#BookReview : A Desolation Called Peace edited by Ather Zia & Javaid Iqbal Bhat

The accession of Kashmir to the Indian Union in 1947 had raised objections both in Kashmir and India, echoes of which continue to be heard even today. At the time, Sheikh Abdullah was the uncrowned king of Kashmir; today, his grave is under security lest it be vandalized. What accounts for this change in attitude? A Desolation Called Peace provides important insights to understand the political aspirations of the people of Kashmir and the change in their perceptions since Independence. Written and edited by Kashmiri authors, this collection of ethnographic essays explores the desire for 'azadi' as a historical and indigenous demand. While the accounts traverse the period from before 1947 to the momentous time of 1989 when militancy began, the essays illustrate how postcolonial politics has impinged on Kashmiri lives and aspirations, thus paving the way for the intractable dispute of today. This anthology of deeply felt essays will enable an understanding of Kashmir beyond the hackneyed tropes that portray the issue reductively as a proxy war, terrorism or a simple law and order situation.

A Desolation Called Peace is an anthology edited by Ather Zia & Javaid Iqbal Bhat and published by Harper Collins India. Ather Zia is a poet & political anthropologist who teaches at University of Northern Colorado, Greeley. Ather is the author of Resisting Disappearances: Military Occupation and Women's Activism in Kashmir. Javaid Iqbal Bhat is an assistant professor in the Department of English, University of Kashmir. He is the author of Scars of Summer and two other books on Kashmir.

 The book consists of 12 different chapters which cover the stories of Kashmir from 1947 to 1989. It tries to make readers understand the wishes & aspirations of Kashmiris. Each essay tells a different perspective pertaining to the lives and experiences of Kashmiris existing since a long time. It deals with the permeating feeling of ‘azadi’ within masses, why it exists & its significance. They also give us a brief idea how militancy permeated through and the post independence politics created a tug of war situation leading to the dispute we see today. Each essay extracts a different shade of pain, loss & suffering. Get the book here to educate yourself about the story of Kashmir,

Kashmir is going through turmoil and the best thing we can do right now is keep talking it and I believe this book serves the best way to keep the conversation going on. A Desolation Called Peace is an excellent collection of twelve essays giving us an overview of the Kashmir Conundrum. It traces down the history of the existence of discontentment within the masses and what lead to the manifestation of militancy and violence. The language used is extremely simple, the cover & the title is apt too. One of the best books out there to read about Kashmir.