The Kashmir Chronicles

This 500-page book is unique in the sense that unlike most books on Kashmir that primarily address either its past history or elaborate in detail on certain periods of that history, this book presents a collection of incisive and succinct analyses of the recent topical events in the valley that served as symbolic markers of Kashmir’s downward spiral into lawlessness, political exploitation, religious intolerance, insurgency, and violence. Additionally, this book is a conglomeration of the content from the website www.kashmirforum.org and a window to over thirty years of the author’s work. The years spanning from 1986 to 2023, apart from reflecting the author’s work in this book, are also noteworthy in so far as the recent history of Kashmir is concerned. An unpredictable dark era in Kashmir began on 20 February 1986 when homes and shrines of the Kashmiri Pandit minority were destroyed by unruly mobs led by political leaders who were never held accountable for their crimes. That started a long period of ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri minorities that was made worse by poor governance and the breakdown of law and order in Kashmir. The unpredictability ended on11 December 2023 when the Supreme Court of India, in an unanimous decision, announced that Indian sovereignty and its Constitution reign supreme in J & K and the powers that were granted to the state under Articles 370 and 35A of the Constitution were temporary and should have been withdrawn over time, thereby giving its consent to the Indian Parliamentary decisions made previously in this regard.

About the Author

Dr. Vijay Sazawal is an eminent nuclear policy analyst, born and raised in Kashmir and currently living in Maryland, USA. He led projects in international civil nuclear cooperation and civil nuclear and defense programs. He was an expert for the Indo–US Civil Nuclear Agreement for the U.S. India Business Council (USIBC), served thrice on the Civil Nuclear Trade Advisory Committee (CINTAC) of the U.S. Government, and was a Senior Fellow of the U.S. Nuclear Infrastructure Council (USNIC). He advised the U.S. Government on the Kashmir issue. He co-founded the Indo–American Kashmir Forum (IAKF), an advocacy group formed by the U.S. based victims of Islamic insurgency in Kashmir, served twice as its president, and is currently its overseas coordinator. Dr. Sazawal is also a community leader in the Kashmiri diaspora.