Transcription
I am often asked the question, "Brother, which book should I read to understand Pakistan?" You will not understand Pakistan from one book. Anyway, I have said many times that Pakistan is understood by the heart, not by the mind. But today I thought, August is going on, the month of independence is going on. So, I should recommend some books. I should make this video so that this link remains forever. The book I refer to a lot. In my opinion, before learning anything, it is more important for you to unlearn. Often the things we are told, now even grown-ups have opened their eyes. They are wrong. So, until you unlearn, until you proceed with a clean slate, you will only read more books out of fear and dread. So, to wipe clean that slate, first of all, you have to read "Murder of History" by K.K. Aziz. People say that your other books are also very good. Why don't you recommend them? I recommend all of them. I tell people to start with this book because then you will put Pakistan Studies in the fiction section. After reading this book. Now you can see things with an open mind. Often, when I say something, people immediately come and say, "No, this is wrong. This is what we have been told." That's exactly what I'm saying, brother, you have been told wrong. "Murder of History" will prove with sources what things have been told wrong. So that you are a lot more accepting of the true history of Pakistan.
There isn't one book that tells you the entire history of Pakistan. But if there is one book that will clarify our basic structural issues, conflicts, and fault lines, it is Mohammad Waseem's "Political Conflicts in Pakistan." It's a slightly large book. Take out time to read it. Give importance to every chapter because each chapter is about a different conflict, a different fault line, and you will learn something different from it. I think it's probably the best book written about Pakistan's history. I would highly recommend that book.
Then, if you want to know about the Pakistan Movement, how Pakistan was formed, then perhaps the foremost historian in that field is Ayesha Jalal. So, read "The Struggle for Pakistan," read "Sole Spokesman." You will also get to know about them. That whole theory that Pakistan is a bargaining chip, you will find it clarified there with evidence, presented as a thesis, that this is what happened, this is how it can be interpreted. All her work is seminal in this field. If you also want to know the left-field opinion, the differing opinion, the opinion that is not the established one, then you can look at the work of Ishtak Ahmed. He also has a book on Jinnah. But I think the one on Punjab is better because he has chronicled the partition of Punjab, the issues within it. "Punjab Bloody." I do think we don't completely internalize just how gruesome the experience of partition was for millions. So, by reading that book, you will get a good idea.
Now, since I started with "Murder of History" to keep an open mind and accept things. You will remember Husain Haqqani and Memogate. You will also remember Pakistan's enemies. Putting those things aside, if you read his books, especially "Between the Mosque and the Military," you will understand Pakistan quite well. He is somebody who has been inside this machine and understands this machine from the inside. So, his books really give you a great insight into how the cookie crumbles. So, I would suggest "Between the Mosque and the Military," but you should also read "Reimagining" and "A Magnificent Illusions" too.
If you want to know about Pakistan's relationships with America, but I am recommending "Between the Mosque and the Military" because how does the Mullah-Military alliance operate in Pakistan? What is its history? How is it entrenched? How has it gained power? That book will give you a great grounding on that. If the military is being discussed, then read about the military. Aisha Siddiqa's "A More Favorable View of the Military." Equally academic is Shuja Nawaz's work. Whether it's "Crossroads" or "Battle for Pakistan," they will give you a lot of insight into every single event. And Shuja Nawaz is again somebody who has been there and has seen it all, and is probably one of the most, if not the most, credible voices when it comes to military matters in Pakistan. Definitely read his books. I personally also like the books of Hasan Askari Rizvi. Especially his work on how control was taken as soon as Pakistan was formed. It will give you a good grounding for understanding the military in Pakistan.
If you want a basic grounding in Pakistan, then read Ayesha Siddiqa's "Pakistan: A Hard Country." If you want an alternative basic grounding, that is, you don't need details about anything, just tell it straight, as they say in Punjabi. So, Pervez Hoodbhoy has done work where he has taken multiple topics and presented them in essay form within a single book. "Pakistan: Origin, Identity, and Future." If you want to read short books, then Ali Jaan's "Rule by Fear" is also a small book, but it tells you very well how the government operates. Asim Sajjad Akhtar's books are also very good.
Personally, my opinion about history is that I value "People's History" a lot. Because what were the people saying also helps you understand. Because often the history that is written is about the elite corridors. What were the common people thinking? What was happening among the masses? Perhaps that doesn't come into the pages of history, into the official state-sanctioned pages of history. So, "People's History" is an edited volume by Kamran Asad Ali. Read it. It has essays by multiple very learned people. Secondly, if you particularly want to know about 1971, then Anam Zakaria, who has also been on our podcast, read her book on 1971. You will get the people's view.
Although this is about the history of Pakistan, if you want to know about partition, then Urvashi Butalia in India has also written a people's history. Very good about partition.
Well, just before I leave, I want to tell you that if you are interested in popular history, history that is a bit more consumable, because I think we all read Nadeem Farooq Paracha's column in Dawn every week, so we like his writing style. For thicker academic work, for instance, I would recommend somebody like Ali Usman Qasmi. Great, probably out of the new people, he is the best historian on Pakistan. His book is a phenomenal work, phenomenally well-researched. "Qoum Mulk Saltanat" is a bit difficult, not so easily digestible. I think Nadeem Farooq Paracha sorts of bridges that gap. So, whatever his books are, especially those with a cultural standpoint, they give you entry points into Pakistan. My third book, my first one is coming soon, but I have also started working on the third one. It will follow the same theme of telling the history of Pakistan through a cultural entry point. Look at his work. Some people will be upset, but his work on Imran Khan is also quite good. It will give you a good perspective on that. Declan Walsh's "Nine Lines of Pakistan" will also give you a good entry point at a cultural level. Rosita Armytage's book, "Big Capital in an Uncool World," also does this, and I think it does a good job of explaining to you, just like Vir Das said "Two Indias," the idea of "Two Pakistans," that an elite lives in a separate world. It will explain that to you well. Tariq Ali's work, who wouldn't be labeled as a pop historian, his fictional work is also very good. Read his books too.
If we are talking about fiction, sometimes fiction also elucidates, articulates what the world is like, and it can show you history in a better way. So, in 1947, obviously, Manto's work. Often, history books on 1947 do not show you history in the way Manto has shown us. Mohammad Hanif's book, that's probably my favorite fictional book. I think a lot of the English writing, fictional English writers in Pakistan, not all, I am generalizing, but some of them, because they come from their own circle, an elite circle, so some of the stories tend to be about that circle, which is completely alright as far as fiction is concerned, but that might not give you great insight into what Pakistan is. But Mohammad Hanif's book, "Exploring Mangoes," gives you a good insight into Pakistan.
So, yeah, this is my series. I wanted it to be 10, but it has become a little more than 10, but there are only 10 categories. So, please read about Pakistan, learn about Pakistan, and if any book has been missed by me, which I feel many have been missed. In People's History, there is also "People's Movement of Pakistan" by Khwaja Aslam, which covers the MRD movement in quite a lot of detail. Read, learn, and keep watching and keep reading. Thank you.