A Desolation Called Peace Quotes

“These young Kashmiris are symbolic not only of India committing human rights abuses, but more significantly, the country’s deep neglect of the demand for Kashmir’s sovereignty and self-determination. The continuing resistance in Kashmir, and the relentless struggle for self-determination and independence from India is not only a political fact but has become part of the cultural legacy of Kashmiris.”
― Ather Zia, A Desolation Called Peace: Voices from Kashmir

“In the formal Indian history, native Kashmiris are often infantilized and
seen as mere pawns on the chessboard of big politics in the subcontinent.
Specihcally, Pakistan is projected as directing Kashmiri people’s actions and
demands. Kashmiris are depicted as not having a sense of the past, nor being
committed or united in a political vision of their future. That Kashmiris are
demanding not only the UN-mandated self-determination but are also
committed to the demand for a sovereign nation, which they were seeking
before India and Pakistan emerged, is a perspective that has been well and truly
erased from the official Indian narrative.”
― Ather Zia, A Desolation Called Peace: Voices from Kashmir

“How can we comprehend the era from 1947 till 1989 – which Kashmiris see as ‘the lull before the storm’ – while in the Indian narrative it is reified as ‘peaceful’?”
― Ather Zia, A Desolation Called Peace: Voices from Kashmir

“Interestingly, even though Kashmiris had been burdened by centuries of slavery, they had a resilient spirit and a long history of resistance.”
― Ather Zia, A Desolation Called Peace: Voices from Kashmir