The Kashmir Chronicles (1986-2023)

This book differs vastly from various other books on the subject of Kashmir. Unlike most books on Kashmir that primarily address either its history or elaborate in detail on certain periods of that history, this book presents a collection of incisive and succinct analyses of the recent topical events in the valley that served as symbolic markers of Kashmir's downward spiral into lawlessness, political exploitation, insurgency, and violence. Additionally, this book is a conglomeration of the content from the website www.kashmirforum.com and a window to over thirty years of the author's work. The years spanning from 1986 to 2023, apart from reflecting the author's work in this book, are also noteworthy in so far as the recent history of Kashmir is concerned. An unpredictable dark era in Kashmir began on 20 February 1986 when homes and shrines of the Kashmiri Pandit minority were destroyed by unruly mobs led by political leaders who were never held accountable for their crimes. That started a long period of ethnic cleansing that was made worse by poor governance and the breakdown of law and order in Kashmir. The unpredictability ended on11 December 2023 when the Supreme Court of India, in a unanimous decision, announced that Indian sovereignty and its Constitution reign supreme in J & K and the powers that were granted to the state under the Articles 370 and the 35A of the Constitution were temporary and should have been withdrawn over time, thereby giving its consent to the Indian Parliamentary decisions made previously in this regard.