Book excerpt: This book examines the social history of Kashmir, tracing the origins of Kashmir's contemporary culture, its rupture, as well as its loss of national identity through a history of subjugations. The Quit Kashmir Movement, prompted by the National Movement, was an assertion to regain identity after centuries as part of a secular, democratic India. Since independence came with the fragmentation of culture, it turned into a binary hostility with Pakistan. The Cold War polemics mystified Kashmir and did not allow institutions to take root. The by-product of this development produced a new rich class, which sought legitimacy in power and a share in the resources through disempowering others. Prompted by the process of excessive democratization, it set its agenda on confessional referent. And, with the demise of the Cold War, Kashmir got linked with the Counter World Order Project, bringing enormous loss of human lives, exodus of minority communities, and further fragmentation of its society. In the post-September 11 world order, the disillusionment in the flawed leadership have brought alienation to its society. The book treats the Kashmir condition beyond the politics of identity and the political dispute between India and Pakistan. Kashmir's estrangement is historical in nature and needs a cultural resurgence through empowerment of politics in a holistic paradigm.