Reclaiming Jammu: How Evidence Overturns Post-Partition Myths and Colonial Blame Narratives

This preprint, Reclaiming Jammu: How Evidence Overturns Post-Partition Myths and Colonial Blame Narratives, presents an evidence-based analysis of the political, historical, and socio-cultural identity of Jammu (Occupied by Pakistan), a region often misidentified as part of the Kashmir Valley. Through archival records, colonial gazetteers, eyewitness accounts, oral histories, and contemporary scholarship, the article challenges long-standing misconceptions surrounding the 1947 Jammu massacres, the role of the Dogra State, and the formation of Pakistan-administered territories after Partition. The study interrogates how post-Partition narratives—promoted through political rhetoric, selective historiography, and Pakistani state discourse—have shaped public understanding of Jammu’s past. It reconstructs the historical record to demonstrate that Mirpur, Bhimber, and Kotli were integral to Jammu Province, not the Kashmir Valley, and shows how this distinction has been systematically obscured in both South Asian and international literature. By drawing on sources including Lydekker (1883), Drew (1875), Lawrence (1895/1909), colonial administrative reports, and modern research on Jammu’s demographics, governance, and conflict history, the article re-examines key myths about culpability, identity, and communal violence. It further analyses how contemporary political narratives have sustained misrecognition, contributing to the erasure of Jammūvī identity in Pakistan, India, and the diaspora. This preprint is shared to support scholarly discussion, citation, and early dissemination. A peer-review submission of this manuscript has been made separately.