A Dismantled State by Anuradha Bhasin

HarperCollins

Presents

A DISMANTLED STATE

The Untold Story of Kashmir After Article 370

by Anuradha Bhasin

A Dismantled State is a brave chronicle by Anuradha Bhasin, one of Kashmir’s foremost journalists, and is crucial to understanding what happened in the Kashmir Valley after August 2019.

Paperback | Non-fiction| Politics and Government | 408 pp | Rs 699

Available Wherever Books Are Sold | Releasing 28^th Dec 2022

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Author, Anuradha Bhasin, says, “The dilution of Article 370 and subsequent events in Jammu and Kashmir have not only reshaped the region’s sociopolitical and economic landscape but have also led to a near extinction of any news that does not conform to the official narrative. This book is my attempt to combat disinformation in Kashmir’s dangerous information desert. Through it, I hope to fill at least some gaps in the understanding of how the post-5 August 2019 developments are impacting lives of common Kashmiris and pushing South Asia towards a dangerous vortex.”

Associate Publisher, Swati Chopra, says, “A Dismantled State maps Anuradha Bhasin’s quest for Kashmir’s truth after 5 August 2019 when Article 370, that had governed the state’s troubled relationship with the Indian Union, was almost entirely scrapped. Given the curbs that accompanied the move, on-ground reporting became a challenge. The adverse circumstances sharpened Anuradha’s determination to find out what really was going on in Kashmir and attempt to sift reality from a maze of narratives. This book records that painstaking, brave journalistic investigation and should be read by everyone with an interest in India’s contemporary history and politics.”

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ABOUT THE BOOK

On 5 August 2019, the status of Jammu and Kashmir was altered by revoking Articles 370 and 35A, constitutional clauses that gave the region a sliver of autonomy since its accession to India in 1947. On the ground in the erstwhile state, the destiny of 1.4 crore Indian citizens had been decided while they were cocooned in their homes, trapped between concertina wires and barricades. Petitions challenging the abrogation are yet to be heard by the Supreme Court.

The home minister announced, ‘Not a drop of blood was shed’, even as officials defined Kashmir’s deafening silence as ‘willing acceptance’. The silence was accompanied by increased military presence in what was already one of the most militarised zones of the world. Roads were sealed, internet suspended and communication brought to a halt. Kashmir became a war zone in the dead of the night.

A Dismantled State is a brave chronicle by Anuradha Bhasin, one of Kashmir’s foremost journalists, and is crucial to understanding what happened in the Kashmir Valley after August 2019. Traversing history and geographies, and based on eyewitness accounts from a range of people, it tells the story of a land India desperately wants to make its own. Urgent, fearless and revealing, this book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand Indian democracy’s turn towards authoritarianism.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Anuradha Bhasin has been a journalist for over three decades, and is executive editor of Kashmir Times, Jammu and Kashmir’s oldest English daily. Her massive body of work on the Kashmir conflict, human rights and politics includes newspaper reports and articles that have appeared in national and international publications. She has also written short and monograph-length research papers and contributed chapters to anthologies. A peace activist, she is a Commonwealth Fellow, 2016, and currently a John S. Knight Fellow (2022-2023) at Stanford University, California.

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For reviews, excerpts, interviews, and more information, please contact Vandana Rathore at
vandana.rathore@harpercollins.co.in

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