Diaspora and nation: displacement and the politics of Kashmiri identity in Britain

The idea of the nation-state continues to dominate the way in which political collective identities are conceptualised in South Asia. One of the challenges the nation-state faces is the situation in which large sections of its population are located outside state boundaries. This paper reflects on the way in which the displacement of peoples can lead to the displacement of a conventional understanding of the nation-state as combining the idea of one government, one land and one people. It explores the impact of displacement, both empirically and conceptually, on the notions of collective identity, illustrating the argument by reference to the Kashmiri narratives of identity being articulated in Britain.