Ayesha Jalal is Mary Richardson Professor of History at Tufts University.
[An] important book... Ayesha Jalal has been one of the first and
most reliable [Pakistani] political historians [on Pakistan]... The
Struggle for Pakistan [is] her most accessible work to date... She
is especially telling when she points to the lack of serious
academic or political debate in Pakistan about the role of the
military.
-- Ahmed Rashid New York Review of Books
Perceptive and learned... [Jalal] shows that Pakistan never went
off the rails; it was, moreover, never a democracy in any
meaningful sense. For its entire history, a military caste and its
supporters in the ruling class have formed an 'establishment' that
defined their narrow interests as the nation's... While it is
tempting to blame the generals for everything that has gone wrong
in Pakistan, Jalal makes it clear that the civilian leadership has
been corrupt, petty and small-minded, putting politics above the
principle of civilian supremacy, especially when opponents are in
power... The Struggle for Pakistan traces Pakistan's decline all
the way up to the present.
-- Isaac Chotiner Wall Street Journal
Jalal offers a clear, chronological account of how the army, in
competition with civilians, has misruled Pakistan.
-- The Economist
Ayesha Jalal's many-years-in-gestation magnum opus... She is more
surgical than most Pakistanis in her diagnostic observations.
-- Khaled Ahmed Newsweek
The book deserves to be translated into many languages... This a
heartfelt account, as well as an erudite one.
-- Nadya Chishty-Mujahid Dawn
There are few books that trace Pakistan's contemporary history in a
readable fashion. Jalal, therefore, has presented all the arguments
and key developments from the imposition of martial law by
President Iskander Mirza in 1958, the rise of Ayub Khan, the 1971
civil war and creation of Bangladesh, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's
populism and the damaging decades of 1980s and 1990s that shape
today's Pakistan and its woes... Provide[s] a useful background to
the global audience to Pakistan's complex history... In a country
where the discipline of history has vanished and replaced by state
propaganda, Jalal's book is a layered account that aims to
undertake a much-needed correction of 'national' histories.
-- Raza Rumi Express Tribune
How to restore that collective sense of identity, and its
commitment to Pakistan is a challenge, which needs further
analysis. Additionally, how to create a similar South Asian
identity, and a commitment towards that is another key challenge.
This book, particularly its attempt to reflect on the interface of
politics and history, provides some clue about striving towards
such a goal. Scholars of South Asia will profit from reading The
Struggle for Pakistan, which excels in the art of writing
simultaneously about the politics and history of a country whose
normal life is vital for global peace.
-- Shaikh Mujibur Rehman Hindustan Times
The Struggle for Pakistan will be the definitive history of
Pakistan for decades to come. The author's prose is clean, the book
is thoughtfully structured, and the research is as close to
exhaustive as one could imagine... Anyone attempting to see into
Pakistan's future or better understand its complex past should read
The Struggle for Pakistan... Jalal has accomplished something
remarkable in presenting the history of Pakistan in such an
engaging, comprehensive, and readable manner.
-- Zachary Stockill PopMatters
Jalal offers a comprehensive history of Pakistan since its
inception in 1947, with an eye toward its defining post-colonial
element: military rule... Jinnah's early death in 1948 left an
unfortunate leadership vacuum and a perpetual internal debate over
Pakistan's national identity. Jalal delineates painstakingly how,
in the decades that followed, Pakistan, unlike India, was unable to
build institutions of participatory democracy and instead moved
toward a centralization of power 'under the auspices' of military
and bureaucracy... Tracing key events--the initial imposition of
martial law by President Iskander Mirza in 1958, the 1971 civil war
that created Bangladesh, the rise and fall of populist leader
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and one assassination after the other--Jalal
brings us to the present day, where Pakistan, despite being called
a failing or failed state, continues to hope for change.
-- Kirkus Reviews
For many in the West, Pakistan is an enigma, a Muslim homeland that
seems to have lost its way into a wilderness of perpetual crisis,
extremism, and nuclear standoff with India. The Struggle for
Pakistan is a perceptive look at the idea and reality of Pakistan,
its history and future in the context of the global order, by one
of the most preeminent scholars of South Asia. Well written and
brimming with fact and insight.
-- Vali Nasr, author of The Dispensable Nation: American Foreign
Policy in Retreat
Written by the world's most respected, prolific, and authoritative
historian of Pakistan, The Struggle for Pakistan provides a
thorough analysis of the country's politics from its creation to
the present. It is the most useful point of departure for anyone
who seeks to better understand Pakistan's military, religious,
regional, and international politics today.
-- David Ludden, author of India and South Asia: A Short History
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