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Abstract

This thesis examines the processes of post-colonial Indian nation-building in Jammu, Ladakh, and Kashmir. The three regions were part of one federal Indian state between 1947 and 2019 but have had starkly contrasting relationships with the Indian union. Whereas Ladakh and Jammu have been largely integrated within the Indian union, Kashmir has been the site of a militarised secessionist conflict that has been ongoing since 1989. This dissertation examines these contrasting outcomes through Andreas Wimmer’s framework of nation-building that is focussed on the concept of exchange relations or networks. It shows that nation-building can successfully incorporate regions, as in Jammu and Ladakh, where state and state-aligned actors can build inclusive and reciprocal networks with the people. The absence of such networks leads to a failure of nation-building in Kashmir. The dissertation foregrounds the centrality of nation-building in explaining the contrasting political outcomes.

The timeline of the thesis stretches from 1846-2019. Understandably, most scholars choose the period between 1947-2019: from the accession of Jammu & Kashmir state to India until the abrogation of Article 370 (autonomous status of J&K removed for the state’s ‘integration’). However, the divergent processes of nation-building are rooted in the colonial period of J&K. Without the context of the colonial Jammu & Kashmir princely state, understanding the puzzle of the divergent post-colonial nation-building will be incomplete. The dissertation ends in 2019 when the Indian government abrogated Article 370, a moment that crystallised the contrasting and fractured processes of nation building across the three regions. The dissertation uses processes tracing to examine the contrasting trajectories in the three regions. The analysis is supported by qualitative interviews, archival analysis, and secondary scholarship in the public domain.

The dissertation contributes to three distinct literatures. Firstly, it contributes to the literature on the state of Jammu & Kashmir. This dissertation provides a comparative perspective by examining why the three regions had different political trajectories after 1947. I show why Kashmir has been embroiled in a conflict, unlike Jammu and Ladakh. I show that the differences between Kashmir, Jammu, Ladakh cannot just be narrowed down to religion, international states, or the politics of 1947. Instead, India’s nation-building processes have played a central role in the respective outcomes of the three regions. The dissertation also contributes to the literature on nation-building. It adopts and develops Wimmer’s framework by showing the possibilities and limitations of establishing exchange relationships in a post-colonial case. Finally, the dissertation contributes towards the utility of examining the Indian case through political networks. Using the analytical lens of networks between the state and three regions provides a novel perspective on why different regions sharing same geographical, cultural, and religious boundaries can have different political trajectories.

Publication Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Subjects:	J Political Science > JC Political theory J Political Science > JQ Political institutions Asia
Departments:	School of Policy & Global Affairs > Department of International Politics School of Policy & Global Affairs > School of Policy & Global Affairs Doctoral Theses Doctoral Theses

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