How New Was the New Kashmir (1948–53)?

Abstract

Being the main inspiration behind the Naya Kashmir programme and its chief sponsor, Sheikh Abdullah’s brief period of little over five years (1948–1953) is characterized by the process of speedy implementation of the programme. However, notwithstanding the revolutionary changes in agrarian relations and other aspects, the condition of the common people worsened and the whole period got mired in controversies and conflicts leading to the disillusionment of the people as well as dismissal of the Sheikh. The second chapter therefore revisits the period by examining the extent to which the Sheikh succeeded in replacing the old by ‘new Kashmir’.