Certain fieldwork settings pose challenges that often test the conventional methodological and academic wisdom that we have gained as a part of our training. Our research acumen faces the real test when we particularly research vulnerable and marginalised communities. This article reflects on my experiences of conducting fieldwork using an autoethnographic approach among the marginalised ‘Watal’ community in Kashmir. As a female researcher, I encountered unique challenges related to gender and ethical issues while negotiating access to the community. In this article, I examine topics such as site selection, the complexities involved in navigating sociopolitical dynamics and the reflexive nature of conducting research in conflict-affected areas. This work underscores the interplay between personal identity and fieldwork experience, providing insights into the intricate challenges of ethnographic research within marginalised and excluded settings.
BergerR. (2013). Now I see it, now I don’t: Researcher’s position and reflexivity in qualitative research. Qualitative Research, 15(2), 219–234.
2.
BhanM. (2013). Counterinsurgency, democracy, and the politics of identity in India: From warfare to welfare?South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, 36(2), 180–195.
3.
BhatF. A., & MathurP. K. (2011). Ethnic plurality in Jammu and Kashmir: A sociological analysis. Man in India, 91(3–4), 577–596.
4.
BoseS. (2021). Kashmir: Roots of conflict, paths to peace. Harvard University Press.
5.
BoydD. (2014). It’s complicated: The social lives of networked teens. Yale University Press.
ChaudhuriM. (2016). Feminisms and sociologies: Locations and intersections in a global context. Contributions to Indian Sociology, 50(3), 343–367.
8.
CrenshawK. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory, and antiracist politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum, 1989(1), 139–167.
9.
DablaB. A. (2012). Directory of castes in Kashmir. Jay Kay Book Publications.
10.
Dickson-SwiftV., JamesE. L., KippenS., & LiamputtongP. (2008). Risk to researchers in qualitative research on sensitive topics: Issues and strategies. Sage Publications.
11.
DubeL. (1997). Women and kinship: Comparative perspectives on gender in South and South-East Asia. United Nations University Press.
12.
EllisC., & BochnerA. P. (2000). Autoethnography, personal narrative, reflexivity: Researcher as subject. In DenzinN. K. & LincolnY. S. (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (2nd ed., pp. 733–768). Sage Publications.
13.
EmmelN., HughesK., GreenhalghJ., & SalesA. (2007). Accessing socially excluded people: Trust and the gatekeeper in the researcher-participant relationship. Sociological Research Online, 12(2), 43–55.
14.
ErgunA., & ErdemirA. (2009). Negotiating insider and outsider identities in the field: ‘Insider’ in a foreign land; ‘outsider’ in one’s own land. Field Methods, 22(1), 16–38.
15.
FauqM. D. (1996). Tareeq I Aqwam e Kashmir. Chinar Publishing House.
16.
GanieM. Y. (2020). History from below: A study of Watal community in rural Kashmir (1846-1990). Journal of Kashmir Studies, 7(1), 37–48.
17.
GhoshD. (2018). Risky fieldwork: The problems of ethics in the field. Energy Research & Social Science, 45, 348–354.
18.
GuilleminM., & GillamL. (2004). Ethics, reflexivity, and ‘ethically important moments’ in research. Qualitative Inquiry, 10(2), 261–280.
19.
GurneyJ. N. (1985). Not one of the guys: The female researcher in a male-dominated setting. Qualitative Sociology, 8(1), 42–62.
20.
HammersleyM., & AtkinsonP. (1983). Ethnography: Principles in practice. Tavistock Publications.
21.
HuismanK. (2008). Does this mean you’re not going to come visit me anymore? An inquiry into an ethics of reciprocity. In TilleyM. B. & Powick-KumarA. A. (Eds.), Researching with integrity: The ethics of academic enquiry (pp. 77–94). Routledge.
22.
KaulN. (2018). From empire to statelessness: The state of exception in Kashmir. Journal of Postcolonial Writing, 54(5), 549–564.
23.
KunzeI., & PadmanabhanM. (2014). Discovering positionalities in the countryside: Methodological reflections on doing fieldwork in South India. Erdkunde, 68(4), 277–288. https://doi.org/10.3112/erdkunde.2014.04.04
24.
LawrenceW. R. (2011). The valley of Kashmir. Gulshan Books.
25.
MadanT. N. (1972). Religious ideology in a plural society: The Muslims and Hindus of Kashmir. Contributions to Indian Sociology, 6(1), 106–141.
26.
Masroor. (2019). Between work and respect: Dilemmas of a manual scavenging community in Kashmir. International Journal of Research in Social Sciences, 9(3), 317–328.
27.
MoochiJ. A. (2022). Discrimination of marginalized sections in Kashmir: A never-ending legacy (1846 onwards). Contemporary Voice of Dalit, 14(1), 88–94.
28.
PalmerC., & ThompsonK. (2010). Everyday risks and professional dilemmas: Fieldwork with alcohol-based (sporting) subcultures. Qualitative Research, 10(4), 421–440.
29.
PanteM. B. L. P. (2014). Female researchers in a masculine space: Managing discomforts and negotiating positionalities. Philippine Sociological Review, 62, 65–88. https://www-jstor-org-443.web.bisu.edu.cn/stable/43486388
30.
RacineL. (2011). The impact of race, gender, and class in postcolonial feminist fieldwork: A retrospective critique of methodological dilemmas. Aporia, 3(1), 6–18.
31.
RaiM. (2019). Hindu rulers, Muslim subjects. Princeton University Press.
32.
RossK. (2015). ‘No sir, she was not a fool in the field’: Gendered risks and sexual violence in immersed cross-cultural fieldwork. The Professional Geographer, 67(2), 180–186.
33.
SafdarR.(2015). An ethnolinguistic study of Sheikha Gal Watali speakers in Kashmir [Doctoral Dissertation, University of Mysore]. Shodhganga. https://handle.net/10603/147640
34.
ShahA., & PettigrewJ. (2012). The practice of caste in everyday life in rural India. Economic & Political Weekly, 47(6), 19–21.
35.
SinghK. S. (Ed.). (2003). People of India: Jammu and Kashmir. Manohar Publishers.
36.
ThapanM. (1998). Anthropological journeys: Reflections on fieldwork. Orient BlackSwan.
37.
VarmaS. (2020). The occupied clinic: Militarism and care in Kashmir. Duke University Press.
38.
von UngerH. (2021). Ethical reflexivity as research practice. Historical Social Research/Historische Sozialforschung, 46(2), 186–204.
39.
WolfD. L. (1993). Introduction: Feminist dilemmas in fieldwork. Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies, 14(3), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.2307/3346721
40.
ZiaA. (2019). Resisting disappearance: Military occupation and women’s activism in Kashmir. University of Washington Press.
