The making and unmaking of Sheikh Abdullah

In a new biography, Sheikh Abdullah: The Caged Lion of Kashmir, Chitralekha Zutshi builds a complex portrait of a key figure of India’s modern history. As Kashmir remains a contested question of territory and identity for its people, and India as a whole, Zutshi says there is significant continuity in Delhi’s approach towards the border region. Edited excerpts:

Chitralekha Zutshi  (Source: special arrangement)

Sheikh Abdullah was not an intellectual in the manner Nehru was perhaps, but he created the notion of Kashmiri nationalism. Yet, he was unable to steer the course of the force he created. Is that the key argument of your book?