Reading: Shahana a Novel by Rosanne Hawke

The most northern part of India is a region called Jammu and Kashmir. It is generally called Kashmir or J&K for short. In 1947 when the British gave up ruling India, they divided it up to become independent nations of India, Pakistan and East Pakistan now called (Bangladesh). Since 1947, India and Pakistan have fought three wars over Jammu and Kashmir to claim the entire territory, resulting in the territory being shared: Pakistan controls just under half, India controls just over half, and China controls a small part. As a result of the wars, the people of Kashmir have suffered a great deal, and life remains very hard for them. There is high unemployment and great poverty, and children often have to leave school to support the family. 

The official language of Jammu and Kashmir is Urdu, which is similar to Hindi. However the local language is Kashmiri, and other local languages of the ethnic groups is spoken as well.

Jammu and Kashmir consist of three regions: Jammu in the subtropical foothills of the Himalayas: the Kashmir valley, a luxuriant beautiful region between the Pir Panjal and higher Himalayas and the sparsely populated Ladakh, a cold desert of high mountain passes and deep gorges that keep it remote.

Mushtaq, S. (2010). India-Pakistan border truce helps rare Kashmir goat | Reuters. U.S. https://www.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-48087120 100429                                                                   

Dr Rosanne Hawke is a children’s author who has written over twenty books for young people, including Taj and the Great Camel Trek, winner of the 2012 SA Festival Awards and CBCA Notable Book 2012, Marrying Ameera, Mountain Wolf and Soraya, the Storyteller. Many of her books have been shortlisted 3 or notable in Australian awards, including the CBCA Awards. Her novel, Mustara, was shortlisted in the NSW Premier’s Award. Rosanne has a PhD in Creative Writing and teaches at Tabor Adelaide.

Rosanne worked as an aid worker in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Northern Pakistan. She lived in Abbottabad close to Azad Kashmir but was not permitted to cross the border. Rosanne says: ‘It wasn’t until 2006 when I was on an Asialink Writing Fellowship, and the border opened for aid workers helping with the aftermath of the 2005 earthquake, that I was able to visit Muzaffarrabad in Azad Kashmir. There was a huge amount of damage, but I could see it had once been a beautiful place. Little is written in papers about how the Kashmiri conflict affects children, but there are some reports on the Web that can be accessed. I wanted to tell these children’s stories, albeit fictitiously, so other young people in peaceful countries like Australia can understand and care.’ 

Rosanne Hawke | UQP. (n.d.). UQP. Retrieved May 27, 2023 from https://www.uqp.com.au/authors/rosanne-hawke