ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the volume and offers a theoretical argument that underlies the various contributions to this book. It provides an overview of the intellectual motivation that led to the crafting of the book – an attempt to comprehend the fuzzy, shifting and non-linear relationship between religion, nationalism and politics in Jammu and Kashmir. The aim is to explore the always complicated intersection between secularization, class, religious, gender and political practices in the region. The focus is also on the everyday lived performances in attempting to explore these interactions. Rather than the simplistic theme of ‘increase or decline of religion’, a more complicated and entwined relationship is envisioned among religious, secular, public and private spaces. This chapter also lays the foundation for and introduces the various insightful chapters of this volume.
