Author Archives: Thebookreviewindia

The topic of NGOs, especially those which are rights-based, in Pakistan is an intriguing and polarizing case in media discussions, always instigating hype by the critics over alleged negative roles and pushing the western agenda or by the proponents who appreciate NGOs’ capacity to challenge the authoritarian status quo.

The volume under review is remarkable for many reasons. The painstaking empirical research and the rigorous analysis of the same from a feminist perspective will make this book a very important source of reference to understand the lives, work and struggles of women in Asia.

A chronological political history of Punjab—the title is self-explanatory—Rajmohan Gandhi began the journey of writing this book at the point of its denouement, Partition.

In 1976, within a year of its publication, Wendy Doniger’s Hindu Myths met with a bad press.

Mutiny at the Margins: New Perspectives on the Indian Uprising of 1857 is a seven-volume series that has emerged from a research project based at the University of Edinburgh involving collaborative research and international conferences beginning in the 150th year marking the revolt.

The Calendar of Persian Correspondence in 10 volumes was originally published by the Imperial Record Department, subsequently incorporated into the National Archives of India.

In the prologue to his account of Gandhi’s early career in England and South Africa, Ramachandra Guha declares, ‘There are some striking resemblances between the central character of this story and his counterpart in the great Indian epic, the Ramayana.

Minorities in Pakistan, published by Pakistan Publications, Karachi, was the first book I read on religious minorities in Pakistan before Bangladesh was created.

The title of the book suggests that it is only a narrative on the attack on Taj Hotel, one of the several targets during the three-day long Mumbai terrorist attacks in November 2008.

Post-9/11, two words, namely Jihad and Terrorism, have acquired much of our attention. These terms unintentionally as well as intentionally are used interchangeably, often, to indicate that Islam and terrorism share an organic relationship.

Babar Ayaz’s book does not present an ordinary diagnostic enquiry into the health of a state called Pakistan.

Pakistan’s imminent failure as a nation state has spawned many books. Pakistan’s principal attraction for writers and experts is the country’s central role in sustaining and promoting regional and international terrorism.