Author: Adeel Khan
Publisher: Sage Publications
Year: 2005
Language: English
Pages: 212
ISBN/UPC (if available): 0761933042
Description
A major challenge Pakistan has been confronted with since it came into existence is the self-assertion of various ethnic groups, which have actively contested the legitimacy of the state structure. However, despite the seriousness of this ethnic challenge, there exists no detailed study of these movements-Politics of Identity fills this vacuum.
Ethnic nationalism, the author argues, is a political issue and is essentially a struggle for power between dominant and non-dominant groups. Highlighting the role the state plays in the lives of individuals, the book.
Studies both the pre-colonial and colonial state system in India and the changes it effected till
India’s independence and the creation of Pakistan.
Assesses the state in Pakistan and explains its role in giving rise to ethnic discontent.
Studies four ethnic movements-Pukhtun, Baloch, Sindhi and Mohajir-demonstrating how proximity to or distance from state power have influenced their politics.
Critically reviews some influential theories of nationalism and shows how they have not adequately explained ethnic nationalism in some parts of the world.
REVIEWS
Excellent and compelling.
-Partha Chatterjee, University of Columbia
A provocative, passionate and stimulating new interpretation of ethnic nationalism.
-Dipesh Chakrabarty, University of Chicago
A significant study that informs us of the politics and group interests in one of the most volatile regions of the world.
-Stephen Castles, Oxford University
An informed and lucid work that demystifies the politics of nationalism.
-Howard Brasted, University of New England
The first comprehensive account of the emergence, growth and changing politics of four major ethnic movements in Pakistan in the context of theories of nationalism, this absorbing book will be welcomed by students and scholars in the fields of sociology, political science, history and South Asian studies, as well as by strategist, diplomats and journalists.
Contents
PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
CHAPTER 1
Introduction: Crude Thinking
CHAPTER 2
Ethnicity, Nationalism and the Modern State
CHAPTER 3
Colonial State and Colonial Difference in India
CHAPTER 4
Nationalisation of the Colonial State in Pakistan
CHAPTER 5
Pukhtun Ethnic Nationalism: From Separatism to Integrationism
CHAPTER 6
Baloch Ethnic Nationalism: From Guerrilla War to Nowhere?
CHAPTER 7
Sindhi Ethnic Nationalism: Migration and Marginalisation
CHAPTER 8
Mohajir Ethnic Nationalism: El Dorado Gone Sour
CHAPTER 9
At a Crossroads as Ever Before
APPENDICES A: The MQM’s Charter of resolutions and Revised List of Demands
APPENDICES B: List of Interviews and Informal Conversations (1997, 1998)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
ABOUT THE AUTHOR