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THE PUNJAB BLOODIED, PARTITIONED AND CLEANSED
The 1947 Partition of India stands as the largest forced migration in history, involving around 14 million people, with 10 million hailing from the Punjab region. This book, a holistic examination of this pivotal event, sheds light on the first major post-World War II ethnic cleansing. Drawing from confidential British reports, it shares poignant accounts from eyewitnesses, survivors, and participants in the violence on both sides of the border. Offering a balanced narrative, the book emphasizes that peaceful coexistence isn’t hindered by religious differences unless exploited by divisive forces. Interviews with those who experienced the violence provide candid revelations, making it compelling for anyone interested in recent Indo-Pak history. The third edition includes four poems depicting the partition’s tragedy and additional oral histories, each offering a unique perspective. The book underscores the theoretical aspect of governments in East and West Punjab collaborating to expel unwanted minorities, emphasizing the ethnic cleansing goal during the partition.
ISBN: 9789697347384
Publisher: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
Subtitle: UNRAVELLING THE 1947 TRAGEDY THROUGH SECRET BRITISH REPORTS AND FIRST-PERSON ACCOUNTS – 3RD ED
Author: ISHTIAQ AHMED -
THE PUNJAB BLOODIED, PARTITIONED AND CLEANSED
The Partition of India in 1947 resulted in the biggest forced migration in history-some 14 million people altogether of which 10 million were from the Punjab. This book is a holistic study of the first major case of ethnic cleansing after the Second World War. Besides shedding new light on the events through secret British reports, it also contains poignant accounts by eyewitnesses, survivors, and even participators in the carnage on both sides of the border. With interviewees from both India and Pakistan, the book gives a balanced account of Partition and shows how religious differences are no bar to peaceful coexistence unless highlighted by divisive forces. This book will be of immense interest to anyone even remotely curious about the happenings of the mosttraumatic event in recent Indo-Pakistan history.
The second edition marks the 70th anniversary of the partition of Punjab. It includes more oral histories, each uniquely reflecting the tragedy of partition. Theoretically, the expulsion of unwanted minorities from East and West Punjab by complicit governments in the partitioned Punjab to achieve ethnic cleansing is brought out into sharper relief in the second edition of the book.
ISBN: 9780199406593
Publisher: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
Subtitle:
Author: ISHTIAQ AHMED -
JINNAH KI KAMYABI, NAKAMI AUR TAREEKH MEIN KIRDAR
ISBN: 9789694026589
Publisher: VANGUARD BOOKS
Subtitle:
Author: ISHTIAQ AHMED -
PRE-PARTITION PUNJAB’S CONTRIBUTION TO INDIA CINEMA
This book traces the contribution of Punjabis born before the Partition of India in 1947 to Indian cinema. It examines the story of their contributions at three centres of Hindustani-language films: Bombay, Calcutta and Lahore.
This book is co-published with Aakar Books. Print edition not for sale in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Bhutan)
ISBN: 9789697312061
Publisher: AKS PUBLICATIONS
Subtitle:
Author: ISHTIAQ AHMED -
PAKISTAN THE GARRISON STATE
This study seeks to solve the following puzzle: In 1947, the Pakistan military was poorly trained and poorly armed. It also inherited highly vulnerable territory vis-à-vis the much bigger India, aggravated because of serious disputes with Afghanistan. Over the years, the military, or rather the Pakistan Army, continued to grow in power and influence, and progressively became the most powerful institution. Moreover, it became an institution with de facto veto powers at its disposal to overrule other actors within society including elected governments. Simultaneously, it began to acquire foreign patrons and donors willing to arm it as part of the Cold War competition (the United States), regional balance-of-power concerns (China), and ideological contestants for leadership over the Muslim world (Saudi Arabia, to contain Iranian influence). A perennial concern with defining the Islamic identity of Pakistan, exacerbated by the Afghan jihad, resulted in the convergence of internal and external factors to produce the ‘fortress of Islam’ self-description that became current in the early twenty-first century. Over time, Pakistan succumbed to extremism and terrorism within, and was accused of being involved in similar activities within the South Asian region and beyond. Such developments have been ruinous to Pakistan’s economic and democratic development. This study explains how and why it happened.
ISBN: 9780190702441
Publisher: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
Subtitle: ORIGINS, EVOLUTION, CONSEQUENCES 1947-2011
Author: ISHTIAQ AHMED -
JINNAH
Mohammad Ali Jinnah has been both celebrated and reviled for his role in the Partition of India, and the controversies surrounding his actions have only increased since his death. Ishtiaq Ahmed places Jinnah’s actions under intense scrutiny to ascertain the Quaid-i-Azam’s successes and failures, and the meaning and significance of his legacy. Using a wealth of contemporary records and archival material, he traces Jinnah’s journey from an Indian nationalist to a Muslim communitarian, and then from a Muslim nationalist to, finally, Pakistan’s all-powerful head of state. How did the ambassador of Hindu Muslim unity become the inflexible votary of the two-nation theory? Did Jinnah envision Pakistan as a theocratic state? What was federalism? Asking these crucial questions his position on Mahatma Gandhi and against the backdrop of the turbulent struggle against British colonialism, Jinnah is a path-breaking examination of one of the most controversial figures of the twentieth century.
ISBN: 9789694026329
Publisher: VANGUARD BOOKS
Subtitle: HIS SUCCESSES, FAILURES AND ROLE IN HISTORY
Author: ISHTIAQ AHMED