Kamran Asdar Ali

Asad Ali

After seventy-five years of independence, the history of Pakistan remains centered on the state, its ideology and the two-nation theory. Towards Peoples' Histories in Pakistan seeks to shift that focus away from histories of an imagined nation, to the history of its peoples. Based on the premise that the historiographical tradition in Pakistan has ignored the existence of people who actually make history, this book brings together historians, anthropologists, sociologists and political scientists to shed light on the diverse histories of the people themselves. Assembling histories of events and peoples missing from grand narratives of national history, the essays in this collection incorporate a diversity of approaches to the past as it opens the possibilities of multiple histories, the archives through which they are registered, and the various temporalities in which they persist. The volume highlights and recuperates the entangled nature of history and memory within Pakistan's social and cultural life. By critically examining both leftist and nationalist thought, Towards People's Histories in Pakistan explores competing visions of what is meant by 'the people', and charts new ground in developing the promise of people's histories both within Pakistan and beyond.

(In)audible Voices, Forgotten Pasts

Towards Peoples' Histories in Pakistan

Pakistan today stands at a critical juncture in its short history of existence. While muchhas been written about Pakistan, little is known about Communism or left-leaning politicsin the country post-Partition which played a key role in shaping Pakistani politics today. KamranAsdar Ali here presents the first extensive look at Pakistan's communist and working class movement.The author critically engages with the history of Pakistan's early years while paying special attentionto the rise and fall of the Communist Party of Pakistan (CPP), from Partition in 1947 to theaftermath of Bangladeshi independence in 1971. Since its formation in 1947 as a homeland for SouthAsian Muslims, Pakistan has been a configuration of shifting alliances and competing political and social ideologies. Pakistan has experienced three military takeovers and is plagued with geopolitical conflict - from Kashmir to Baluchistan, Waziristan - and while these aspects of Pakistan make headlines, in order to understand the complexities of these events, it is vital to understand the state's relationship throughout history with its divergent political and ethnic voices.One dominant feature of the state, along with its emphasis on the Islamic nature of its polity, has been the non-resolution of its ethnic problem - while the history of Pakistan is often viewed through the lense of unified Muslim nationalism, the author here also explores the history of Pakistan's often tense relationship with its various ethnic groups - Baluch, Pathan, Sindhis, Punjabis and Bengalis. Shedding light on a vital and little-researched aspect of Pakistani history, this book shows that military coups, Islamic radicalization and terrorist activities do not constitute the sum total of Pakistan's history; that it, too, has had a history that included the activities of communist intellectuals and activists.

Politics and Class Activism 1947-1972

Communism in Pakistan

Communist Politics and Class Activism in Pakistan, 1947-1972

Surkh Salam

Publisher Fact Sheet This study of family planning programs in Egypt is a model for the study of social programs in developing countries.

Kamran Asdar Ali

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