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Indians and Pakistanis are the same people: why then have their nations moved on such different trajectories since freedom in 1947? Pakistan was the culmination of a search for what might be called Muslim space that began during the decline of the Mughal Empire. Mohammad Ali Jinnah wanted a secular nation with a Muslim majority, just as India was a secular nation with a Hindu majority. The father of Pakistan did not realize that there was another claimant to the nation he had delivered: Maulana Maududi, founder of the Jamaat-e-Islami, the godfather of Pakistan.
In Tinderbox: The... more Indians and Pakistanis are the same people: why then have their nations moved on such different trajectories since freedom in 1947? Pakistan was the culmination of a search for what might be called Muslim space that began during the decline of the Mughal Empire. Mohammad Ali Jinnah wanted a secular nation with a Muslim majority, just as India was a secular nation with a Hindu majority. The father of Pakistan did not realize that there was another claimant to the nation he had delivered: Maulana Maududi, founder of the Jamaat-e-Islami, the godfather of Pakistan.
In Tinderbox: The Past and Future of Pakistan, M.J. Akbar embarks on a historical whodunnit to trace the journey of an idea, and the events, people, circumstances and mindset that divided India. He brings an impressive array of research, perception and analysis to solve this puzzle with a fluent, engaging narrative style, making a difficult subject deceptively accessible. There could be no better guide to the subcontinent s past, and a glimpse into its future. less 
Mani Shankar AiyarAkbar comes to the conclusion that Pakistan is a failing state or, at any rate, a state threatened with failure which might take us down with it. I don’t think that is true. I think Akbar does not take sufficient account of the self-interest of the Pakistan establishment, be it the military or the influential civil elements. They don’t want to live in a Talibanised Pakistan. If you look at their... (Source)
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In recent years Pakistan has emerged as a strategic player on the world stageboth as a potential rogue state armed with nuclear weapons and as an American ally in the war against terrorism. But our understanding of this country is superficial. To probe beyond the headlines, Stephen Cohen, author of the prize-winning India: Emerging Power, offers a panoramic portrait of this complex countryfrom its origins as a homeland for Indian Muslims to a militarydominated state that has experienced uneven economic growth, political chaos, sectarian violence, and several nuclear crises with its much... more In recent years Pakistan has emerged as a strategic player on the world stageboth as a potential rogue state armed with nuclear weapons and as an American ally in the war against terrorism. But our understanding of this country is superficial. To probe beyond the headlines, Stephen Cohen, author of the prize-winning India: Emerging Power, offers a panoramic portrait of this complex countryfrom its origins as a homeland for Indian Muslims to a militarydominated state that has experienced uneven economic growth, political chaos, sectarian violence, and several nuclear crises with its much larger neighbor, India. Pakistans future is uncertain. Can it fulfill its promise of joining the community of nations as a moderate Islamic state, at peace with its neighbors, or could it dissolve completely into a failed state, spewing out terrorists and nuclear weapons in several directions? The Idea of Pakistan will be an essential tool for understanding this critically important country. less Mani Shankar AiyarStephen Cohen has a similar thesis to Sherbaz Khan Mazari’s book but he also looks into the future. And the future he looks into and concludes about Pakistan is at odds with my final author MJ Akbar’s prediction of the future, where all you see is a void. Stephen Cohen makes the much more valid point that Pakistan is, in fact, a very stable country, because it has a highly educated, highly... (Source)
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Sherbaz Khan Mazari, Shehryar Mazari | 4.25
This is an outstanding account of Pakistan's political intrigues. In 1954 the Speaker of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan filed a petition in the Chief Court of Pakistan challenging the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly by the Governor-General. Sirdar Sherbaz Khan Mazari discloses in the book how Pakistan's Chief Justice Muhammad Munir 'manipulated' the composition of the Bench to suit the Governor-General in upholding the dismissal of the Constituent Assembly. This decision 'devastated the political structure of Pakistan, It has since been called a momentous... more This is an outstanding account of Pakistan's political intrigues. In 1954 the Speaker of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan filed a petition in the Chief Court of Pakistan challenging the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly by the Governor-General. Sirdar Sherbaz Khan Mazari discloses in the book how Pakistan's Chief Justice Muhammad Munir 'manipulated' the composition of the Bench to suit the Governor-General in upholding the dismissal of the Constituent Assembly. This decision 'devastated the political structure of Pakistan, It has since been called a momentous ruling, one from which Pakistan has never fully recovered'. Mazari describes in detail the various intrigues and conspiracies resorted to by Yahya's 'Hawk' Generals and how they colluded with Zulfikar Bhutto in 'advocating a hard line against Awami League', the party with majority in 1970 Pakistan General Elections. He goes on to describe how the emergence of Bangladesh became an obvious consequence of the goings-on in the corridors of power in Pakistan of 1971. Though primarily the memoirs of a leading Opposition figure during the Bhutto and Zia eras, the book is also, in part, a history of Pakistan written with an uncommonly frank and original perspective. The author's eventual despair can be determined from the title of this book. The early chapters deal with Sirdar Sherbaz Khan Mazari's career in politics as a young man entering the fray in opposition to the Ayub Khan government, against a background of events that shaped the history of the country. This is followed by an in-depth account of the Bhutto and Zia periods. The book not only makes for a fascinating chronicle but also provides future historians with the necessary hard facts that are the very essence of history. It should be a essential reading for Pakistan watchers. less Mani Shankar AiyarSherbaz Khan Mazari was about 17 or 18 years old when Pakistan was created, and he says in the book that he was very enthused by the idea of Pakistan. He is a very deeply committed democrat and I think he is probably the most honest politician in the whole of the subcontinent. He thought that Pakistan would have its best opportunity when, after years of military rule, in 1971 Zulfikar Ali Bhutto... (Source)
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Not just a historical narrative, The Formative Phase evaluates the strength and weakness of the Muslim separatist movement that eventually culminated in the creation of Pakistan. In addition to the basic theme of the Muslim nationalist movement, Khalid Sayeed has also focused on the working and development of the British vice-regal system, and argues that the vice-regal system that Pakistan inherited from the British sustained Pakistan through the on-going political and cultural tensions that it has faced ever since its establishment.
more Not just a historical narrative, The Formative Phase evaluates the strength and weakness of the Muslim separatist movement that eventually culminated in the creation of Pakistan. In addition to the basic theme of the Muslim nationalist movement, Khalid Sayeed has also focused on the working and development of the British vice-regal system, and argues that the vice-regal system that Pakistan inherited from the British sustained Pakistan through the on-going political and cultural tensions that it has faced ever since its establishment.
less Mani Shankar AiyarYes, this book is extremely well documented and it has the advantage that besides taking the story up to the partition of India and Pakistan, it also takes the story forward to approximately the first decade of Pakistan as a separate national identity. And it is clear that even in 1940, when the Pakistan resolution was passed, it was not without significance that the word Pakistan did not exist... (Source)
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Once a model of Muslim enlightenment, Pakistan is now facing a lethal Islamist threat. Many believe this is due to Pakistan's partnership with the United States, while others see it as the consequence of an authoritarian rule that has marginalized liberal opinion while creating inroads for the religious right.
Farzana Shaikh argues that though external influences and domestic politics have unquestionably shaped Pakistan, an uncertainty about the meaning of Pakistan and the significance of "being Pakistani" lies at the heart of the state's social and political decline. "Making Sense... more Once a model of Muslim enlightenment, Pakistan is now facing a lethal Islamist threat. Many believe this is due to Pakistan's partnership with the United States, while others see it as the consequence of an authoritarian rule that has marginalized liberal opinion while creating inroads for the religious right.
Farzana Shaikh argues that though external influences and domestic politics have unquestionably shaped Pakistan, an uncertainty about the meaning of Pakistan and the significance of "being Pakistani" lies at the heart of the state's social and political decline. "Making Sense of Pakistan" shows how these concerns have contributed to the spread of Islam in the public sphere. They have also widened the gap between personal piety and public morality, compromising the country's economic foundations and social stability. This uncertainty has also affected Pakistan's foreign policy, which compensates for the country's poor sense of national identity. Even more ominous, national insecurities have given rise to a dangerous symbiosis between Pakistan's armed forces and Muslim extremists, rival contenders in the struggle to redefine the meaning of Pakistan. Drawing on extensive research into the origins and evolution of the country, Shaikh follows the forces of culture and ideology that pressured Indo-Muslims in the years leading up to Partition and continue to resonate throughout the country. less 
Iftikhar MalikFarzana Shaikh’s earliest historical study, based on her doctoral research, was a timely attempt to investigate the quest of a cohesive political community anchored on the historical and intellectual ethos of worldwide Islam within a specific South Asian context. That volume had tried to move the discourse on Pakistan’s evolution from the prevalent paradigm of high politics of a few powerful men... (Source)
Mani Shankar AiyarYes, it is the very best book I have read on Pakistan. If Pakistan can introspect, it will have to recognise that in their Islamic republic, as Omar Khayyam said all those centuries ago, “the two and seventy jarring sects confute” – all these sects are part of the family of Islam. The question of whether there should be a Muslim nation or not on the subcontinent is one that is only of historical... (Source)
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