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The Baltistan Movement and the Power of Pop Ghazals

Magnusson, Jan LU orcid (2011) In Asian Ethnology 70. p.33-57
Abstract
This paper investigates the role of locally produced pop-ghazal music in the politics of the people of Baltistan, a community living in the western Himalayas on both sides of the border between Indian and Pakistan and characterized by its blend of Shi’ite and Tibetan culture as well as its vernacular Tibetan dialect. The pop-ghazals conjures up an alternative narrative of local history and belonging that is situated in a Himalayan rather than South Asian context. Pop-ghazals are emblematic for local resistance against the post-colonial nationalism of the Indian and Pakistani nation states and at the core of the Baltistan Movement, a Western Himalayan social movement emerging in the past two decades. The analytical perspective is a... (More)
This paper investigates the role of locally produced pop-ghazal music in the politics of the people of Baltistan, a community living in the western Himalayas on both sides of the border between Indian and Pakistan and characterized by its blend of Shi’ite and Tibetan culture as well as its vernacular Tibetan dialect. The pop-ghazals conjures up an alternative narrative of local history and belonging that is situated in a Himalayan rather than South Asian context. Pop-ghazals are emblematic for local resistance against the post-colonial nationalism of the Indian and Pakistani nation states and at the core of the Baltistan Movement, a Western Himalayan social movement emerging in the past two decades. The analytical perspective is a continuation of Manuel’s (1993) work on the cassette culture of northern India exploring the political power of the pop-ghazal further by drawing from Scott’s (1990) concept of hidden/public transcript and Smelser’s (1968) social strain model of the dynamics of social change. (Less)
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author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Himalaya, Pakistan, India, Baltistan, Baltistan Movement, social movement, hidden transcript, Ladakh, cassette culture, social strain, Kargil, Skardu
in
Asian Ethnology
volume
70
pages
33 - 57
publisher
Nanzan University
external identifiers
  • scopus:80051556277
ISSN
1882-6865
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
c4ccae52-fa45-426c-a079-6befca7e4bbc (old id 1776598)
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 14:13:42
date last changed
2023-09-06 20:22:35
@article{c4ccae52-fa45-426c-a079-6befca7e4bbc,
  abstract     = {{This paper investigates the role of locally produced pop-ghazal music in the politics of the people of Baltistan, a community living in the western Himalayas on both sides of the border between Indian and Pakistan and characterized by its blend of Shi’ite and Tibetan culture as well as its vernacular Tibetan dialect. The pop-ghazals conjures up an alternative narrative of local history and belonging that is situated in a Himalayan rather than South Asian context. Pop-ghazals are emblematic for local resistance against the post-colonial nationalism of the Indian and Pakistani nation states and at the core of the Baltistan Movement, a Western Himalayan social movement emerging in the past two decades. The analytical perspective is a continuation of Manuel’s (1993) work on the cassette culture of northern India exploring the political power of the pop-ghazal further by drawing from Scott’s (1990) concept of hidden/public transcript and Smelser’s (1968) social strain model of the dynamics of social change.}},
  author       = {{Magnusson, Jan}},
  issn         = {{1882-6865}},
  keywords     = {{Himalaya; Pakistan; India; Baltistan; Baltistan Movement; social movement; hidden transcript; Ladakh; cassette culture; social strain; Kargil; Skardu}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{33--57}},
  publisher    = {{Nanzan University}},
  series       = {{Asian Ethnology}},
  title        = {{The Baltistan Movement and the Power of Pop Ghazals}},
  volume       = {{70}},
  year         = {{2011}},
}