India & Its NeighboursBook note
The Idea of Pakistan
Description. A short description of a book from my bookshelf, not a review.
Cohen, a leading American scholar of South Asia, examines the origins of Pakistan and the competing ideas of what it should be: a homeland for India's Muslims, an Islamic state, or a modern nation. He studies the army, the political parties, the Islamists and the regional movements that pull the country in different directions.
He concludes by considering several possible futures for Pakistan. The book is balanced, well informed and written with sympathy for Pakistan's people, and it remains one of the best introductions to the country.
From the bookshelf · read 2019–2020