Militarised Occupation and Everyday Life: A Rhythmanalytical Approach to the Conflict in Kashmir

In this thesis, I examine the conflict in Kashmir between 1990 and 2019, particularly

investigating how everyday life in Kashmir is constituted through the dynamic interplay

of military structures and practices of resistance. Drawing on Henri Lefebvre, I use the

concept of everyday life to examine how ordinary experiences unfold under military

occupation. The evolving relationship between occupation and resistance is further

framed through Gilbert Simondon's theory of individuation, which captures the

dynamic processes shaping both. The theoretical question guiding this project is as

follows: how does Simondon's theory of individuation help in understanding the

micropolitics of occupation and resistance in everyday life beyond traditional, statis

approaches in conflict analysis? It is concluded that these conceptual and theoretical

tools engender a persuasive co-evolutionary understanding of occupation and

resistance that is missing from dominant approaches. In order to investigate this idea

empirically with respect to the conflict in Kashmir, following Lefebvre, I focus on

rhythms of everyday interactions and refine the methodology of rhythmanalysis he

developed to study these. The questions framing the empirical investigation are: In

what ways does the Indian state (through military infrastructures) control rhythms of

movement in everyday life? To what extent can everyday negotiations and survival

rhythms can be framed as resistance against militarised occupation? And, how do

these two dynamic aspects constitute everyday life in Kashmir? In particular, I focus

on three rhythms in this study: 1. Rhythms of everyday lives of the youth, emerging

from interactions with Counter-Insurgency-tactics. 2. Rhythms of travel due to the

militarisation of the transportation framework in the region. 3. Domestic and private

rhythms, emerging from the expansion of militarised structures in their

neighbourhoods. As established through my fieldwork, I found that the relationship

between militarised infrastructure and resistance in Kashmir does indeed constitute

everyday life in dynamic and co-evolutionary ways. Within this, it was also notable that

resistance and survival are often intermingled rhythms within everyday life as ordinary

people negotiate militarisation. In conclusion, the research has demonstrated that the

dynamic between militarised structures and people is intimate and evolves as a

response to everyday resistance - or in Simondon's words, individuates - as well as

challenges to the goals of absolute control and surveillance.