An analysis of renewed nonviolent struggle in the controversial politics of Kashmir

Kashmir Movement has the recent history from the Dogra rule in the Pre-Accession time. Following the processes of nonviolent political expression throughout the time, movement exceptionally changed it expression to armed struggle in 1989. In a decade's time, movement again underwent a tactical change to new forms of nonviolent politics. Nonviolence is now the prominent method of political expression for the dissident people. Nonviolence is used as an alternate mode of political expression in contentious politics of Kashmir Conflict. From the successful signature campaign of “Safree e Azadi” (Journey of Freedom) in which more than 1.5 million signatures were taken and presented to international community to music and art as form of resistance, Kashmir witnessed two major nonviolent popular uprisings in 2008 and 2010. The new form of exerting power through civil disobedience and mass protest is new form of Kashmir Resistance Movement that is challenging the state discourse on the conflict itself and beyond the state premises. The nonviolence as an alternate to conventional politics in asymmetrical relationship of Kashmir and India is now more of a pragmatic nature rather than the principled one, particularly structured by the political opportunities. The paper shall deal with the pragmatic considerations and implications of nonviolence in Kashmir Conflict and how nonviolence acts as channel for the expression of dissent in Kashmir.