Paper short abstract:

This paper assesses the impact of three decades of militarized violence on indigenous food systems in Indian-administered Kashmir. We ask: How do protracted crises shape indigenous food systems, and what are their implications for the nutritional and socio-cultural health of local communities?

Paper long abstract:

This paper examines the impact of three decades of militarized violence on indigenous food systems in Indian-administered Kashmir. We ask: How do protracted crises shape indigenous food systems, and what are their implications for the nutritional and socio-cultural health of local communities? The paper draws on semi-structured interviews and life-story interviews with households in rural Kashmir and supplements them with key stakeholder interviews, including government officials and union leaders from agricultural value chains. Building on decolonial and interdisciplinary research approaches, we have documented the following three aspects: First, the changes in land use patterns in both the household and neighborhood food environments Second, household and community knowledge of indigenous food cultivation, processing, and storage practices, the role of these in socio-cultural identity, and the impact of conflict on these practices. Third, the impact of the conflict and conflict-induced agrarian changes on nutrition and health outcomes. The paper argues that the state and its military apparatus play an important role in agrarian transformation by destroying local patterns of food production for consumption. This apparatus uses neoliberalism and food dumping policies as a tool to deepen state control. Food system changes are seen as the primary cause of food-related bio-cultural diversity loss and rising diet-related diseases, including obesity and heart disease. The paper also highlights that access to land, natural resources, and sovereignty to decide its own food policies are indispensable for the promotion of indigenous food systems.