Ladakh Studies Member Professor K. Warikoo of Jawaharlal Nejhru University has recently published this edited volume, which may be of interest to our members. For more information, please follow the link below for more details and for the list of contributors:
http://www.idsa.in/book/OtherKashmir.html
The book is priced at INR 1495
The Karakoram Himalayas have unique geo-political and geo-strategic
importance as the boundaries of South and Central Asian countries converge
here. Abutting the borders of Afghanistan, China, Pakistan, and India; and
being situated in close proximity to Central Asia, the Karakoram-Himalayan
region has been an important constituent of India's trans-Himalayan
communication network in the continent and beyond. This region is the cradle
from where ancient Indian culture including Buddhism spread in different
directions to Central Asia, East Asia and South East Asia. The
Karakoram-Himalayan region—what has also been called 'Northern Areas' of the
erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir and comprising Hunza, Nagar, Gilgit, Baltistan,
Yasin, Astore, Chilas, Koh-Ghizar , Gupis , Punial and Ishkoman—is the single
largest territorial unit of the State. This area constitutes about two-thirds
of the total area of 84,471 sq. miles of the entire Jammu and Kashmir State.
The region displays a wide diversity of cultural patterns, languages, ethnic
identities and religious practices. The entire region has been a melting pot of
different cultures and faiths—Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam. Whereas
a variety of languages—Ladakhi, Balti, Shina, Burushaski, Gojali, Khowar etc.
exist in the region, the cross-border linkages between various ethnic-religious
groups turn this frontier into a complex vortex of geopolitics. The induction
and settlement of Punjabis, Pakhtoons and the Taliban cadres by Pakistan as its
calculated policy to colonise the Shia/Ismaili dominated region has not only
changed its demographic balance but also led to the rise of sectarianism and
religious extremism often leading to violence and conflict. At the same time,
the region has been witnessing a new urge for revival of its indigenous
languages, cultural heritage and social practices. The social and political
aspirations of different indigenous ethnic-religious groups in
Karakoram-Himalayas have remained suppressed due to the geopolitical and
religious factors. The book is a collection of papers contributed by area
specialists and experts from the region-Gilgit-Baltistan, Mirpur-Muzaffarabad
and Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir, as well as well-known academics and
strategic analysts.
