Settler/colonialism in Kashmir: Sovereignty, catastrophe, indigeneity

This book examines Indian rule in occupied Jammu and Kashmir through the lens of settler-colonial geopolitics. Engaging with settler-colonial, decolonial and Indigenous studies, the book traces how European sovereignty was shaped through settler-colonial practices that proved catastrophic for Indigenous worlds and helped generate today’s climate crisis. It argues that India draws on these same mechanisms in governing Kashmir, thereby fuelling ecological harm and reinforcing a global settler-colonial order. Analysing the India–China rivalry, Kashmir’s political economy and India’s indigenisation of Hindu sacred geography in the region, the book reframes Kashmiri resistance as an Indigenous anti-colonial struggle. By exploring the intersections of sovereignty, catastrophe, Indigeneity and ecology, it positions Kashmir within broader debates on settler-colonialism and planetary crises.

About the Author

Goldie Osuri is Professor of Sociology at the University of Warwick