First posted May 26, 2019 NB: Ambedkar’s book is a crucial archive for the climate of the times in which it was written. A noticeable feature is the extensive research, done in short time, soon after the Muslim League’s Lahore Resolution in March 1940. It is also noteworthy that he used stereotypes, fairly common in… Read More Extracts from B. R. Ambedkar’s book on Pakistan (1940, 1945)
Hundreds of thousands of homes are under water in Sindh province. Locals have no food and say the state has abandoned them by Shah Meer Baloch in Dadu After several attempts, Zameer Ali, his son and his brother were finally heaved on to the deck of a wooden boat. Early that morning, the exhausted 48-year-old had waded… Read More ‘There is nothing for us’: Pakistan’s flood homeless start to despair
Shozab Raza Devastating flooding in Pakistan has killed more than 1,100 people this summer, injuring and displacing thousands more. Among Pakistan’s political elite, some have claimed that the floods are simply a natural disaster, while others blame climate breakdown. But both groups have failed to address another crucial factor: empire. Pakistan gained its independence from the British empire… Read More Flooding has devastated Pakistan – and Britain’s imperial legacy has made it worse
A standard narrative exists about the role of Muslims during the Partition in India, which talks about how the Muslim community, led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and his Muslim League, stood for the two-nation theory and demanded the Partition of India. Historical documents, however, suggest that a majority of the Muslims opposed the Partition and… Read More Adrija Roychowdhuri: Why a majority of Muslims opposed Partition and stayed on in India
NB: Today we learn the sad news of Janab Akhtar Balouch’s passing. I have not been able to find an obituary and am posting some of his writings as a tribute. This is the first article of his that I posted: Daya Ram Gidumal of Sindh. Here are some more, including a fascinating account of Prime Minister Liaqat Ali Khan’s assassination in… Read More Akhtar Balouch: Why did Qurratulain Hyder leave Pakistan for India?
Pakistan and National Unity is an important position paper of the Communist Party of India, and a far-reaching text in the history of the Indian communist movement. The resolution dated September 19, 1942 contains an outline of the CPI’s support for what it called the ‘just essence of the Pakistan demand’; and the Report by Gangadhar… Read More Communist Party of India’s resolution on Pakistan and National Unity, September 1942
NB: This post was taken from a HuffPost article in 2017 (the link is void now) and posted by me on Blogger on July 17, 2017. Maliha was a student of mine at the Young India Fellowship at Ashoka University. I might add that she was an excellent scholar. I would like to share this with… Read More Dear Bharat Mata, I’m Your Pakistani Daughter And I Love You. By Maliha Khan
By Beena Sarwar and Priyanka Singh un ka jo farz hai wo ahl-e-siyasat jaanenmera paigham mohabbat hai jahan tak pahunche Let politicians do what they think they mustMy message is that of love, let it reach where it can – Jigar Moradabadi On a muggy Friday afternoon three weeks ago, three men from Pune walked… Read More On the eve of 75th independence anniversary, peace pilgrims from Pune bring message of love to Pakistan
In July 2021, in a year which presented few reasons to be happy, the garment workers of Sindh province in Pakistan had cause to celebrate. The provincial government had just announced a 40% increase to the minimum wage, raising it from 17,000 to 25,000 rupees (from €84 to €124 at the current exchange rate) per… Read More Pakistan’s wage struggle shows the fragility of progress in the global garment industry
KARACHI, April 26 (Reuters) – A suspected female suicide bomber killed three Chinese teachers in Karachi on Tuesday, police and officials said, drawing strong condemnation from Beijing, in the first major attack this year against nationals of long-time ally China working in Pakistan. The three were among passengers on a minibus returning to Karachi university… Read More Female suicide bomber kills three Chinese teachers at Karachi university / KU attack ‘final wake-up call’ on crisis in Balochistan
After the truth-shower 