated in bomb blasts. And here is finally the old story of the return home—and the discovery that there may not be any redemption in it. Lyrical, spare, gutwrenching and intimate, Curfewed Night is a stunning book and an unforgettable portrait of Kashmir in war.
