Dr Annapurna Menon

My PhD thesis examines the Indian state’s exercise of power in Indian-Administered Jammu & Kashmir (IAJK). I do this by using the concept of coloniality as an analytic and studying its functioning in IAJK through the colonial matrix of power. In this, I examine how the colonial British Indian state and the postcolonial Indian state established their superiority over the peoples of IAJK through the law, supported by media discourse, gained control over knowledge production and circulation within the region that depends on the ‘othering’ of Kashmiri peoples and finally, dehumanised, dispossessed, and depersonalised Kashmiri Muslims who are the majority in IAJK. The three aspects together establish structures of relations that affirm the Indian role as a colonial power. Through a critical reading of laws and government orders, media publications, textbooks and think tank publications I highlight the colonial aspect in each dimension of the colonial matrix of power. This study contributes to the literature on the Indian state from postcolonial and decolonial approaches, it applies the concept of coloniality to a postcolonial nation-state and will be of interest to scholars working with postcolonial and decolonial approaches or focusing on South Asian politics, and contemporary colonialisms. Apart from this, my research interests focus on the Hindutva right-wing movement in India and in the diaspora, feminist International Relations, militarism, surveillance and ethics of surveillance, and activism.