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Fixing the “Happy Valley”: British Sentimentality and Their Intervention in Kashmir, 1885-1925

Howard, Andrew
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8756-4129
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1677855305813891

Abstract Details

2023, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, History (Arts and Sciences).
My research explores the emotional resonance of the Kashmir dispute in South Asian politics. I trace the roots of this dispute back to the era of British imperialism when Kashmir was ruled by an Indian maharaja as part of the princely state of Jammu & Kashmir. Even in those days, Kashmir enjoyed a reputation for beauty and grandeur, which perhaps explains why the princely state to which the region belonged was so often abbreviated as simply “Kashmir.” In premodern times, the region was a favorite vacation spot of the Mughal emperors, who enjoyed the cool mountain air and spectacular views of Kashmir’s environment. When the British intervened directly in Kashmir from 1885-1925, partly in response to the devastating 1877-80 famine in Kashmir, they opened the region to a broad range of tourists. Like the Mughal emperors of yore, these tourists sought in Kashmir an escape from the heat of the lowland regions of India. British colonial policy toward Kashmir during these four decades of direct intervention was designed to accommodate the needs of primarily Western tourists. Today, Kashmir’s physical allure remains as potent as ever, despite the region’s all-too-frequent descent into political violence. My research explores how Kashmir evolved into a region whose landscapes and air, but not its inhabitants, came to matter to more powerful outsiders. This dynamic, which we still see today, developed during the British colonial era.
John Brobst (Advisor)
Haley Duschinski (Committee Member)
Assan Sarr (Committee Member)
Alec Holcombe (Committee Member)
Asian Studies; History; South Asian Studies; World History
History; British Imperialism; British History; South Asian History Indian History; Kashmir History; British Imperialism in India; British Imperialism in South Asia; Princely States; Indirect Rule; Environmental History; Tourism; History of Emotions

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Howard, A. (2023). Fixing the “Happy Valley”: British Sentimentality and Their Intervention in Kashmir, 1885-1925 [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1677855305813891

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Howard, Andrew. Fixing the “Happy Valley”: British Sentimentality and Their Intervention in Kashmir, 1885-1925. 2023. Ohio University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1677855305813891.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Howard, Andrew. "Fixing the “Happy Valley”: British Sentimentality and Their Intervention in Kashmir, 1885-1925." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University, 2023. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1677855305813891

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ohiou1677855305813891
487
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This open access ETD is published by Ohio University and OhioLINK.