Dogra Raj and Forms of Silent Protest in Kashmir (1846-1932)

Abstract

Silent protest is non confrontationist, anonymous and subtle, this is the way the oppressed resist the forces of domination. James Scott in his “weapons of weak: Everyday forms of Resistance” refutes the Marxist concept of false consciousness and Gramcian idea of hegemony where oppressed give consent to dominance. Scott argues that the oppressed resist the forces of dominance but in silent forms which are non-confrontationist. Some of the weapons which peasants use are, foot dragging, dissimulation, desertion, false compliance, pilfering, feigned ignorance, slander, arson and sabotage. These techniques are suited to scattered nature of peasantry and difficulty in organizing any collective political action. Scott’s position is that peasant and worker resistance rarely occur in the form of violence and revolution. His argument hinges on the common sense position that violence erupts when forms of survival becomes impossible. In the light of this theory the present paper analyzes the forms of silent protest by the peasants and workers of Kashmir under the autocratic Dogra Raj.