Queer in a Time of Kashmir

Non-contiguous at inception, its western wing and eastern wing (now Bangladesh) bifurcated by thousands of kilometers of Indian territory, Pakistan has remained constellated with India. This is especially true regarding Kashmir. Moreover, Kashmir's uncertain political identity and agency provides a parable of South Asian politics more broadly. Indeed, a geographic region defined by elementary national ambiguity and contestation is also witness to fundamental contestations regarding religious identity and now also gender identity. South Asian discussions concerning transgender rights, like Kashmiri rights, are caught between competing notions of solidarity and sovereignty. Queerness here takes place in a time of Kashmir.