Representation of the 1990s Kashmir in Basharat Peer’s Curfewed Night

Abstract

The present research attempts to explore the issue of the representation of the 1990s Kashmir in Basharat Peer’s non-fictional text, Curfewed Night. The conflict overs the territory of Kashmir, primarily ensued by India-Pakistan’s power politics, is a burning subject matter which not only comprehends the modern insurgency of the 1990s but also notices the root cause of the partition history of the Indian sub-continent in 1947. Peer’s unfathomable effort highlights how the discourses of war and peace in Kashmir marginalized common Kashmiri people’s wish for peace, freedom, justice, self-respect, harmony and normality of life. In this regard, my thesis claims that this text questions almost all the ‘grand narratives’ of India-Pakistan’s official history, of Kashmir’s itself, and thereby addresses the past and present position of common Kashmiris, marginalized side, during the insurgency movement (1987-1990 A.D). By depicting the vivid reality of war victims, marginal group, Peer, in the text, tries to blur the boundaries between periphery, a space given to ordinary Kashmiris, and center, Indian military force and militants, the power holders. Peer’s call for peace, autonomy, harmony, brotherhood and collective identity in Kashmir paves a path towards conflict resolution which is the main thrust of Curfewed Night. To show this, my thesis pinpoints the loopholes of Kashmir’s history from its mythological conception to the time of the 1990s militancy and throws a light on the real socio-economic and politico-cultural condition of Kashmiris, their desires, demands and dreams. So, by applying the methodology of new historicism as a tool, I, in this thesis, make a point that history is nothing more than a jumble of stories, always moves back and forth according to the perspective of writer who writes it. Therefore, Curfewed Night is also one of the versions of the 1990s war time ‘story’ from the perspective of Basharat Peer who represents the marginal group, that is, common Kashmiris.