The relationship between women and the state in Pakistan has been both compelling and paradoxical... more The relationship between women and the state in Pakistan has been both compelling and paradoxical. After nearly a decade of state-sponsored attempts at stifling women’s voices in the public arenas and pushing back the boundaries of their social visibility, Pakistan has become the first state in the Islamic world to have a woman prime minister. A state media which until yesterday poured scorn upon articulate and assertive women is today faithfully and respectfully projecting the voice and person of Benazir Bhutto. In so far as the role of women in Muslim societies has symbolic connotations, it is tempting to see Benazir Bhutto’s advent as something of a psychological ‘revolution’. A Western cartoonist hinted as much while portraying her in an impish mood asking a line of attendants veiled from head to toe: ‘How do you like your new outfits, Gentlemen?’1
Assessing the prospects of democracy in a country that has recently crossed the nuclear threshold... more Assessing the prospects of democracy in a country that has recently crossed the nuclear threshold but is struggling to avoid defaulting on its international obligations calls for an understanding of the elemental fault line underlying the state structure in Pakistan. Unable to square its strategic perceptions with the narrow economic resource base it inherited at the time of the British withdrawal, Pakistan has paid a hefty price in both economic and political terms trying to keep India at bay. The early stifling of democracy flowed from the state's inability to meet the financial requirements of a military establishment whose strategic doctrines were influenced by the political leadership's stated intention of wresting Kashmir from Indian control. Starved of resources, the Pakistani centre had no qualms strapping the provinces of funds and, in the process, gagging all expressions of opposition. The press was curbed and the judiciary utterly compromised by its dependence on the executive. As early as the 1950s the political process was aborted in the regions and the centre, paving the way for military and bureaucratic dominance. Extended periods of military rule after 1958 only served to widen the gulf between a centralized authoritarian state and a regionally and economically differentiated society with dire consequences for democratic politics. Reversing structural imbalances emanating from clashing security and economic considerations has proven extraordinarily difficult for successive Pakistani governments, irrespective of their ideological stripes or their elected or non-elected credentials. The return to parliamentary democracy since 1988, following the most extensive phase of military rule, aggravated the internal tensions which have made Pakistan's search for stability such a singularly elusive goal. Short of altering the state's security perceptions, an unlikely proposition given India's political and strategic compulsions, there is no prospect of a Pakistani government daring to repudiate the inheritance of a
At the height of the cold war when America was about to sign a deal by which in return for milita... more At the height of the cold war when America was about to sign a deal by which in return for military assistance Pakistan would commit itself to combating communism in South East Asia and the Middle East, the great Urdu short-story writer, Saadat Hasan Manto, who lived in Lahore, wrote a series of facetious letters to 'Uncle Sam'. In one of these letters written on February 21, 1954, Manto wrote: 'Regardless of the storm India is kicking up, you must sign a military agreement with Pakistan since you are seriously concerned about the stability of the world's largest Islamic state. And why not. Our mullah is the best counter to Russian communism. Once military aid starts flowing, these mullahs are the first people you should arm. They would need American-made rosaries and prayer-mats....Cutthroat razors and scissors should be at the top of the list, and also American hair colouring formulas. That will keep these chaps happily in toe. I think the only purpose of military aid is to arm these mullahs. I am your Pakistani nephew and can see through all your moves. Anyone can now become too clever by half, thanks to your style of politics'. 'Once these mullahs are armed with American weapons', Manto predicted, 'the Soviet Union with its communist propaganda will have to close shop in this country'. He could visualize the situation clearly: 'Mullahs, their hair trimmed with American scissors, wearing pajamas stitched with American machines in conformity with the cudgels against state terrorism. Your presence here will create total mayhem. Take good care of yourself, especially your knees. Which reminds me-you of all people should be able to empathize with those who have no real legs to stand on! So do recall your forces from the border and flush out the Pakistani dictator on Kashmir. He is getting so bogged down under the combined weight of pressure from you, America and his own homegrown jihadis-now in league with several dissident political parties-that he may need an express stretcher from up here. That will not serve the cause of democracy in Pakistan, I am afraid. What will help is if he is provided a democratically-oiled Pakistani wheel chair so that he can drive himself out of the corner into which he has painted himself with the connivance, I am sorry to say, of my own dear uncles. Signed: Your very sincerely concerned nephew, Saadat Hasan Manto'.
* David Gilmartin, Empire and Islam: Punjab and the Making of Pakistan, Berkeley, University of C... more * David Gilmartin, Empire and Islam: Punjab and the Making of Pakistan, Berkeley, University of California Press, 1988. Strumming at the cultural chords of political nationalisms is the latest rage among scholars needing to cheer themselves out of the post-orientalist blues. Neo-orientalist melodies are not very different from studies of the ’other’ which bore the brunt of Edward Said’s ruthless critique. While assuming various tonalities, orientalism in its most recent incarnation takes the self-projections of the subjects seriously and uncritically. Odd references
Colonoscopy is used worldwide for screening colon cancer. Routine colonoscopy is considered a saf... more Colonoscopy is used worldwide for screening colon cancer. Routine colonoscopy is considered a safe procedure with relatively fewer adverse events. We present a case of intracolonic and retroperitoneal hematoma following a routine colonoscopy. This case highlights an uncommon life-threatening complication of a common procedure. A 50-year-old female presented with abdominal pain and syncopal episode following an uneventful screening colonoscopy. CT abdomen revealed intracolonic and retroperitoneal hematoma. This eventually led to exploratory laparotomy and right hemicolectomy after failure of conservative management. Clinicians need to be aware of the potentially life-threatening complications associated with colonoscopy for overall safety of colonoscopy.
This book examines issues of history and political economy relevant to nationalism, democracy and... more This book examines issues of history and political economy relevant to nationalism, democracy and developmen The contributors argue that persisting material deprivation-th lack of substantive democracy and development-is a crucial problem, and that it is not addressed by cultural critiques so much in vogue.
Self and Sovereignty surveys the role of individual Muslim men and women within India and Pakista... more Self and Sovereignty surveys the role of individual Muslim men and women within India and Pakistan from 1850 through to decolonisation and the partition period. Commencing in colonial times, this book explores and interprets the historical processes through which the perception of the Muslim individual and the community of Islam has been reconfigured over time. Self and Sovereignty examines the relationship between Islam and nationalism and the individual, regional, class and cultural differences that have shaped the discourse and politics of Muslim identity. As well as fascinating discussion of political and religious movements, culture and art, this book includes analysis of: * press, poetry and politics in late nineteenth century India * the politics of language and identity - Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi * Muslim identity, cultural differnce and nationalism * the Punjab and the politics of Union and Disunion * the creation of Pakistan Covering a period of immense upheaval and sometim...
Established as a homeland for India s Muslims in 1947, Pakistan has had a tumultuous history that... more Established as a homeland for India s Muslims in 1947, Pakistan has had a tumultuous history that has unfolded in the vortex of dire regional and international conflicts. Beset by assassinations, coups, ethnic strife, and the breakaway of Bangladesh in 1971, the country has found itself too often contending with religious extremism and military authoritarianism. Now, in a probing biography of her native land amid the throes of global change, Ayesha Jalal provides an insider s assessment of how this nuclear-armed Muslim nation evolved as it did and explains why its dilemmas weigh so heavily on prospects for peace in the region.Attentive to Pakistan s external relations as well as its internal dynamics, Jalal shows how the vexed relationship with the United States, border disputes with Afghanistan in the west, and the conflict with India over Kashmir in the east have played into the hands of the generals who purchased security at the cost of strong democratic institutions. Combined with domestic ethnic and regional rivalries, such pressures have created a siege mentality that encourages military domination and militant extremism.Since 9/11, the country has been widely portrayed as a breeding ground for Islamic terrorism. Assessing the threats posed by Al-Qaeda and the Taliban as American troops withdraw from Afghanistan, Jalal contends that the battle for Pakistan s soul is far from over. Her definitive biography reveals how pluralism and democracy continue to struggle for a place in this Muslim homeland, where they are so essential to its future."
The relationship between women and the state in Pakistan has been both compelling and paradoxical... more The relationship between women and the state in Pakistan has been both compelling and paradoxical. After nearly a decade of state-sponsored attempts at stifling women’s voices in the public arenas and pushing back the boundaries of their social visibility, Pakistan has become the first state in the Islamic world to have a woman prime minister. A state media which until yesterday poured scorn upon articulate and assertive women is today faithfully and respectfully projecting the voice and person of Benazir Bhutto. In so far as the role of women in Muslim societies has symbolic connotations, it is tempting to see Benazir Bhutto’s advent as something of a psychological ‘revolution’. A Western cartoonist hinted as much while portraying her in an impish mood asking a line of attendants veiled from head to toe: ‘How do you like your new outfits, Gentlemen?’1
Assessing the prospects of democracy in a country that has recently crossed the nuclear threshold... more Assessing the prospects of democracy in a country that has recently crossed the nuclear threshold but is struggling to avoid defaulting on its international obligations calls for an understanding of the elemental fault line underlying the state structure in Pakistan. Unable to square its strategic perceptions with the narrow economic resource base it inherited at the time of the British withdrawal, Pakistan has paid a hefty price in both economic and political terms trying to keep India at bay. The early stifling of democracy flowed from the state's inability to meet the financial requirements of a military establishment whose strategic doctrines were influenced by the political leadership's stated intention of wresting Kashmir from Indian control. Starved of resources, the Pakistani centre had no qualms strapping the provinces of funds and, in the process, gagging all expressions of opposition. The press was curbed and the judiciary utterly compromised by its dependence on the executive. As early as the 1950s the political process was aborted in the regions and the centre, paving the way for military and bureaucratic dominance. Extended periods of military rule after 1958 only served to widen the gulf between a centralized authoritarian state and a regionally and economically differentiated society with dire consequences for democratic politics. Reversing structural imbalances emanating from clashing security and economic considerations has proven extraordinarily difficult for successive Pakistani governments, irrespective of their ideological stripes or their elected or non-elected credentials. The return to parliamentary democracy since 1988, following the most extensive phase of military rule, aggravated the internal tensions which have made Pakistan's search for stability such a singularly elusive goal. Short of altering the state's security perceptions, an unlikely proposition given India's political and strategic compulsions, there is no prospect of a Pakistani government daring to repudiate the inheritance of a
At the height of the cold war when America was about to sign a deal by which in return for milita... more At the height of the cold war when America was about to sign a deal by which in return for military assistance Pakistan would commit itself to combating communism in South East Asia and the Middle East, the great Urdu short-story writer, Saadat Hasan Manto, who lived in Lahore, wrote a series of facetious letters to 'Uncle Sam'. In one of these letters written on February 21, 1954, Manto wrote: 'Regardless of the storm India is kicking up, you must sign a military agreement with Pakistan since you are seriously concerned about the stability of the world's largest Islamic state. And why not. Our mullah is the best counter to Russian communism. Once military aid starts flowing, these mullahs are the first people you should arm. They would need American-made rosaries and prayer-mats....Cutthroat razors and scissors should be at the top of the list, and also American hair colouring formulas. That will keep these chaps happily in toe. I think the only purpose of military aid is to arm these mullahs. I am your Pakistani nephew and can see through all your moves. Anyone can now become too clever by half, thanks to your style of politics'. 'Once these mullahs are armed with American weapons', Manto predicted, 'the Soviet Union with its communist propaganda will have to close shop in this country'. He could visualize the situation clearly: 'Mullahs, their hair trimmed with American scissors, wearing pajamas stitched with American machines in conformity with the cudgels against state terrorism. Your presence here will create total mayhem. Take good care of yourself, especially your knees. Which reminds me-you of all people should be able to empathize with those who have no real legs to stand on! So do recall your forces from the border and flush out the Pakistani dictator on Kashmir. He is getting so bogged down under the combined weight of pressure from you, America and his own homegrown jihadis-now in league with several dissident political parties-that he may need an express stretcher from up here. That will not serve the cause of democracy in Pakistan, I am afraid. What will help is if he is provided a democratically-oiled Pakistani wheel chair so that he can drive himself out of the corner into which he has painted himself with the connivance, I am sorry to say, of my own dear uncles. Signed: Your very sincerely concerned nephew, Saadat Hasan Manto'.
* David Gilmartin, Empire and Islam: Punjab and the Making of Pakistan, Berkeley, University of C... more * David Gilmartin, Empire and Islam: Punjab and the Making of Pakistan, Berkeley, University of California Press, 1988. Strumming at the cultural chords of political nationalisms is the latest rage among scholars needing to cheer themselves out of the post-orientalist blues. Neo-orientalist melodies are not very different from studies of the ’other’ which bore the brunt of Edward Said’s ruthless critique. While assuming various tonalities, orientalism in its most recent incarnation takes the self-projections of the subjects seriously and uncritically. Odd references
Colonoscopy is used worldwide for screening colon cancer. Routine colonoscopy is considered a saf... more Colonoscopy is used worldwide for screening colon cancer. Routine colonoscopy is considered a safe procedure with relatively fewer adverse events. We present a case of intracolonic and retroperitoneal hematoma following a routine colonoscopy. This case highlights an uncommon life-threatening complication of a common procedure. A 50-year-old female presented with abdominal pain and syncopal episode following an uneventful screening colonoscopy. CT abdomen revealed intracolonic and retroperitoneal hematoma. This eventually led to exploratory laparotomy and right hemicolectomy after failure of conservative management. Clinicians need to be aware of the potentially life-threatening complications associated with colonoscopy for overall safety of colonoscopy.
This book examines issues of history and political economy relevant to nationalism, democracy and... more This book examines issues of history and political economy relevant to nationalism, democracy and developmen The contributors argue that persisting material deprivation-th lack of substantive democracy and development-is a crucial problem, and that it is not addressed by cultural critiques so much in vogue.
Self and Sovereignty surveys the role of individual Muslim men and women within India and Pakista... more Self and Sovereignty surveys the role of individual Muslim men and women within India and Pakistan from 1850 through to decolonisation and the partition period. Commencing in colonial times, this book explores and interprets the historical processes through which the perception of the Muslim individual and the community of Islam has been reconfigured over time. Self and Sovereignty examines the relationship between Islam and nationalism and the individual, regional, class and cultural differences that have shaped the discourse and politics of Muslim identity. As well as fascinating discussion of political and religious movements, culture and art, this book includes analysis of: * press, poetry and politics in late nineteenth century India * the politics of language and identity - Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi * Muslim identity, cultural differnce and nationalism * the Punjab and the politics of Union and Disunion * the creation of Pakistan Covering a period of immense upheaval and sometim...
Established as a homeland for India s Muslims in 1947, Pakistan has had a tumultuous history that... more Established as a homeland for India s Muslims in 1947, Pakistan has had a tumultuous history that has unfolded in the vortex of dire regional and international conflicts. Beset by assassinations, coups, ethnic strife, and the breakaway of Bangladesh in 1971, the country has found itself too often contending with religious extremism and military authoritarianism. Now, in a probing biography of her native land amid the throes of global change, Ayesha Jalal provides an insider s assessment of how this nuclear-armed Muslim nation evolved as it did and explains why its dilemmas weigh so heavily on prospects for peace in the region.Attentive to Pakistan s external relations as well as its internal dynamics, Jalal shows how the vexed relationship with the United States, border disputes with Afghanistan in the west, and the conflict with India over Kashmir in the east have played into the hands of the generals who purchased security at the cost of strong democratic institutions. Combined with domestic ethnic and regional rivalries, such pressures have created a siege mentality that encourages military domination and militant extremism.Since 9/11, the country has been widely portrayed as a breeding ground for Islamic terrorism. Assessing the threats posed by Al-Qaeda and the Taliban as American troops withdraw from Afghanistan, Jalal contends that the battle for Pakistan s soul is far from over. Her definitive biography reveals how pluralism and democracy continue to struggle for a place in this Muslim homeland, where they are so essential to its future."
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