A country in existential struggle
I must confess I had felt as much drawn as repelled when I first set my eyes on the book. The massive volume with 560 odd pages even in paperback and 481 solid reading materials without notes, appendices and a not-too-short list of books consulted is, no doubt, intimidating. Added to this was the mental list of a considerable number of books I already have read on different facets of life, living, history and on many other aspects of the countries of the sub-continent. But the desire to know and understand the people of the region ever more thoroughly, especially of Pakistan in the wake of the threatening rise and expansion of religious fundamentalism there ultimately made me go for the book. And I must put on record my deep sense of happiness at having read it.
Western interests in matters sub-continental have always been considerable for various reasons, but the global rise of what many call political Islam, the devastation of Afghanistan by US forces and the resultant scattering of the jihadists and the Taliban forces inside Pakistan, thus rendering an already volatile country more vulnerable, made the region, especially Pakistan, a matter of great concern. And the concern did no longer remain only Western; a fundamentalist take-over of Pakistan, which at one point seemed not that unlikely, cannot be looked at with unconcerned detachment by those who would like to see a secular democratic dispensation prevail in this region. The desire to understand Pakistan socially, economically, historically and, of course, politically--------in fact, in all possible aspects--------grew to an unprecedented intensity, in the wake of an ever-widening reach of the forces of religious fundamentalism in that country. Anatol Lieven, a one-time correspondent in Pakistan of The Times of London and certain other newspapers and periodicals for nearly twenty years and now a professor at King's College, London, appears to have catered just to that need by this book of his.
When the Pakistani Taliban, probably in July 2008, occupied the red mosque in Islamabad, and appeared to threaten the existing state structure of that country, none probably required to wait for American Secretary of State Hilary Clinton's declaration that Pakistan was engaged in an 'existential struggle' to understand that it was facing one of the gravest dangers to its existence as a modern state as we think of it today.
Although the recapture of the red mosque in Islamabad by units of the Pakistani army and their subsequent 'raids' in greater parts of Swat and other tribal areas helped roll back the Taliban to their original strongholds in the Federally Administered Territories, the question still remains as to what ultimately will happen to the state structure of Pakistan. And if Pakistan succumbs to a fundamentalist dispensation, India and Bangladesh will not be at peace within themselves, and the world beyond would surely be quite a few notches more unlivable than it is today. Anatol Lieven, in order to effectively address this universal concern to understand what would become of Pakistan and beyond, has delved very deep into Pakistani society. After a good enough introduction to the land, people and history of the country touching upon its background, the author has gone into a dissection of the basic social and state institutions like justice, religion, the military and politics. All these are dealt with in separate chapters as are the provinces of Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (formerly the North-West Frontier Province). The fourth, and the last, part of the book deals with the Taliban, and it is divided into two chapters: The Pakistani Taliban and Defeating the Taliban? Yes, he forms it like that, with a question mark.
A dispassionate analysis of the different ethnicities of the people of the different provinces of Pakistan, and divergences between urban and rural as well as between tribal and non-tribal peoples of the same ethnic background makes for very interesting and educative reading, even for the initiated. The separate chapters on different provinces of Pakistan are not just a travelogue writer's attractive descriptions of a country and its people, nor are they a researcher's pedagogic presentation in rather difficult-to-understand prose. They are, in fact, the sweet amalgam of a researcher's findings served in a seasoned journalist's suave art of writing interlaced with personal experiences and anecdotes. The author's sufficiently lengthy stay in the country, the prestigious newspaper he was assigned by and his intellectual curiosity to thoroughly understand the people and the country, making him undertake often very risky sojourns in extremely dangerous areas, finally gave him the material to write this book. The nature of his job took him from the very highest to the lowliest in society, often making him rub shoulders with some of them in all categories. This gave him firsthand knowledge of what they think and do, how they lead their lives, both public and private, and what their plans for the country and themselves are. His enviable erudition, razor-sharp intellect and a facile pen (nay, the nimble fingertips on his laptop keyboard) helped him come out with this volume.
The author appears to have been aware all throughout the book, and shared the concern of the informed reader, as to what ultimately might happen to the polity of Pakistan. He has taken pains to understand and analyse the society and politics of Pakistan to come up with the very confident conclusion that given Pakistan's socio-political structure, and its history, Pakistan will not fall into the hands of the religious fanatics, nor will it disintegrate or dismantle as a state by any internal or external forces save and except by a concerted invasion by India, the US or a combination of both. And the author strongly suggests that any of those eventualities would ultimately be suicidal for either of those possible (though, I believe, not probable) aggressors.
I think readers having some interest in matters related to the sub-continent, especially in the wake of the dangerous rise of religious fanaticism and terrorism there, should read this book. This definitely is an exceptional title, and I would say this even if I were not aware that The Economist only last week included this one as one of the best books of the year 2011.
Ali Ahmed, a former Member of the National Board of Revenue, is an essayist, a translator and a critic. He also writes essays and short stories in Bangla.
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