"A conventional interstate war has not menaced the Indian subcontinent for more than a decade. Nevertheless, the region has seen its share of terrorism, civil war, military repression, and guerrilla violence, in which armed paramilitary militias and insurgents commit terrible crimes against civilians and the state. For those who hope to understand the ideologies driving these groups, as well as their social organizations and strategies, Laurent Gayer and Christophe Jaffrelot have assembled leading theorists and experts on the politics of South Asia and Myanmar to create a comprehensive text for analytical and comparative study." "Shedding light on the deep complexities of these troubling partnerships, Armed Militias of South Asia critically guides readers through the conflicts of Kashmir, Punjab, Sri Lanka, and other violent hotspots across the subcontinent."--Book jacket.

Naxalism in Bihar : from bullet to ballot / Nicolas Jaoul -- Maoism and the ethnic factor in the Nepalese People's War / Gilles Boquérat -- Fighting with ideas : Maoist and popular conceptions of the Nepalese People's War / Marie Lecomte-Tillouine -- The LTTE : a national liberation and oppression movement / Chris Smith -- Burma's militias : between insurgency and maintaining order / Renaud Egreteau -- A patron-client perspective on militia-state relations : the case of the Hizb-ul-Mujahidin of Kashmir / Amélie Blom -- The SSP : herald of militant Sunni Islam in Pakistan / Mariam Abou Zahab -- The Islamist militias of Bangladesh : symptoms of a weak state? / Jérémie Codron -- The militias of Hindutva : communal violence, terrorism and cultural policing / Christophe Jaffrelot -- The Khalistan militias : servants and users of the state / Laurent Gayer.