Presenting an alternative theoretical framework on Kashmir in the context of print media: From Ethnonationalism to Civic Nationalism.

This work challenges the mainstream media's notions of presenting the region of India-administered Kashmir and enables one to view the culturally diverse, shifting frontier through a different lens. The paper challenges the representation of Kashmir in the mainstream national and international print media, which serve as an instrument and power's pedagogical tool for the public. The media is used to shape people's imagination and elicit certain political or apolitical positions as well as reinforce predispositions and behaviours according to agenda. Hence, the media's perspective needs to be examined closely. This work replaces the framework of ethnonationalism, which contours the media's representation of Kashmir, with an alternative framework of civic nationalism, which will bring about a different understanding of the region for the public. This framework not only unravels the conflict from twelfth century onwards, but also illuminates historical reasons for the present-day conflict, which is a vital component in conflict resolution. Unpacking the theory of Civic Nationalism and presenting evidence of Kashmir's diversity by delving into the heterogenous region's social, economic, cultural, and political spaces, the paper aims to unravel this comprehensive framework which counters the hegemonic, pedagogical national and international medias' narratives on the conflict. The authors not only attempt to enliven aspects of the region's social history and contextualise/reframe the oppressed people's movement for selfdetermination from the Civic Nationalism framework, but also decode the present-day conflict by unravelling its root causes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]