Intifada in Kashmir : Sami Siva

Sami Siva, a Canadian photographer of Indian origin, has covered post-conflict, geopolitical and social-issue stories in Canada, the U.S., Eastern Europe, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and India.

India –

At the time of partition in 1947, the Maharaja of Kashmir Hari Singh was forced to seek India’s help to fight the invading Pashtun militia, backed by the Pakistani government. In 1948, the UN brokered a resolution under which a plebiscite was to be held to determine the future of Kashmir. However both the Indian and Pakistani governments did not carry out the resolution. Eventually, a full-scale armed conflict between Islamic militant groups and the Indian army broke out in 1989, with the objective of attaining Azad Kashmir (Free Kashmir). The valley has been a theatre of conflict ever since.

This work is part of Sami Siva’s ongoing work on geopolitics and social issues in India.

Art & Culture Feature-Written and photographed by: Sami Siva

Related Posts

Kosuke Okahara : Vanishing Existence

Japan – I traveled with Kosuke Okahara to visit ex-leprosy colonies located in the far corners of rural China. The ...

Jeroen Toirkens: Solitude

Netherlands – In April 2013 Jeroen Toirkens and Petra Sjouwerman travelled by car, boat, bus and snowmobile across the Barents ...

Thabiso Sekgala : Second Transition

South Africa –  ‘Second Transition’ is the series of images that I’ve photographed in the areas around the mining town ...

Douglas Stockdale on Laia Abril “The Epilogue”

Laia Abril (b. 1986 Barcelona, Spain, currently resides in NYC and Barcelona) continues to develop narratives that probe identity issues ...

The Forgotten Cowboys – John Ferguson

U.S.A. – As a ten-year-old boy playing cowboys with friends at school in England, I was never allowed to be ...

Zhe Chen: The Bearable & Bees

China – The Bearable (2007-2010) is Chen’s confessional photo-documentation of her self-harm history spanning half a decade. Bees (2010-2012) features a collection ...

Ana Galan: V I V ( R ) E L A V I E – Paying Homage to Old Age Love

Spain –  This project is about love in all its forms. I have always thought that arriving to a certain age, ...

David León Rodríguez: Decency

Spain –  “LA DECENCIA” …there are two races of men in this world, but only these two: the ‘race’ of ...

Momo Okabe: “I truly wanted to destroy everything I had”

Japan –   Momo Okabe’s photographs depict the bare situation. Be it the sexual act, a wasteland, or the wake of ...