Straight from the heart of Kashmiri people, the book deals with its people’s emotions and harsh realities

EACH zoon dabb (traditional balcony) in a Kashmiri house, and every leaf of the chinar (maple) tree in the valley has a story that needs to be heard. Author Meera Khanna brings out those stories from the valley into her paperback, The state of violent peace: Voices from the Kashmir Valley.

Jammu and Kashmir has always been a point of intrigue for the rest of the India, since most of the literature about the state focusses upon the politics, army, militancy and border tensions. We often hear people talking about insurgency, deliberating upon whether to visit Srinagar for summer vacations or not, the role of Indian Army, the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and much more.

But amidst all this, what is often relegated to the background are the people of the Kashmir Valley, whose lives have been altered by the numerous political events, which can best be described as a tug-of-war between India and Pakistan.

Ever since India was declared an independent republic and Pakistan was created, the war to claim the Kashmir Valley has been on from both nations. We often hear in the news that the people of Kashmir want to merge with Pakistan, but it’s is a half-baked truth.

If one visits Srinagar, Gulmarg or Sonmarg, she will experience things are quite on the contrary. Talking to local residents, one realises that they are only looking for peace in their land. The book takes a closer look at the people of Kashmir, talks about the challenges faced by them, and expresses this in a poignant and aesthetic manner.

For her book, Khanna has picked 14 people, which includes eminent educationist Mahmuda Ali Shah, who was the icon of women’s empowerment in the valley; Sheikh Abdullah’s daughters Surayya Ali Mattoo and Khaleda Begum; and other prominent women like Krishna Misri, Neerja Mattoo, Naseer Ahmad Shah and Girija Dhar, who narrate their experiences and traumas.

“I made an attempt to deliver the stories of Kashmir. The stories shared by 14 people are the tales that they had not shared with anyone,” Khanna said, while in conversation with veteran journalist Jasleen Singh at her book launch at the India International Centre, New Delhi.

Each story has been given a captivating title, which instantly connects the reader to the protagonist. It has brought both sides of a coin to the forefront; the plight of Kashmiri pundits, the struggle of students for a decent education, how the youth had been misguided, sufferings of families who have lost their loved-ones, as well as the crackdowns of the Indian Army.

Khanna has successfully presented a nostalgic view of the amalgamation of different cultures, religious tolerance, brotherhood and belongingness among communities. It depicts that although the decades-old conflict has undoubtedly taken a drastic toll on the lives of people in valley yet the very fabric of Kashmiryat, sometimes worn sometimes torn, has survived.

“My book is a window into the life of an innocent Kashmiri who had to suffer extreme violence churned by the policies of two nations. You can find the enormity of damage in these stories. All of these stories connect to each other in one form or the other,” she says.