For decades, the Kashmir conflict has largely been narrated through the competing political and strategic claims of India and Pakistan. But beneath those state narratives are the experiences of the people who have lived through conflict, militarisation, political restrictions and repeated upheaval. In a conversation with New Wave History, award-winning Pakistani writer and oral historian Anam Zakaria argues that understanding Kashmir requires moving beyond these official frameworks and listening more closely to Kashmiri voices. 

Drawing on her work with oral histories, Zakaria cautions against reducing the conflict to a simple comparison between the two states. She acknowledges serious human-rights concerns in Indian-administered Kashmir........

© Naya Daur