"Protest" Photography in Kashmir: Between Resistance and Resilience

This essay analyzes the photographs taken by two emerging female Kashmiri photojournalists who have come of age in the latest round of mass resistance by Kashmiri youth against the Indian state. Taken in Indian-occupied Kashmir from 2013 until the present, the photographs highlight two forms of protest: one is the protest of the Kashmiri female photographer, seeking to document everyday life under the occupation, and the other is the actual form of protest, be it one of resistance or resilience, depicted in the photograph. The essay showcases how these photographs serve as a counter-memory to the nationalist narratives provided by the Indian state and civil society.