‘A clarion call for peace’: recent coverage of Kashmir: The Case for Freedom

Arifa Akbar writes in the Independent that Kashmir is full of 'urgent truths' about the disputed region and its struggle for independence, praising Arundhati Roy for a particularly 'powerful' contribution.  Paris Review recently published a short interview with Roy about her other recent book, Walking with the Comrades, in which she argues that in her opinion there is more hope to be found among the oppressed than their oppressors:

I always find it interesting that when you’re with people who are really at the receiving end of oppression, you find a lot less despair than you do in middle-class drawing rooms. In these situations, despair is not an option. I wonder if the amount of information that is hammered into our heads day and night leads people to think that the world’s problems are so huge they’re insurmountable. Whereas people who are fighting against something in a more or less localized way are far clearer about what they have to do and how they have to do it.

 

Writing in Muslim News, Muhammad Khan suggests that Kashmir makes 'a compelling case for Kashmiri freedom and independence,' and argues

This book represents a clarion call for peace, freedom and stability in a region brutalised by mindless violence and killing; highly recommended reading for politicians, policy makers, academics, journalists and lay-people alike.

He highlights Tariq Ali's 'scathing criticism' of India, Pakistan and their Western allies for actions that have turned the 'beautiful' valley of Kashmir into, 'an ugly centre of tension, intrigue and warfare.'

Visit Muslim News to read the full review.

Z.G. Muhammad, reviewing Kashmir for Greater Kashmir online, describes the book as 'an important addition to literature in Kashmir,' and specifically admires Pankaj Mishra's 'incisive' introduction that takes a dig at Indian writers and intellectuals refusing to take a stand on the issue. By contrast, the contributors to Kashmir remind Muhammad of

the galaxy of American writers like Robert Bly, David Rat, Robert Lowell, Grace Paley and many others who under the banner of American writers Against Vietnam War raised their voice against their government.

Visit Greater Kashmir to read the full review.