Living in Conflict: Political Identity, Civic Participation, and Aspirations of Kashmiri Youth
Abstract
The geopolitical region of Kashmir has been experiencing political conflict for decades, which has brought brutality and bloodshed along with widespread damage and disruptions to daily life. All of this has a profound effect on the youth and their lives. In addition to being victims, in several cases, the youth has also been active participants in resistance movements and activities in Kashmir. Understanding the situations of the youth in Kashmir is crucial for navigating the region’s present and future. This paper aims to explore how its youth form their political beliefs and identities, and their social or material concerns at present, and explores patterns of youth participation in civic and community engagements and their motivations for the same. The study uses a mixed-methods approach involving a semi-structures survey, conducted among 120 young Kashmiris, from different regional and socioeconomic backgrounds. The findings of this paper illustrate the importance of identity development processes which are often disrupted in Kashmir, as conventional systems contributing towards them get torn apart, and posit as main influences on youth identity formation. The respondents of this study strongly emphasized their needs for basic facilities and fundamental rights while maintaining a strong connection to their Kashmiri roots and culture. Although findings showed that conflict increased the understanding of politics and political issues among youth; their external political efficacy was observed to be low, indicating significant distrust in formal political systems. Further, while their participation in civic society was found to be low, they nevertheless aspired for administrative careers and desired societal change and institutional reform.
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