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India`s obsessive interest in Pakistan is defined by political and security issues and is conditioned by history. The pain and despair at the vivisection of the motherland is far from over. There is prevalent nostalgia for the land that suddenly became distant and inaccessible overnight and negative feelings for the people who occupied that land. This book is not about Indo-Pak relations neither does it discuss Kashmir. It is about the common people of Pakistan, their cities and histories, their complex societies and their search for cultural identity. Pakistani society is at once plural and monolithic. Its ˜biradaries`, tribes and tribal codes of conduct, ethnic groups and languages, and racial mixtures make it an anthropologist`s delight. But the bulldozer of Islam makes it difficult for an outsider to understand the social intricacies. The book makes two points: first, that we must learn to distinguish between people, nation and state, and secondly, territorial boundaries and cultural frontiers are not the same.
ISBN 9788185002606
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Pages : 360
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