War crimes, justice and the politics of memory / Bina D'Costa -- The limits of "doing" justice : compensation as reparation in post-war Sri Lanka / Neloufer de Mel and Chulani Kodikara -- Justice after the event : Sri Lanka's civil wars, memory, life and reconciliation / Pradeep Jeganathan -- The right to life and compensation in Pakistan's tribal areas / Saba Gul Khattak -- Seeking justice and keeping the memory alive / Leki Thungon -- Stand up and be counted : elections, democracy and the pursuit of justice in Jammu and Kashmir / Sanjay Kak -- The Adivasi undertrial, a prisoner of war : a study of undertrial detainees in South Chhattisgarh / Vrinda Grover -- The Ayodhya dispute : law's imagination and the functions of the status quo / Deepak Mehta -- Constitutional nationalism and structural violence : a study of the Muluki Ain and the constitutions of Nepal / Sanjeev Uprety and Bal Bahadur Thapa.

A first of its kind, this timely volume provides a series of case studies from South Asia that detail the quest for justice, the links that can be drawn from different countries in the region and the points of contact and divergences in the enunciation and practice of law. A second theme that runs through the book discusses the corrosive and affective power of violence in its ability to forge new solidary groups and communities. This is the first serious attempt by activists and scholars to think of South Asia as a region bound together through war and collective violence. It will be an invaluable read for postgraduate students and scholars of law and society, political philosophy, sociology and anthropology of violence, history and memory as well as political activists and government departments.